Euthanasia Case

Euthanasia

Suicide brings up mental images of someone who is in great pain and decides that death is better than being alive. Many people fight for their lives when battling a disease, and contemplate if euthanasia is the right answer. Euthanasia destroys the precious gift of life given to every human being by God, whose image we are made in, and it should not be thrown away when there are doctors to help.

Euthanasia is the painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and/or painful disease. This process has been around for thousands of years, and is more popular in today's society. With technology and medicine advancing, so are the number of ways people are being euthanatized. In 1997, The Supreme Court ruled that there is not a constitutional right to die in the court cases of Washington v. Glucksberg and Vacco v. Quill. The most common form of euthanasia is by an injection of a lethal fluid into the patient's blood system. Other forms of euthanasia include the following: assisted suicide, indirect euthanasia, voluntary and involuntary euthanasia. This crime is punishable up to five years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine in some states. In 1998, Organ was the first state in the United States to legalize assisted suicide, and in 2000 the Netherlands was the first country in the world to legalize euthanasia.

Euthanasia is an option to patients who may be suffering from a lethal disease or illness that want to die a painless death. Many people believe that they have a "right to die" under the United States Constitution, but this is not true. Supporters of this form of death argue that the government should not be able to decide if a person should live or die under the constitutional right of free will. The reason most people choose this form of death is because it can quickly and humanely end a patient's suffering, allowing them to die with dignity. No one wants to live a life full of pain and suffering, especially if a patient is suffering from an incurable disease. These people do not have many options, but one thing is certain - death.

In the United States, Dr Jack Kervorkian - nicknamed 'Doctor Death' for his actions beliefs - has been campaigning for a change in the law for many years, and has assisted in the suicide of at least 45 people; he was recently found guilty of second degree murder and imprisoned after a widely publicized trial. In the Netherlands, on the other hand, voluntary euthanasia has been legal since 1983, with some 3,000 people requesting it each year. In Australia, assisted suicide was legalized in the Northern Territories with the backing of a substantial majority of the local population, but was overthrown by the Federal Senate before anyone could actually use the new law. In Switzerland the Dignitas Clinic assists a great many people to kill themselves each year, including many who travel for that specific purpose from countries where assisted suicide is illegal. (Webster 1)

Doctor Kervorkian is a strong supporter of euthanasia who is concerned about his patients. If a patient would rather die a painless death, then Dr. Kervorkian is the perfect doctor to go to. With the government on the opposing side, Dr. Kervorkian had to pay for breaking the law by being imprisoned. Dr. Kervorkian was well known from the trial being broadcasted publicly on the television. While Dr. K is being prosecuted, other doctors are doing it legally in other countries. Switzerland euthanatizes anyone that goes to the country. Any visitors that may not want to live and suffer anymore can get

Pope Benedict XVI stated in a December 2008 address to the Ambassador of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to the Holy See:

I would also like to take the opportunity of our meeting to express to you my very deep concern about the text of the law on euthanasia and assisted suicide that is currently being discussed in Parliament. In practice, this text accompanied moreover and in a contradictory manner by another bill which contains felicitous legal