The Morality, Humanity, and Legality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Morality, Humanity, and Legality - Essay Example Pain management is, simply, no longer working and, as hard as it is to admit, she is clearly slowly dying. You stop and ask yourself, â€Å" Would she want her suffering to end? You ask yourself, â€Å"Would it be wrong to want her suffering to end?† The answer to these questions are comntroversial ones. If Susie were a pet then we would not question the honorable decision of ending her pain and suffering. We would consider it a humane thing to do. Yet, if Susie is a person then, for many people, the logic is the exact opposite. Even, if Susie, herself, desires that option, it may be considered in-humane to support such an option. To be humane is a part of being human, yet the same â€Å"humane† compassion that we would show our beloved pets, we do not feel compelled to show the same to our fellow human beings. Euthanasia, in its different forms, is not immoral, if it suits the morality of the person whose life, and death, is in question. In order to truly understand t he contraversial issue that breeds so much ethical and moral debte it is impotant to review the full scope of the topic, from both sides, eliminate misconceptions, and, ideally, represent the morality of allowing individuals to choose not why they die, but the quality of that death, when death is inevitable. Firstly, euthanasia is not simply another word for suicide; it is, also, not another word for murder. The word means the intentional ending of a life, not out of malice or ciriminal intent, but to end suffering when death is imminent and saving of that life is no longer an option. For those who are in excruciating pain, suffering unbearable illness, and will inevitably die as a result, euthanasia is an opportunity to have an option, when all other options have, essentially,been taken away. There are different forms of euthanasia that are relevant in understanding the practice. Passive Euthanasia involves the allowing of a person by not providing medical procedures and removing o f life support; this considered to be allowing nature to take its course. Involuntary Euthanasia is used to refer to the ending of the life of someone who is in a persistent vegetative state; in those cases where there is no realistic medical hope of any form of recovery. Active Euthanasia is, accordingly, when someone ends the life of another through a direct act at the request of the person that whose life is to be ended. This is, most commonly seen, when a spouse or relative of a loved one assists in the request to end their life. The last, and most focused upon, is Physician Assisted Suicide, or PAS, which refers to lives that are ended under the supervision and administration of a physician.(Goel 225) However, this extreme and final measure is intended to end the pain and suffering of those with no other options and have requested and chosen this end. The opportunity to die with dignity is a valid consideration. It is PAS that does get the greatest attention, because legislatio n is, always, being presented to, legalize the practice, but it is the ethical and moral elements that keep the issue, in many instances, at a stale mate. So what is the morality of euthanasia? As stated before, the morality is unique to the individual considering the option. If someone clear of mind makes the decision to end their life themselves then morally they have made peace with it. It is, of course, logical to question the morality when the potential actions of a person will directly, unfairly, or negatively impact another’s life, rights, or personal being. However, by ignoring these requests for right to die by the competent, but tragically ill, is, in fact, are directly and wrongly interfering in their rights and personal being. Supporters of PAS, and the implementation of legislation to legalize the act, explain that there