Types, Arguments, Judgments, and Contemporary Moral Issue about Euthanasia

Euthanasia
Name
Institution
Euthanasia
When dealing with terminally ill patients, physicians are faced with the hard task of deciding how best to offer care. In some instances, a person may be terminal or in a vegetative state such that issues of end-of-life decision comes into play. This raises the question of euthanasia whether it should be allowed or prohibited (Frey & Wellman, 2008).
Euthanasia is also commonly known as assisted suicide or physician-assisted suicide, and even more loosely it is called mercy killing. Euthanasia simply refers to the essence of taking an action that deliberately leads to the death of another person to alleviate persistence pain. For instance, if a physician gives a terminally ill cancer patient an overdose of painkillers, and this results in death, it is considered as euthanasia. There are two classifications of euthanasia that are known. This includes voluntary euthanasia where the patient provides consent and involuntary euthanasia the patient does not give consent (Frey & Wellman, 2008, p. 326). For example, involuntary euthanasia occurs when a family member gives consent since the patient is not capable of doing it on his\her own.
There are two types of euthanasia, and these are passive and active. Passive euthanasia refers to situations where the life-sustaining support or treatment is withheld. For example, when a doctor withholds antibiotics from a patient suffering from pneumonia, and slowly this patient’s life withers away. Active euthanasia means deliberately intervening or injecting lethal substances that cause death. This for example, can occur when a lot of sedatives are given to a terminally ill patient leading to death (Frey & Wellman, 2008, p. 327).
According to Rotar, Teodorescu, and Rotar (2014, p. 428) euthanasia is illegal in most countries, but some nations such as Belgium, Luxembourg, and also Holland advocate for active euthanasia. Using the laws passed in these countries, a physician can deliberately take an action that can result in the death of a terminally ill patient. This means a person can be given a large dose of painkillers or muscle relaxants that causes a coma and eventually death. However, there are legal requirements in these countries for euthanasia to be conducted. The person must make an active, as well as voluntary request that he/she wants to end their life. It should be determined that such a patient has sufficient mental capability that allows them to make an informed decision about the care they want to be provided. It is should also be approved that such a person is experiencing unbearable pain, and there is no possibility of this condition improving. In other countries, though, the law is less clear where some forms of physician-assisted suicide, and passive euthanasia are carried out but active euthanasia is considered illegal. For instance, some forms of assisted suicide as well as passive euthanasia are legalized in Switzerland, Mexico and in some American states such as Oregon and Washington DC (Rotar, Teodorescu & Rotar, 2014, p. 428).
A sample case when euthanasia occurred happened in 1993. In March of 1993, Anthony Bland who had remained in a vegetative state for three years had a court order declare th...