Attitudes Toward Euthanasia Essay Examples

Mercy killing is considered as an act in which an individual’s life is taken in order to alleviate a suffering, often as the result of a terminal and an incurable illness. This includes patients who are in an irreversible coma or are gravely ill to avoid being kept in this hellish limbo between life and death. The act called “Good Death” is one in which euthanasia is performed by patient’s consent, also known as a mercy killing. This is considered voluntary euthanasia. However, some patients may be unable to give their consent, for example a child, and fall into another category of euthanasia called nonvoluntary. In addition, the patients who are not asked or do not choose to die but they can perform the consent are called involuntary.
In voluntary euthanasia, or as we can call it “Good Death”, the actual patient consents. In another terms, the doctor, by his patient’s permission, is able to end the patient’s life so that they no longer have pain. This voluntary euthanasia is legal in many countries. For instance, in Belgium and Netherlands, the performing of mercy killing has been considering legal since 2009. It is a performing due to the fact that the patient cannot tolerate the amount of pain they are suffering from. The act is meant as relief for the patient.
Non-voluntary euthanasia is performed on the patients who can express no views on the matter. For example, a senile patient, patient who is severely brain damaged, a person who is mentally disturbed in such a way that he has to be protected with an intensive care, or an infant who has an incurable illness. In these cases, the doctor is unable to treat these patients and the sick people are unable to inform if they wish to continue their life. In this instance, a doctor may propose an end of life plan to a guardian and receive their consent for euthanasia.
The last kind of mercy killing, which absolutely illegal, is involuntary euthanasia. This type of putting end to somebody’s life is considered in many countries murder. Despite the fact that a doctor may not have a chance to find a way to treat the patient and he is aware of, performing a mercy killing involuntarily is illegal. In many countries such as Iran, this kind of euthanasia is totally prohibited so that if anyone, without the consent of a patient, performs the involuntary mercy killing, the act will be considered as a first degree murder and the culprit is sentenced by execution.
In conclusion, all types of mercy killing whether it is illegal or not remains very controversial. Euthanasia, to many is considered morally wrong. However in certain instances mercy killings may be assisting in relieving a patient and helping them move on to a better place.