Dying with dignity is a thorny issue in society at present. It attracts controversy and is sometimes reported on in the media. It is also the subject of litigation, usually criminal prosecution. It is an issue that needs to be taken seriously, for several different reasons, and so it is important to understand the death with dignity pros and cons.
Terminal patients sometimes request or consider euthanasia, or mercy killing. This is because, these days, they are able to survive for far more time than they would have been able to in the past. Contemporary medical treatment makes this possible. The outcome is that they may live for a very long period, even years, in a state of palliative care.
The concept of euthanasia is self-explanatory and has been practised since time immemorial. Mercy killing, or the deliberate infliction of death on hopelessly sick or injured patients is easy to understand. It is also practised by soldiers after a battle. Medical patients, too, sometimes abandon their ineffective treatment regimen and resort to suicide. None of this is recent in its presence in society.
Despite this, the law in most countries does not give medical staff permission to terminate their patients. The rationale behind such laws is self-explanatory. Medical staff cannot be permitted to euthanase patients under their care because they may then terminate those who may well have survived, for whatever reason. The court cases that arise typically revolve around medical personnel who either apply for official permission to euthanase a patient or who have already performed the procedure and are being prosecuted.
A famous case involved a doctor in the UK, Harold Shipman, who murdered 285 elderly patients. Although they were unaware of the intentions of their doctor, he used poison to kill them. Providing doctors with permission to perform euthanasia may enable medical staff with such intentions to act on them. Sentenced to prison, Shipman himself committed suicide on his 58th birthday.
The most common form of modern euthanasia is lethal injection. It is similar to the technique that is used in some states to execute prisoners on death row. The doctor uses substances that are not sold to the public. These should only be used by a medical practitioner, because they can be administered in lethal doses and might also be prescribed as medication in lower doses.
The law prohibits the mercy killing of terminally ill patients. These patients sometimes lose so much lifestyle function or have to endure such substantial pain that they are not interested any more in continuing the symptomatic treatment that has no effect on the underlying condition. It is not uncommon for them to resort to self-medication on improvised regimens, such as illegal drugs, or even to end their lives in a conventional way. But where they cannot commit suicide, they sometimes ask their doctor to perform euthanasia.
The unresolved debate about mercy killing occupies space in the media and other public discussion forums. At the same time, the patients themselves are committing suicide or organize their own private euthanasia. It is important to place official measures of control on the medical profession, but the terrible symptoms of terminal patients perhaps necessitate exceptions.
Terminal patients sometimes request or consider euthanasia, or mercy killing. This is because, these days, they are able to survive for far more time than they would have been able to in the past. Contemporary medical treatment makes this possible. The outcome is that they may live for a very long period, even years, in a state of palliative care.
The concept of euthanasia is self-explanatory and has been practised since time immemorial. Mercy killing, or the deliberate infliction of death on hopelessly sick or injured patients is easy to understand. It is also practised by soldiers after a battle. Medical patients, too, sometimes abandon their ineffective treatment regimen and resort to suicide. None of this is recent in its presence in society.
Despite this, the law in most countries does not give medical staff permission to terminate their patients. The rationale behind such laws is self-explanatory. Medical staff cannot be permitted to euthanase patients under their care because they may then terminate those who may well have survived, for whatever reason. The court cases that arise typically revolve around medical personnel who either apply for official permission to euthanase a patient or who have already performed the procedure and are being prosecuted.
A famous case involved a doctor in the UK, Harold Shipman, who murdered 285 elderly patients. Although they were unaware of the intentions of their doctor, he used poison to kill them. Providing doctors with permission to perform euthanasia may enable medical staff with such intentions to act on them. Sentenced to prison, Shipman himself committed suicide on his 58th birthday.
The most common form of modern euthanasia is lethal injection. It is similar to the technique that is used in some states to execute prisoners on death row. The doctor uses substances that are not sold to the public. These should only be used by a medical practitioner, because they can be administered in lethal doses and might also be prescribed as medication in lower doses.
The law prohibits the mercy killing of terminally ill patients. These patients sometimes lose so much lifestyle function or have to endure such substantial pain that they are not interested any more in continuing the symptomatic treatment that has no effect on the underlying condition. It is not uncommon for them to resort to self-medication on improvised regimens, such as illegal drugs, or even to end their lives in a conventional way. But where they cannot commit suicide, they sometimes ask their doctor to perform euthanasia.
The unresolved debate about mercy killing occupies space in the media and other public discussion forums. At the same time, the patients themselves are committing suicide or organize their own private euthanasia. It is important to place official measures of control on the medical profession, but the terrible symptoms of terminal patients perhaps necessitate exceptions.
About the Author:
If you are looking for information about death with dignity pros and cons, you should pay a visit to our web pages online today. Additional details are available at http://fenregistration.org now.
