Euthanasia
...thanasia for those who could not provide consent, but were in a vegetative state. Worse yet, terminating the life of someone suffering from depression is now legal (Otto, 1995). A report by an official committee established by the Dutch government in 1991 estimated that 2,300 people died annually as a result of doctors killing them upon request, 400 by physician-assisted suicide, and more than 1,000 were killed without requesting euthanasia. As a result of physician assisted suicide policy, one fourth of these deaths have been based on premature decisions (Johnson, 1999). Although it might seem extreme, a similar situation occurred when euthanasia was legalized under the Nazi regime in Germany. The Nazi’s first depleted the terminally ill population, and then moved onto the maimed, retarded, elderly, and finally the six million Jews. Supporters of euthanasia might make the case that laws can regulate the abuse. If this were the case, why haven’t there been regulatory laws in the Netherlands and what would prevent people from making new laws that would banish this law? Opponents of euthanasia might also argue that legalizing euthanasia may have destructive effects on patient-doctor relationship. For centuries, doctors have held the responsibility to treat patients if not cure them and minimize their suffering. In fact, before a doctor becomes a doctor, he/she must take what is known as the Hippocratic Oath. This oath states that the doctor “ will neither give a deadly drug to anybody if asked for it, nor will (he) make a suggestion to this effect…(Edelstein, 1943)” There is quite a bit of trust placed in a doctor and the institutionalization of euthanasia could destroy that bond. In his book The Right to Die, Dr. Heifetz said that “ the traditional tie between doctor and patient has a unique character that exists no where else in the human experience.”(Heifetz, 1975) Further, if the physician who acts to kill the patient does so in the belief that a life marked by some form of suffering is not worth living, how can the physician deny the same relief to a person who cannot request it, or who requests it but whose competence is in doubt (Paris, 1992)? The doctor-patient relationship would be converted from a one of caring to that of total emotional detachment and would change the traditional role of the physician form healer to terminator. Beneficence, in the context of the euthanasia debate, involves the physician’s duty to relieve suffering. Proponents argue that death from euthanasia is sometimes necessary to relieve unbearable pain (Qiull, 1992). Many families and physicians view death, when it finally comes as a blessing. However, I am baffled by the notion that the way to deal with suffering is to do away with the sufferer. Such an approach would seem contrary to the premise of hospice care, which holds that even in the midst of tragic terminal illness, there is value in “suffering through” the dying process and that it should not be artificially cut short. Society has persisted in an exclusively curative mode even if it consists of putting to death, while virtually ignoring the physical, psychological, and spiritual needs of dying patients and their families which all could be achieved through hospice. The patient-family relationships works in somewhat the same way that a doctor-patient relationship works. Here, however, most of the pressures shift to the patient. Constant pressure is often put on the patient concerning how the family will cope with the patients illness and unfortunately it usually comes from a financial perspective. Recalling the Terri Schiavo case in Florida, Terri, a 39-year-old disabled woman, suffered a brain injury under questionable circumstances in 1990. As a result, she is unable to care for herself and is provided nutrition and hydration through a feeding tube. Terri’s family has been at a constant battle over deciding whether they want to with hold life-sustaining treatment or not. Some people speculated that Terri’s handbag desires to stop treatment and gain Teri’s’ life insurance. Doctors predicted that Terri’s prognosis was poor and that she would remain a vegetable for the remainder of he...