Essay: Legalization of doctor assisted-suicide

Sample Essay

In the recent year physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia has been the interest of many scholars in sociology, ethical philosophy and criminology. In this regard, euthanasia from etymological meaning from Greek means “good death” However, Sutherland, (2005) refers to euthanasia as the practice of ending a life in a painless manner. The mode of ending life can be classified as euthanasia by consent. In this form, the euthanasia can be conducted with the patient’s consent or voluntary, while it can also be involuntary where someone makes decision on behalf of the patient basing on circumstances. Secondly, euthanasia by means can be through non-actively, passively and actively.

However, the contentious issue remains to be whether doctor-assisted suicide should be legalized or not. To approach this debate well, there is need to examine both argument for and against legalization of physician-assisted suicide in the context of ethical dilemma for doctors today. Some of the fundamental questions that ought to be placed on the table as far as this debate is concerned are How far should a physician go to save a life? When suffering is immeasurable and patient’s condition terminal, should physician be permitted to end a patient’s life? Should a physician take an active role in hastening patient’s death?

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