Ethical Bioethics: Euthanasia

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Bioethics: Euthanasia Euthanasia, by definition, is the practice of relieving one's suffering by means of ending their life. As improving medical technology emerges, this ethical divisor continues to split philosophers, scientists, and activists, alike. With increasing awareness, the question of its morality has the ability to spark one of the most contentious bioethical debates this century because the issue has the ability to affect all of us, directly or indirectly, at some point in our lives. The morals behind euthanasia have been debated since the beginning of human civilization with evidence pointing back to ancient Mesopotamia through to the 21st century, just as the debate will continue on as ethical and religious standards shift throughout…show more content…
The fact that euthanasia is not murder cannot be stressed enough, as it comes along with valid justification and a complete lack of malice. Etymologically, the word euthanasia comes from the Greek words "eu" which means well and "thanatos", meaning death. This, in turn, is philologically translated into "easy/good death". This "good death" is also commonly known as a mercy killing. By definition, a mercy killing is the killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease, typically by the administration of large doses of painkilling drugs. If you were to step on a bug, but not fully kill it, it would be imperative to put it out of its misery so it may die quicker and less painfully. Of course, it is a completely different situation if that bug were to have the ability to get up and walk away much unscathed. But, unfortunately, terminal means terminal and while it is unconventional to compare human mortality to insect mortality, we are, essentially, one in the same. Religiously one might disagree, as there is no universal measure of human significance or a scale to pinpoint what is moral and what is not, there is great controversy on the topic of…show more content…
The act of inflicting death upon another or yourself is commonly perceived as a great atrocity, but by acting for all the right reasons, it becomes infallibly equitable. The open-option of euthanasia to victims of unbearable terminal illness is a great consolation in their times of hardship. If their suffering becomes a sentenced fate worse than death, then they have the means to go out with choice and dignity, that their last days may be spent knowingly, and that they have the ability to say their final farewells to their lives and the people and things they love most about it. Hardly anything has the capability of crippling a person's spirit the way a fatal disease does. Everyone is aware of a certain and impending mortality, but when helplessly staring straight into the eyes of death, cornered in a sold-out arena, it is much more dignifying to control that which will dismiss you than to be faced with more torment than obligatory. Who is the government to say that is a crime? Why is it unlawful to seek a slightly sooner release from physical suffering when your time is almost up
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