Ethics: EUTHANASIA IN OTHER COUNTRIES, Study Guides, Projects, Research of Ethics

Download Ethics: EUTHANASIA IN OTHER COUNTRIES and more Study Guides, Projects, Research Ethics in PDF only on Docsity! GEC 4-ETHICS EUTHANASIA OCTOBER 2021 EUTHANASIA Euthanasia, or mercy killing, is defined as “killing someone who is very sick or injured in order to prevent any more suffering.” (Merriam-Webster Learner’s Dictionary) Mercy killings appear in the news from time to time. Often the killers seem to be well motivated, desiring to put sufferers out of their misery when physicians offer no hope of improvement. Sometimes the sufferers even plead with others to put them to death. Euthanasia has been a global moral issue that has been debated for a long time now. Euthanasia comes in a variety of forms. What is chosen is determined by a number of elements, including one's viewpoint and level of awareness. Physician-aided suicide(PAS) refers to when a doctor intentionally assists someone with ending their life. This person is most certainly going through a long period of pain and their doctor will assess which procedure is the most effective and painless. Giving someone a deadly dose of a sedative on purpose is referred to as active euthanasia. On the other hand, withholding or limiting life-sustaining therapies to hasten a person's death is frequently referred to as passive euthanasia. Voluntary euthanasia is when a person makes a conscious decision to seek assistance in ending their life. In contrast to voluntary euthanasia, when someone else makes the decision to end someone's life in nonvoluntary euthanasia. The decision is frequently made by a close family member. (Legg,2019) EUTHANASIA IN THE PHILIPPINES In the Philippines, euthanasia is illegal. The Philippine Senate debated whether or not to enact a measure authorizing passive euthanasia, the withdrawal of treatment or life-sustaining machinery, in 1997. Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago introduced Senate Bill 1887 on October 14, 2013, which would have legalized passive euthanasia. In the Senate, the bill was defeated. The Catholic Church in the country was outspoken in its opposition to the law. The Philippines would have become the first country to legalize euthanasia if it had been approved. Doctors who help a patient in dying might be imprisoned and punished with malpractice under present legislation. In many cases, the church has been perceived as a barrier to health officials and medical practitioners over the years. Patients should be permitted to leave the hospital before paying in full for their treatment, according to another proposal in the Patients' Rights Bill. In the Philippines, almost all hospitals are privately owned, and many owners are concerned that patients may leave without paying. Several jurisdictions outside of the Philippines have already recognized such ability to control, limited in the medical field, by capacitating a patient to determine the extent of his treatment at the end of his life through mechanisms called advance directives. Though recognized by practice in the Philippine medical setting, the lack of an explicit legal framework for advance directives in end-of-life care raises problems in the enforceability of such directives and muddles the scope of patients' rights. CONCLUSION Death is not something to look forward to, but it is also not necessary to make desperate efforts to prolong the dying process. Euthanasia produces a hive of discussion and debate for many people around the world. Doctors, physicians, educators, government, religions, and many other individuals differs in their perspectives towards the issue. Some agreed and some disagreed. I have read an article online in where it talks about a man who killed his wife because she apparently was the hopeless victim of multiple sclerosis, a disease of the central nervous system. Incidents like this raise the contentious issue of euthanasia or "mercy killing". The proponents of euthanasia claim that this is still another reason why a law permitting euthanasia should be passed. Others argue that there are no exceptions to God's commandment, "You shall not kill," and therefore euthanasia constitutes murder. In cases like this, what should my mentality be? Should mercy killing, which is not motivated by malice or hatred, be legalized? Is it ethical to use euthanasia, which involves intentionally killing someone or letting a terminally ill person to die by refusing to start or continue extraordinary therapy that would only delay death for a short time? There is no doubt that dealing with such situations is difficult. It's possible that very strong emotions are involved, making it difficult to make sound decisions. But what if the decision is between starting or continuing exceptional therapy in the face of impending mortality that cannot be avoided? Medical authorities may claim that the best they can do is prolong the patient's death by using mechanical devices such as respirators to keep the lungs breathing, cardiac stimulators, and other exceptional methods to keep the patient alive. Such operations could be exceedingly costly and cause the dying person additional suffering. As a result, deciding whether to withhold extraordinary care in many cases of severe sickness is quite difficult. The fact that there appears to be no hope for the person who is suffering is frequently cited as a cause for considering euthanasia. Yes, God's word makes it clear that human life is precious, and that anyone who murders a human life forfeits his own: "Anyone shedding a man's blood, by man will his own blood be shed," it says. Moses and other prophets, as well as Jesus Christ and his disciples, constantly stated this commandment to the nation of Israel and to the followers of Jesus Christ. —Genesis 9:6, Exodus 20:13, Num. 35:30-32, Matthew 19:18, and 1 John 3:15. Life is a divine gift that people have no right to take away. Taking it upon oneself to take a life would be tantamount to putting oneself in the role of God. Occasionally, a seemingly hopeless situation improves for no apparent reason. Furthermore, due to medical science's quick advancement, today's incurable condition may be treatable tomorrow. Certainly, more is being done all the time to alleviate pain. All of this does not mean that a physician must continue to take exceptional, complicated, stressful, and costly procedures to keep a patient alive when they are suffering badly from an illness and death is only a matter of time. There's a big difference between prolonging a patient's life and prolonging the dying process. In such instances, gently allowing the dying process to take its course would not be a violation of God's