Suicide Essays (1811 words) - Euthanasia, Medical Ethics

Suicide Living to die, or is it dying to live. Suicide, the intentional act of killing oneself. "Britain abolished punishment for attempted suicide in 1961, and by the early 1990's only two US states still listed suicide as a crime (Columbia Encyclopedia)". The Japanese have long held to practice called Hara-Kiri, another form of suicide. Most religions look down on this practice because it goes against their core values. As we examine the reasoning behind suicide, can we make a decision of whether it should be legal or illegal? Is there a place for suicide in our cultures? Statistically there is a rise in suicides, although there are vast ages that can account for these statistics the significant increase is by those of the elderly genre. Is this a sign of things to come, are we looking at a new trend of doctor assisted suicides? In most case's this is true, yes. Can we justify the young and their cases of suicide? Since 1950's the cases of younger genre has tripled their cases. For many reasons the younger people of the world have far too many cases that would just over run the means of my project, so at present time there is no need to continue. However, the most increased controversial cases stem from the elderly and the terminally ill. As the price of health care increase's and retirements, decrease there is a bigger demand on health issues. Among the elderly, we are seeing more cases of cancer's, heart attaches, dementia, and other serious issues. There are some members of society that refer to this behavior as Doctor-assisted, suicide, and Doctor-assisted murder; in fact, the real name for this is called Euthanasia it derives from Greek word meaning 'eu' and 'thanatos', which together mean 'a good death'. In any order that a person wants to examine this, we have to refer to it as the correct term, Euthanasia. Regardless of the name, it is still a form of suicide, the act of taking one's own life. As long as mankind has survived we know that it is a fact of life that we all will die, there has only been a few small accounts that mankind has just walked into heaven. Therefore, for the rest of us when we are born we are already in the process of dying. Is it unfair to plan our lives and to consider all the possibilities that then remain, no. We simply understand that by refusing medical treatment we are not prolonging death but simply just accepting it. We plan death by writing wills and living wills to tell our doctors and relatives, when I die this is what I want, if I am terminal and unconscious do this. That is a plan of death in itself. Suicide has a devastating emotional impact on surviving family members and friends. The intentional, sudden, and violent nature of the person's death often makes others feel abandoned, helpless, and rejected (Encarta99). These feelings stem from anger and selfishness; they can be associated by the fact that the others did not understand the depth of the pain, or the associated medical expenses. Could euthanasia become a means of health care cost containment? Perhaps one of the most important developments in recent years is the increasing emphasis placed on health care providers to contain costs. In such a climate, euthanasia certainly could become a means of cost containment. Is euthanasia sometimes the only way to relieve excruciating pain? The natural fear people have of suffering and dying, and often imply that when cure is no longer likely, there are only two alternatives: euthanasia or unbearable pain. Is religion a key factor of right or wrong, and how religion should play a part? None of the religious arguments against assisted dying is Relevant to those who do not share those beliefs. And of Course, despite these teachings, many of those who are Religious do not oppose voluntary euthanasia either (The Voluntary Euthanasia Society). Hans Kung once said that: ...as a Christian and a theologian I am convinced that the all-merciful God, who has given men and women freedom and responsibility for their lives, has also left to dying people the responsibility for making a conscientious decision about the manner and time of their deaths (The Voluntary Euthanasia Society). There are things in life that are harsh and difficult to face, no matter how hard we try to over come them there is never an easy solution to the problem, of pain and suffering. Costly medical expenses