Euthanasia By: VV-K

What is Euthanasia? The word Euthanasia originates from the Greek language: “eu” means good, and “thanatos” means death Euthanasia: The practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering

Types of Euthanasia Voluntary, known as Physician Assisted Suicide (PAS) This is euthanasia conducted with consent A physician supplies information and/or the means of committing suicide to a person EX) Prescription for lethal pills or supply of carbon monoxide gas)

Types of Euthanasia Involuntary: This is euthanasia conducted without consent The killing of a person who has not explicitly requested aid in dying Most often occurs in patients persistent in a vegetative state, and will probably never recover consciousness Violates one’s natural desire to live

Types of Euthanasia Passive: Hastening the death of a person by altering some form of support and letting nature take its course Ex) Removing life support, stopping medical procedures, medications, not delivering CPR

Types of Euthanasia Active: This involves causing the death of a person through a direct action, in response to a request from that person Lethal substances or forces are used to end the patients life Jack Kevorkian “Doctor Death” was imprisoned for “helping” kill numerous people because they were in so much pain He was later sentenced in prison for 10-25 years

Provides relief from pain, physically, and mentally Options for terminal patients or those with intractable suffering and pain, instead of euthanasia. Palliative care An approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problems associated with life-threatening illnesses, through the prevention and relief of suffering The goal of palliative care is for patients and families to accept dying as a normal process and how to cope with it Provides relief from pain, physically, and mentally Strives to offer a support system to help patients live their remaining time as actively as they can to help families deal with the illness of a loved one

Refusing Treatment In many countries a patient can refuse treatment that is recommended by a doctor or some other health care professional as long as they have been properly informed and are of sound mind Some countries exclude people under the age of 18 Nobody can give consent on behalf of an incompetent adult, ex) Coma Doctors take into account the best interests of the patient when deciding on treatment options

A patient’s best interests are based on: What the patient wanted when he/she was competent The patient’s general state of health The patient’s spiritual and religious beliefs Ex) The doctor may decide the best option for a patient who is declared as clinically brain dead is to switch off life- support machines; equipment without which the patient would die The doctor will discuss matters with the family, however strict criteria must be met on the doctor’s final decision

A Living Will (Advance Directive) This is a legally binding document which anybody may draw up in advance if they are concerned that perhaps they will be unable to express their wishes at a later time In the advance directive the individual states what they want to happen if they become too ill to be able to consent/refuse medical treatment

Euthanasia History About 400 B.C. – The Hippocratic Oath: "I will give no deadly medicine to any one if asked, nor suggest any such counsel” 14th through 20th Century English Common Law – For over 700 years, the Anglo American common law tradition has punished or otherwise disapproved of both suicide and assisting suicide 1939 – amid the turmoil of the outbreak of war Hitler ordered widespread "mercy killing" of the sick and disabled. Nazi euthanasia program to eliminate "life unworthy of life" at first focused on newborns and very young children. And expanded to older children and adults

Where is Euthanasia Legal 1998 U.S. state of Oregon legalizes assisted suicide 2000 The Netherlands legalizes euthanasia 2002 Belgium legalizes euthanasia 2008 U.S. state of Washington legalizes assisted suicide VERY controvercial Legalizing euthanasia has been a very well-discussed topic of debate

For Euthanasia Reasons for voluntary euthanasia: Freedom of Choice – The patient should be given the option to make their own choice Quality of Life – Only the patient is really aware of what it is like to experience the pain, those who have not experienced it can not fully understand the effect it has on quality of life Dignity- every individual should be given the ability to die with dignity Drain on resources - in virtually every country there is never enough hospital space, so why not channel the resources of staff, equipment, hospital beds and medications towards life-saving treatments makes more sense; especially when these resources are currently spent on terminal patients with intractable suffering who wish to die

Why should the patient be forced to experience a slow death? Humane - it is more humane to allow a person with intractable suffering to be allowed to choose to end that suffering. Loved ones - it helps shorten the grief and suffering of the patient's loved ones Prolongation of dying- if the dying process is unpleasant, the patient should have the right to reduce this unpleasantness Why should the patient be forced to experience a slow death?

Against Euthanasia They agreed to the Hippocratic Oath Reasons against euthanasia The Doctor’s Role – doctors and other health care professionals may have their role compromised They agreed to the Hippocratic Oath Moral religious argument – several religions see euthanasia as a form of murder and morally unacceptable Competence – euthanasia is only voluntary if the patient is mentally competent determining or defining competence is not straightforward

The big question: How can it be regulated? The patient might recover – against all odds, the diagnosis might be wrong Palliative care – good palliative care makes euthanasia unnecessary The big question: How can it be regulated? Euthanasia can not be properly regulated Regulated: by means of pain, if they are conscious? Able to make decisions?

Is It Ethical? Should terminally ill patients be given the right to commit suicide? Suicide is a legal act available to all But a person who is terminally ill or in a hospital setting may not be able option to free themselves from their suffering People believe that because they not of “sound mind” they cannot make this decision There are many religious, social, and moral aspects involved – Very Controversial

Beliefs Many religions believe that it is immoral to deliberately end your life They believe that you should be grateful for the life you have not matter the circumstances Who is to say what a tolerable level of pain is? Is it physical pain? Mental? Many people argue that pain experienced by terminally ill people can be controlled through proper management That there is no need for euthanasia Yet others believe that if you are suffering and wish to die you should be able to do so

What If Euthanasia Is Legalized In Canada? Will people feel pressure to use euthanasia? Some may feel obligated to end their life if something happened to them The system of relieving “suffering” patients might be unclear Although, keeping people alive with expensive treatments and medications cost a lot of money Why waste keep someone alive if they no longer have or want to continue living May influence elderly people to resort to euthanasia There are pros and cons to legalizing euthanasia

After all of the pros and cons, ethics, and religious viewpoints: Would you allow a loved one to be relieved from their pain? Or would you let nature take its course? Summary of presentation

Works Cited Euthanasia. (2011). Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition, 1. Nordqvist, Christian. (2010). What is Euthanasia. Retrieved from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/182951.php Euthanasia: Killing The Dying. Retrieved from http://www.actrtla.org.au/euth/euthanas.htm ProCon. (2010). History of Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide. Retrieved from http://euthanasia.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000130 Right To Life. (2012). Where Is It Legal in The World. Retrieved from http://www.wrtl.org/assistedsuicide/assistedsuicide/whereitislegalWorld.aspx Kastenbaum, Robert. (2011). Euthanasia – Euthanasia : History, Controversy, Facts. Retrieved from http://family.jrank.org/pages/468/Euthanasia.html (2005). Euthanasia. Retrieved from http://www.markville.ss.yrdsb.edu.on.ca/history/religion/EUTHANASIA.html