Euthanasia Legalization

Euthanasia Legalization By: Renee Rosenkilde Rosenkilde 1 Although the United States, and the rest of the world, have made astounding inventions and breakthroughs in technology, health care is still subject to criticism. Even in the twenty-first century, there are numerous terminal, chronic, and life threating diseases circling the world. Because of these circumstances, when a patient is diagnosed with a painful disease that will kill them in a short amount of time, they should be allowed to decide how they want to end their life: waiting for the disease to kill them, or instantly receiving assisted suicide and ending their pain immediately.Through the process of active euthanasia, a person diagnosed with a terminal illness can immediately die. Active euthanasia would allow a person with a terminal illness to be administered a lethal medication which will instantly kill them and release them from their suffering. Another form of assisted suicide, passive euthanasia, is eliminating an y medical assistance in keeping a patient alive, until their death.Active euthanasia should be legalized because it is legal according to the constitution, it is a less expensive alternative, certain religions partake in the act of active euthanasia, and overall it will allow a terminally ill and suffering patient to end their misery. Active euthanasia should be legalized throughout the United States because it is legal according to the Constitution. Currently, assisted suicide is only legal in the states of Washington, Oregon, and Montana (ND NA wrtl. org).Active euthanasia would allow a citizen of the United States a painless death, and an allotted time to say goodbye to their friends and family members. Once consent is given from either the patient themselves, or the family, active Rosenkilde 2 euthanasia should be a possibility for someone with a terminal chronic illness. Steven Ertlet comments, â€Å"The bereaved family and friends of cancer patients who died by euthanasia cop ed better with respect to grief symptoms and post-traumatic stress reactions than the bereaved of comparable cancer patients who died a natural death. (ND Ertlet paragraph 1). Whereas passive euthanasia would contribute to an extensive amount of pain and suffering, active euthanasia would allow for an immediate, accessible, and painless death. The Constitution of the United States says, â€Å"†¦certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. †¦whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it. † The United States Constitution grants its citizens the right to pursue happiness, which in some cases may be through active euthanasia.The Constitution restates this idea in a more precise form in the Due Process Clause [first section of the fourteenth amendment]: â€Å"No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities o f citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of†¦liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. † The Constitution states that if it is a person’s desire to die through active euthanasia, it shall be provided to them through to the Due Process Law [first section of the fourteenth amendment].In the case that active euthanasia would be the best option for a United States citizen struggling with a terminal illness, active euthanasia should be considered. Euthanasia should be legalized in the United States, because it would allow for a citizen with a terminal illness a quick and painless death as well as abide to the Unites States Constitution. Rosenkilde 3 With the declining economy in the United States, saving money and cutting unnecessary spending is of great importance.With health spending accounting for over 17% GDP [how much a place produces in some amou nt of time] in the United States, it is the highest in the world (NA ND data. wordlbank. org). Cutting this percentage as much as possible would drastically improve the Untied State’s economy. The money spent in hospitals is used to cure patients with different illnesses. Although this is thoughtful on America’s part, in many cases it is unnecessary. If a patient is diagnosed with an incurable terminal illness, there is not much point in wasting money to keep them suffering for as long as possible.Mpoziemski, an online debater at euthanasia. procon. org comments, â€Å"Is it not more compassionate to end a human's suffering then to make them hold on only to die later after a long, drawn out pain filled battle? † (Mpoziemski 2012 paragraph 1). Keeping a patient suffering until they die of natural causes is irrational when it is possible through active euthanasia to end their suffering as soon as possible. As an added note, this would also help save money througho ut this country in drastic numbers. Once approval is given for active euthanasia to be administered, it is can easily save the patient and the hospital money.Certain cancer treatments can be as costly as $10,000, which is added to the accumulating bill for doctor visits, lab tests, room charges, imaging tests, radiation treatments, drugs and other medicines, nurse care, surgery, and homecare (NA ND cancer. org/treatment). Prolonging the life of a patient with an illness is costly for both the hospital and the patient. Instead of paying money to suffer for a longer amount of time, a person with a terminal illness can receive active euthanasia and avoid both the physical and financial pain.Rosenkilde 4 The United States was originally a British colony which British citizens fled to for religious freedom. America seemed as a place where everybody could freely practice their religion. Therefore, when the United States liberated themself from Great Britain, the basis of this country was based off of the freedom of religion. The first amendment of the United States Constitution says â€Å"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (www. archieves. ov amendment 1). According toreligions. pewform. org, Judaism, a religion that over 2% of all American adults practice, accepts the idea of suicide in certain circumstances. A story in the Torah tells of a young man who was told by God to commit suicide in order to end his suffering. The story tells of a young man who was being burned alive by the Romans, and god tells him to end his suffering by breathing in large amount of smoke and flames to kill him more quickly. Also, Jewish people do not associate suicide as murder.Although the Torah explains breaking one of the Ten Commandments â€Å"thou shalt not kill† as a sin, suicide does not abide by this commandment, and therefore is not considered a sin. Another main religion in the Unite d States is Hinduism. Practiced mainly by Americans of Indian decent, this religion has ancient suicidal practices. One example of this is called â€Å"suttee†. This is a ritual practice throughout India in which a wife will commit suicide after her husband’s death so that he would have a partner in the afterlife. †¦[suttee] the Indian custom of a widow burning herself, either on the funeral pyre of her dead husband or in some other fashion, soon after his death. † (http://www. britannica. com/EBchecked/topic/575795/suttee). Another example of Hindu suicide is the practice of prayopavesa. Prayopavesa is when a Hindu will fast (not eat food) until their death. This practice is used under certain circumstances only for the religiously advanced. Rosenkilde 5 Prayopavesa is only used when a person has an incurable terminal illness. Not consuming any food or water will eventually kill the person, most likely faster than the illness would have.The Hindu religion b elieves in the concept of karma: good or bad luck generated by your actions. Some Hindus believe that â€Å"†¦a person who helps other end a painful life and thereby reduce suffering is doing a good deed and will gain good karma. † (http://www. religionfacts. com/euthanasia/hinduism. htm). In all, the United States was based off of freedom of religion, and this concept has been encoded in the first amendment of the constitution. Therefore, if a religion accepts and enforces the practice of assisted suicide (active euthanasia), then it should be legalized throughout the United States.Although active euthanasia is a politically and religiously controversial topic, research can conclude that euthanasia should be legalized across the United States. Due to the fact that the United States Constitution accepts the use of euthanasia, it cannot be ruled as illegal. As well, the United States Constitution, and the entire country, was based off of the freedom of religion. Therefore , if certain major religions accept, and encourage the use of active euthanasia, than the medical procedure should be legalized across the nation so that these religious practices may take place in a safe medical environment.As well, active euthanasia should be legalized because it can save a great deal of money across the United States. With over 17% of GDP used on hospitals and the medical world, taking a person out of their misery would be more effective and less costly. The costs for doctor visits, lab tests, room charges, imaging tests, radiation treatments, drugs and other medicines, nurse care, surgery, and homecare accumulate to increasingly high bills for both the patient and the hospital. Finally, and most importantly, the practice of active euthanasia can quickly, easily, and effectively take a patient with a terminal Rosenkilde 6 llness out of their pain and misery with an allotted time to say goodbye to their loved ones. With a patient dying due to a disease anyways, wo uldn’t it make more sense to end their life quickly and easily instead of keeping them alive to endure a life of pain? Active euthanasia should be legalized throughout the United States, and should be made an option for anyone with a miserable, chronic, long-term, terminal illness. Works Cited http://www. lifenews. com/2003/07/20/bio-21/ http://www. wrtl. org/assistedsuicide/assistedsuicide/whereitislegalus. aspx http://www. law. cornell. edu/constitution/amendmentxiv ttp://www. fed-soc. org/publications/detail/whether-there-is-a-constitutional-right-to-die http://www. ushistory. org/declaration/document/ http://euthanasia. procon. org/view. answers. php? questionID=000207 http://www. cancer. org/treatment/findingandpayingfortreatment/managinginsuranceissues/the-cost-of-cancer-treatment http://data. worldbank. org/indicator/SH. XPD. TOTL. ZS http://www. religionfacts. com/euthanasia/hinduism. htm http://www. archives. gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights_transcript. html http ://www. britannica. com/EBchecked/topic/575795/suttee http://religions. pewforum. org/reports