If you were terminally ill and suffering from excruciating pain, would you even consider euthanasia to be an option? Euthanasia has been such a controversial issue that the government does not allow terminally ill patients to perform euthanasia on themselves and it is frowned upon by healthcare professionals because of work ethics. ... To me, forcing a terminally ill patient to continue living is inhumane. ... " He helped 130 patients commit assisted suicide until in 1999 he was accused of murder, after showing a tape of the assisted suicide of a subject who was in the terminal phase. ......

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However, for some terminally ill patients the pain is unbearable often-lasting weeks even months. ... In the Netherlands euthanasia is an option for the terminally ill, in severe and uncontrollable pain, and for family members. ... To prevent Oregon from being transformed into a Mecca for the terminally ill, the patient must be a resident of Oregon for the Death with Dignity Act to apply. ... This brings the total number of terminally ill Oregonians who chose to take advantage of Oregon's Death with Dignity Act to 91, as of December 31st 2001 (http://www.deathwithdignity.org/resources/or...

• Word Count: 2439
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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

When the person was ill with any type of disease that could not be treated, or what is called a terminal illness, a poison was put in the cup of the victim. ... When a person is terminally ill, his family might suggest the possibility of euthanasia, when in fact, the person that is ill can only request it. ... The family may offer spiritual input, but is not involved in the final decision, nor can a family member request euthanasia for an ill family member. ... Some doctors are helping terminally ill patients commit suicide-a so-called physician-assisted suicide-without being punished. ......

• Word Count: 1398
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

According to their law, a patient must be seriously ill, if not terminal, to ask for help with death. ... Also, the law applies to terminally ill children. ... It is widely believed that there are only two options facing the terminally ill; they either die slowly and painfully or they receive euthanasia. ... This is mainly because seriously ill patients are vulnerable. ... Kevorkian has treated and assisted in their death, for the most part, were not terminally ill. ...

• Word Count: 1976
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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Terminal, with a few months left. ... These are just a few of several terminally ill diseases where someone who has been diagnosed might seek out "Physician Assisted Suicide". ... The law, approved by voters in 1994 and 1997, allows the terminally ill to request a lethal dose of drugs if two doctors confirm they have less than six months to live, and the patients are mentally competent to make the request. ... In the first year under the nation's only assisted-suicide law, 15 terminally ill people in Oregon used it to end their lives, and there was no evidence they suffered painful, lin...

• Word Count: 1471
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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Today's Euthanasia generally refers to mercy killing, the voluntary ending of the life of someone who is terminally or hopelessly ill. ... Patients that are terminally and hopelessly ill are not the only ones suffering. ... Family members "may be sensitive to the costs accumulating during terminal care- (Hagen 91) The final element worthy of discussion in legalizing Euthanasia is an individual's frustration in living, in his opinion, a valueless life after becoming critically ill. Terminally ill patients that suffer from illnesses that make them unable to communicate do not want ...

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Many believe that the first and foremost question is the age of the terminally ill, a minor is not mature enough to make a decision as significant as this one. ... Another ethical parameter for euthanasia is that it is not carried out after the first knowledge of a terminal illness. ... Sometimes it doesn't matter how the patient died if the doctor knew that he or she had a terminal illness he is not going to be concerned with the precise cause of death. ... The United Church of Christ (Congregational), the Unitarian Church, and the Methodist Church on the West Coast of America...

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• Grade Level: High School

The doctor prescribed a lethal amount of barbiturates to longtime patient at the patient's request. ... Polls taken between the years of 1989-1990 found that 5-7 Americans of every 10 believe that the terminally ill should be able to die with the doctor's assistance legally. ... Euthanasia is humane because, as stats indicate, it would end suffering of terminally ill, not bring flow of meaningless deaths by abusive doctors. When a patient suffers from a disease, the patient may become to ill to rationalize. ... If legalization of euthanasia is accepted the terminally ill will die...

• Word Count: 1890
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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

It is a movement in support of the free choice for terminally ill persons to determine the circumstances in which they want to end their suffering. ... Kevorkian, as he illegally assisted roughly 130 ill patients in committing suicide, through the use of his suicide machine, which delivered successive doses of lethal fluids. ... One example of medical professionals feeling deprived, is when patients are terminally ill and ask the doctor to help them end their suffering, and the doctor has no way of helping them. Because assisted suicide is now punishable with up to 14 years in prison, doctors ...

• Word Count: 2358
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Death, Kevorkian earned his name for his advocacy of physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill patients. ... The Times also reported that he had become "increasingly dominated by the issue of suicide for the terminally ill" (McLellan). ... On June 4, 1990, Janet Adkins became the first patient to test Kevorkian's mercitron. ... Furthermore, the investigation showed that "at least 60% of Kevorkian's suicide patients were not terminal. ... In one court appearance, Kevorkian arrived wearing U.S. colonial-era attire including a white wig, breeches, gold brocade coat, and tricor...

• Word Count: 2102
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

To complicate things further, there is also voluntary euthanasia, "Cases in which patient requests to be killed, and dies as a result of action taken by another person,"" involuntary euthanasia; "cases in which no action is requested because the patient is unconscious, senile, or otherwise incapable of making a request, but the person is allowed to die or is killed,"" and nonvoluntary euthanasia; "cases in which a conscious, terminally ill patient states that they do not want to die, but is allowed to die or is killed anyway- (http://valdosta.peachnet.edu). ... Ronald Cranford, one of the auth...

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Active euthanasia is taking the specific steps necessary to cause the patient's death, and is performed by request of the patient. ... It should be the patient's final decision to have the choice to die with dignity. ... On the other hand, a terminally-ill patient has no other choice than to undergo euthanasia. ... The cost to keep the patient alive is not worth spending, considering the fact that the family is prolonging the patient's suffering. ... It is necessary to weigh the pros and cons of this social issue in order to see how euthanasia can either benefit or ha...

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A patient with a stroke may be conscious but helpless. ... If a patient is in deep agony, the doctor must allow the patient to die in a peaceful way. ... The patient known better whether his or her life is tolerable or now. ... "Health Mood swings 'create euthanasia danger'" " Research showing that terminally-ill cancer patients can long for death one day, but cling to life the next has illustrated the potential risks of legalizing euthanasia, say the authors. ... The study, published in The Lancet, looked at 168 cancer patients who were receiving palliative care following a te...

• Word Count: 2345
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School