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Euthanasia

 

In 1994, for instance, the Dutch television station IKON's filming of the death of a man with Lou Gehrig's disease in a documentary, "Death on Request," brought a denunciation from the Vatican (Branegan, 30). .
             Equally important to those supporting the anti-euthanasia cause is the thought of any physician, family member or patient who would abuse this right if given the chance. Naturally, much trust is bestowed in these key players of our lives if anything were to happen to us. The question in this sense is how do we know that they will make decisions in the best interest of the patient if they are unable to speak for themselves? Would the financial and emotional burden on the family of a terminally ill patient cause them to make an irrational decision to directly affect the life of the patient? If the emotional stress doesn't get to some people, the financial burden may definitely hit some families hard these days with the high costs of modern medical treatment. And who couldn't use thousands of dollars in life insurance? The temptation is definitely there. A harsh example of this can be seen in the experience of a fifty-year-old woman with cancer of the bones, liver, lungs, and breast. Her doctor was a Polish-born oncologist, Dr. Ben Zylicz. Dr. Zylicz explained to the woman that he could lessen her pain with drugs, and offered her a hospital room. Aware of Holland's policy allowing doctors to end the lives of the terminally ill by such means, the woman stated, "I am Catholic. My religious beliefs would never allow me to accept euthanasia." Zylicz assured the woman that he would take care of her, and she agreed to take the room. After twenty-four hours of morphine treatment she was able to see her family (Eads, 93). Later, a nurse called Zylicz at home with some distressing news. After Zylicz had left the hospital, another doctor entered the patient's hospital room and asked her husband and sister to leave.


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