Legalization of Euthanasia in the United States: A Debate

This report discusses the ongoing debate on the legalization of euthanasia in the United States. It explores the arguments for and against it, and the potential benefits and risks. The report also provides a factual overview of euthanasia and its implementation in the US, as well as opposing views and arguments. The conclusion suggests that euthanasia should never be legalized without strict conditions to prevent misuse.

1LIU
ZHIYUAN (Austin) LIU
Professor Mr. Tom Beall-Schwab
English 105
16th November 2018
ZHIYUAN (Austin) LIU
Professor Mr. Tom Beall-Schwab
English 105
16th November 2018
Introduction
Euthanasia is the practice of providing east death to patients with chronic diseases with
no hopes of recovery. It is done only with the consent of the patient or the close family members
however, is a largely illegal medical practice in most parts of the world. The topic of the report is
“legalization of euthanasia in the United States”, where like many other countries, euthanasia is
illegal in most states. In some of the states of the US assisted suicide is legal only in certain
exceptional cases. In certain cases terminally ill patients who would have to suffer long before
their inevitable death due to their conditions do deserve lesser painful deaths. However, there are
many ethical questions that exist in the society and particularly among medical practitioners in
regards to euthanasia.
Legalization of euthanasia is very important to consider as some patients lose hope for
survival and live the rest of their lives in great pain and anguish. Hence, despite the opposing
humanitarian ground it sometimes becomes a humanitarian act to relieve someone from their
irrecoverable situations. The humanitarian ground that aims at opposing the conditions of
euthanasia states that the people who have been requesting for euthanasia might be subjected to
several other ways of treatment like the hospices and other palliative cares. The other reasons

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Professor Mr. Tom Beall-Schwab
English 105
16th November 2018
that are cited in against the implementation of euthanasia might lead to the conditions wherein
right of life of the patient will have a higher chance of being controlled by the doctors and this is
leading to the unrestricted and uncontrolled nature of the euthanasia treatment. The
implementation of the euthanasia plans might further lead to the issues wherein it would become
a duty on the part of the doctors to perform the murder of the patient due to the implementation
of the right to die on the part of the patient.
Factual overview
As per Hudson (pp. 1401), there are certain medical conditions leave patients terminally
ill. However, at the same time it takes much longer for their actual death to take place. In this
way, the patients have to suffer from conditions that are worse than death in the process. On the
one hand there remains no hope for their recovery and on the other hand they have to suffer from
great pain because of the medical conditions that would ultimately cause their deaths. In such
cases euthanasia becomes a bigger debate.
However, there are several scholars who claim that all these depends on the situation of
the patient. Euthanasia or mercy killing should be legalised only with certain conditions. The
patients who are ongoing terribly painful diseases and if there is absolutely no scope of their
well-being and if they are to just die, then Euthanasia would be appropriate. This is because in
this case, it is not killing the patient, but is helping him. However, if the patient is suffering from
a disease that is incurable but still, he wants to live his life, then in that case, euthanasia should
never be performed.

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ZHIYUAN (Austin) LIU
Professor Mr. Tom Beall-Schwab
English 105
16th November 2018
Some medical practitioners argue that at times the right to choose one’s own death is in
line with the concepts of human rights. According to Chaloner and Karen (pp. 45) laws need to
be changed in relation to euthanasia considering some of the health conditions that have been
witnessed over the years. They further opine that the perspective of the people in regards to
euthanasia is controlled more by emotional values than factual evidence gathered from cases.
Some articles have opined that a person has a right to death that is as much important as the right
to life. In many countries terminally ill patients are left at home where they suffer greatly till they
eventually die a slow death (Sydney Morning Herald).
In the United States cases such as Karen Ann Quinlan of 1976 have aggravated the
debate regarding euthanasia. Quinlan was declared to be in a vegetative state after she drank
alcohol with tranquilizers. Her parents fought a long and hard case in the court of New Jersey to
remove her from ventilation. The parents won the case and ventilation was removed. However,
she continued to live till 1985 staying brain dead till she died. Another such case of euthanasia is
of Brittany Maynard, 29-year old lady. The lady and her husband had made it to the headlines
with their confession that they would like to take advantage of the legal conditions that are
maintained by the governmental body of the state of Oregon (Eleftheriou-Smith). In this case, the
lady was diagnosed with the terminal disease of brain cancer, medically known as glioblastoma.
The lady was diagnosed when the disease was at its fourth stage and there was no chance of the
person surviving the disease. The couple had announced their decision to take advantage of the
legal structure of the state of Oregon (Bever). In this state the terminally ill patients are legally
allowed to attempt suicide with the help of the medical drugs that are prescribed by the doctors.
The law is majorly known as the “Death With Dignity Law” (Maynard). This law was put to

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Professor Mr. Tom Beall-Schwab
English 105
16th November 2018
action in the year 1994 and was the sole reason behind the relocation of Brittany Maynard and
her husband from the Californian territories. The patient in this case, Brittany Maynard had
undertaken a diagnosis in the year 2014 and had been declared to be terminally ill with a lifetime
of 6 months left (Fox-Leonard). The lady died later in the same year surrounded by her loved
ones in her own comfort zone. She had taken lethal drugs that were prescribed to her by a doctor,
a legalised activity in the state of Oregon. The death of Maynard has further sparked the debate
for the legalisation of euthanasia.
Opposing view explanation
According to Hyde (pp. 55) euthanasia from an ideological or philosophical perspective
is unacceptable. He have claimed that medical euthanasia could become an excuse for medical
institutions to unethically deal with terminally ill patients. He opines it is a form of murder
hidden behind the medical factors. Various religious leaders have also opposed euthanasia
claiming that it is a sin and a crime to end one’s life before the natural death. There are also
ongoing debates in relation to how far ethical standards can be maintained if euthanasia is
legalized. Hence, a persistent social debate remains in relation to the legalization of Euthanasia
in the World and United States is also affected greatly by this debate (Hudson).
Popular opinions among the public varies greatly in relation to the acceptability of
euthanasia as a valid and legal medical purpose. It has been seen that communities that have
lower trust on medical institutions have not favoured the legalization of euthanasia in the US
(Emanuel). These communities include the various non-governmental organisations that have
been active within the political territories of the country. There are certain states within the

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Professor Mr. Tom Beall-Schwab
English 105
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territorial boundaries of the United States that disapprove of the steps to legalize the activity of
euthanasia. These include the states like Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana,
Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts and other such states. Church authorities have strongly
condemned euthanasia. Moreover, in a survey held across the United States in regards to the
legalization of euthanasia it was found that white Americans voted more in favour of euthanasia
whereas African Americans were more sceptical about the same. The strongest argument against
euthanasia in the US are concerning how if legalized it can be used unfairly to target the poor.
Moreover, insurance company can save money due to the death through euthanasia of insured
individuals. Some have opine it can create an opportunity for crimes such as murder (Brennan).
Argument
The most important arguments that are against the favour of euthanasia are in relation to
the potentially dangerous legal issues that can arise if euthanasia is legalized. This argument can
be said to be a genuine concern. However, euthanasia cannot be legalized directly without a
strong law backing the regulations behind its implementation. According to Dinchi (pp. 67), the
main idea behind euthanasia is that the doctor is helping the patients avoid great pain and slow
death by giving them an easier relief. The major reason behind the legalisation of euthanasia is
the fact that the patients will eventually die a painful death due to the chronic, incurable and fatal
diseases they are suffering from. Hence, the argument is not in favour of euthanasia being used
freely across medical institution upon being legalized. However, it is in favour of providing a
handful of very unfortunate people, the right to death with dignity (Luzon). Most people that are
in favour of euthanasia want it to be implemented only in the rarest of rare cases. Only under
circumstances where the context will be absolutely clear and as far as possible the consent of the

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Professor Mr. Tom Beall-Schwab
English 105
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patient will be available without any form of emotional or psychological force being applied.
The only aim is thus to reduce the pain of fatally suffering people and relieve them in a better
way, as death in certain cases becomes inevitable for patients.
The activity of legalising the self-implemented techniques to fasten death in case of the
terminally ill patients is known to have an array of benefits for the concerned patient. The
primary reason stated by the concerned advocates of the activity discusses the fact that the given
patient should be allowed the freedom to choose to live or to end his own life on the basis of the
medical condition that he might be facing (Coleman). The advocates of euthanasia further state
that the people who have been suffering from the various terminal diseases should not be forced
to continue with their lives despite having no choice but to endure the distress that they have
been facing. Barry et al. state that the euthanasic treatment might be implemented in the cases
keeping in mind the best interests of the people who have been involved within the entire
processes. The implementation of euthanasia in case of the terminally ill patients is known to be
a boon in some cases as well (Raus). However, it should be taken into consideration that the
implementation of euthanasia should be in favour of the best interests of all the parties who are
involved in the process. The implementation of euthanasia might also help to provide the
concerned patients with an effective way of dealing with their deaths. Bergum opines that the
process of euthanasia also helps in providing the concerned patients with curable diseases with
the scope of accessing and availing the resources that are being utilized for the treatment of the
terminally ill patients.

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ZHIYUAN (Austin) LIU
Professor Mr. Tom Beall-Schwab
English 105
16th November 2018
Conclusion
In conclusion it can be said that the debate in regards to the legalization of euthanasia in
the US can guide the debate in regards to the same across the world. Hence, it becomes much
important that a consensus is reached among policymakers, medical authorities and other
important personnel in regards to the legalization process of euthanasia. The debate has been
ongoing for a long time and it is necessary that effective steps are taken towards creating positive
regulations in favour of right to death. The treatment of euthanasia might be implemented in the
cases keeping in mind the best interests of the people who have been involved within the entire
processes. The implementation of euthanasia in case of the terminally ill patients is known to be
a boon in some cases as well. The strongest argument against euthanasia in the US are
concerning how if legalized it can be used unfairly to target the poor. Hence, he have concluded
that Euthanasia should never be legalised with strict conditions in order to stop people using the
chance of misusing the right.

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ZHIYUAN (Austin) LIU
Professor Mr. Tom Beall-Schwab
English 105
16th November 2018
Works Cited
"A right to death, surely, as much as a right to life." Sydney Morning Herald [Sydney, Australia]
22 Oct. 2012: 10. Academic OneFile. Web. 29 Oct. 2012.
Barry, Luke, et al. "Euthanasia, religiosity and the valuation of health states: results from an Irish
EQ5D5L valuation study and their implications for anchor values." Health and quality of
life outcomes 16.1 (2018): 152.
Bergum, Vangie. "Discourse-Ethical Challenges of the 21st Century: Attending to
Relations." Canadian Journal of Nursing Research Archive 34.2 (2016).
Bever, Lindsey. "Brittany Maynard, As Promised, Ends Her Life At 29." The Washington Post.
N.p., 2018. Web. 18 Nov. 2018.
Brennan, Frank. "Oregon on the euthanasia slippery slope." Eureka Street 21.12 (2011): 18.
Chaloner, Chris, and Karen Sanders. "Euthanasia: the legal issues." Nursing standard 21.36
(2007).

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ZHIYUAN (Austin) LIU
Professor Mr. Tom Beall-Schwab
English 105
16th November 2018
Coleman, Lauren. "Thou Shalt Not Kill; But Needst Not Strive Officiously to Keep Alive: A
Study into the Debate Surrounding Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide." NEL Rev. 3 (2015):
113.
Dinchi, J. (2010, June 7). Death with dignity
Eleftheriou-Smith, Loulla-Mae. "'Goodbye World' Writes Terminally Ill Brittany Maynard As
She Chooses To End Her Life." The Independent. N.p., 2018. Web. 18 Nov. 2018.
Emanuel, Ezekiel J., et al. "Attitudes and practices of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide
in the United States, Canada, and Europe." Jama 316.1 (2016): 79-90.
Fox-Leonard, Boudicca. "My Daughter Brittany Maynard Fought For The Right To Die - But
Her Spirit Lives On." The Telegraph. N.p., 2018. Web. 18 Nov. 2018.
Hudson, Peter, et al. "Legalizing physician-assisted suicide and/or euthanasia: Pragmatic
implications." Palliative & supportive care 13.5 (2015): 1399-1409.
Hyde, Michael J. The call of conscience: Heidegger and Levinas, rhetoric and the euthanasia
debate. Univ of South Carolina Press, 2001.
Luzon, Golan. "The Practice of Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide Meets the Concept of
Legalization." Criminal Law and Philosophy (2015): 1-17.
Maynard, Brittany. "My Right To Death With Dignity At 29." CNN. N.p., 2018. Web. 18 Nov.
2018.

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ZHIYUAN (Austin) LIU
Professor Mr. Tom Beall-Schwab
English 105
16th November 2018
Raus, Kasper. "The extension of Belgium’s euthanasia law to include competent
minors." Journal of bioethical inquiry 13.2 (2016): 305-315.