Euthanasia Debate: Rebuttal on Patient Autonomy & Ethical Differences

This discussion board post presents a student's rebuttal in a debate about euthanasia, arguing against the notion that a patient's autonomy should be the sole deciding factor in end-of-life decisions. It emphasizes the ethical responsibilities of healthcare professionals to preserve life, respect human dignity, and consider religious perspectives. The rebuttal distinguishes between euthanasia, defined as administering a lethal dose of medication, and the withdrawal of medical treatment, arguing that both ultimately lead to the same outcome. The post also touches on the legal status of euthanasia in various countries, including Australia, and concludes that the ethical principles underlying both euthanasia and the withdrawal of treatment are essentially the same, suggesting that legalizing one would effectively legalize the other. The student uses NHS and Guardian references to support their arguments.

Running head: EUTHANASIA
Debate
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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Rebuttal to the second speaker
Autonomy of a patient who is experiencing a terminal condition cannot be considered.
The Health professionals have the solemn duty of saving lives and not the opposite. When a
health worker comes across a patient, then such patient can be enthused and motivated to fight
against all the odds. The patient can be assured that the doctors are with him and all this family
member will fight alongside him for his recovery. Respecting human dignity is at the same time
a violation of being righteousness and the aspects of religion also comes into consideration. It is
also important to mention that euthanasia is the deliberate act of ending a person's life in order to
relieve the pain and suffering. For example- if a doctor administers an overdose of a drug to a
patient suffering from a terminal illness and the overdose of a drug serve as a muscle relaxant
that will end the life of the patient (NHS.uk., 2018). Euthanasia is not legal in Australia;
however, Victoria became the first state in Australia that has legalised Euthanasia (the Guardian,
2018). The main question here is why the autonomy of a person will be considered who is in a
terminal condition?
Ethical differences between euthanasia and withdrawal of medical treatment
Euthanasia is actually administering an overdose of the drug to a patient who is suffering
from a terminal illness and the drug acts as a muscle relaxant. The withdrawal of the medical
treatment is same for the patient for a patient that has either experienced a shock from an
accident or is suffering from a terminal illness (Sanchini, Nardini & Boniolo, 2014). The
outcome of both the step leads to the death of the patient and thus both can be considered as a
potential way of ending a patient’s life. Thus, legalising the euthanasia and the various associated
steps involved with the euthanasia, it is also important to note that the withdrawal of euthanasia
is a potential form of euthanasia that does not involve the administration of an overdose of a

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drug, but however it leads to the death of the patient (Reichlin, 2014). For example, a terminal ill
patient that has already expressed his desire that if he will ever encounter a situation, where there
is no chance to return back to normal life. Then life support services must be withdrawn from
him. This is similar to the administering euthanasia to the terminally ill patient. The final
outcome is actually the death of the patient and thus withdrawal of life-supporting services and
administering euthanasia is all the same. From the global perspective, it can be derived that
euthanasia is legalized in the several countries like Japan, South Korea, Germany, Switzerland,
Belgium and the in certain US states like California, Washington, Montana, Vermont, Hawaii,
Colorado, Oregon and Washington. In Australia it is not legalized as a whole, however, the state
of Victoria has legalized euthanasia. Thus it can be said that not every nation is for legalizing the
euthanasia (the Guardian 2018).
Conclusion
Thus, from the above debate, it can be concluded that the ethical principles that lie
underneath the withdrawal of the medical treatment and the active euthanasia are altogether the
same. Legalizing euthanasia will also involve the legalizing the withdrawal at the same time.

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Reference
NHS.uk. (2018). Euthanasia and assisted suicide. nhs.uk. Retrieved 16 April 2018, from
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/euthanasia-and-assisted-suicide/
Reichlin, M. (2014). On the ethics of withholding and withdrawing medical treatment.
Multidisciplinary respiratory medicine, 9(1), 39.
Sanchini, V., Nardini, C., & Boniolo, G. (2014). The withholding/withdrawing distinction in the
end-of-life debate. Multidisciplinary respiratory medicine, 9(1), 13.
the Guardian. (2018). Euthanasia and assisted suicide laws around the world. the Guardian.
Retrieved 16 April 2018, from
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jul/17/euthanasia-assisted-suicide-laws-world