Реферат: Euthanasia Essay Research Paper Euthanasiasubmitted by

own life (Worsnop 148). Euthanasia should be an acceptable practice when someone has

been diagnosed with a terminal illness and there is no chance for a decent quality of life.

By 1990, forty states had passed laws that made “living wills” legal. These wills make it

legal for a competent individual to decide in advance that they wish to withhold life-

support systems and medicines that would sustain their lives (Encarta). If an individual is

declared “brain dead” by a licensed doctor, it is at the discretion of the family members to

terminate the life-support system. Beside the medical ethics issue, there is also the cost of

keeping individuals on life-support systems when there is no quality of life. Many times,

the individuals are in a coma and can live a long time, being totally unaware of their

surroundings. Sometimes a family spends their entire life savings keeping someone alive.

This takes a mental toll also, having to decide when to visit and the feelings of guilt that

more cannot be done. The Hemlock Society is an organization that was established in

1980 by Derek Humphry. They support “voluntary euthanasia for the terminally ill

through assisted suicide” (Worsnop 153). It has 47,000 members, which include several

hundred doctors. Because of Humphry’s book, Final Exit, which became a #1 best-seller

on The New York Times list, the society has grown by approximately twenty percent. The

book gives suggestions on how to end one’s life. This shows that many people are taking

this issue seriously enough to join an organization and to research information that they

may use in the future.

The right to die with dignity is a personal choice that needs to be not taken lightly.

Many considerations need to be well-thought out. Euthanasia affects not only the person

who dies, but other family, friends and those doctors or individuals who help make that

decision. This decision is not for everyone. However, those who are facing an uncertain

shortened future should be allowed to make this decision for themselves. Many

safeguards need to be in place and legislation needs to be introduced to address this issue.

It is a decision that no one ever hopes to have to make, but by ignoring it, it will not go

away.