Is Euthanasia a Form of Mercy Killing or a Crime? (Essay Sample)

Is Euthanasia a Form of Mercy Killing or a Crime? Student’s Name Department & University Course Code & Name Professor’s Name Date Is Euthanasia a Form of Mercy Killing or a Crime? Euthanasia, also known as assisted suicide, continues to elicit a frenzied debate on the admissibility of the practice within the current legal frameworks. Proponents may argue that euthanasia is acceptable because it relieves the patient from excruciating chronic pain. Conversely, critics oppose the practice by arguing that it robs patients of their right to life. Either way, the admissibility of euthanasia is based on the role and involvement of the patient in the final decision. To this end, euthanasia is a mercy killing therapy, rather than a crime, because it is conducted only when a terminally ill patient consents physicians to end his or her life. Euthanasia is a form of compassionate killing because it alleviates the patient’s agonizing pain. According to Fontalis, Prousali, and Kulkarni (2018), this therapeutic option is only appropriate when a patient under palliative care permits physicians to end his or her life for the sake of terminating chronic suffering. Simmons (2018) perceives euthanasia as a non-criminal act because the choice is made based on the uncoerced interests of the victim and/or close relatives. For example, Brittany Maynard chose assisted death on October 8, 2014, after suffering from terminal brain cancer, but the physicians were not convicted because the patient consented to the application of euthanasia (Dugdale, Lerner, & Callahan, 2019). This evidence shows that euthanasia is a sympathetic killing because it relies on the interests of the patient to terminate unbearable suffering. In summary, this discussion has examined whether euthanasia is a form of mercy killing or a crime and has argued that the practice is an empathetic way of ending life, rather than a criminal act. Euthanasia is legally admissible since it is performed only when the patient decides to end his or her life after battling unbearable pain and suffering. Although...