Bioethics Assignment Paper: Legalized Euthanasia (Research Paper Sample)

Euthanasia
Ruben Garcia
Berkeley College
Abstract
Euthanasia is a controversial topic that is discussed all over the world as to whether it should be legalized or not. Nevertheless, some countries have legalized it such as Colombia. This study sought to establish the similarities and differences that exist between the countries that have legalized euthanasia and those that have not and a case of United States and Colombia was taken. It was established that Colombia differs from U.S in the sense that the national constitution of Colombia contains euthanasia laws contrary to Federal laws of U. S which do not have euthanasia laws. Also, in both countries controversy surrounds practice of euthanasia as it is opposed by different groups of people especially Catholics in both countries.
Introduction
Euthanasia is a deliberate act of ending one's life with the aim of relieving pain in cases where the chances of life are too low, yet the person is undergoing acute pain (Muckart, 2014). Euthanasia can occur in different ways. Another person may deliberately decide to end another person's life by injecting sedatives. Also, euthanasia may occur where a person withholds medication for a patient who cannot survive without the drugs. Similarly, euthanasia can occur where a patient consciously decides to die and asks a medical practitioner to help in executing euthanasia. Euthanasia could also occur when the person is unconscious or under the state of coma, and the doctor decides to terminate their life without their consent (Mysticetes, 2016). Euthanasia should be distinguished from physician aid in dying (PAD). While euthanasia a third party or the physician is involved in causing the death of the patient, PAD involves the patient self-administering the lethal dose at a time he or she decides. Euthanasia has been a highly debated topic in the last few years with the case of 14-year Chilean girl who was suffering from cystic fibrosis touching the hearts of many when she posted a video on YouTube requesting the president to grant her permission for euthanasia (YouTube, n.d). Many cultures disagree with the practice of euthanasia which has seen this practice only legalized in very few countries such as Holland, Colombia, Luxembourg, and Belgium. Under different circumstances in different countries, euthanasia may be considered manslaughter punishable by law. This paper is going to compare and contrast perceptions of two countries on euthanasia; United States of America and Colombia with the aim of establishing how countries differ on this issue. Since euthanasia is all illegal in U.S, assisted suicide shall be discussed in this paper as well as euthanasia. Assisted suicide is closely related to euthanasia and sometimes confused and therefore this paper will shade more light by looking at the way in which both are perceived in U.S and Colombia.
In the United States of America, euthanasia is illegal and whoever practices is considered to have breached the legal justice. However, assisted suicide is allowed in five states; California, Montana, Washington, Vermont and Oregon. In spite of euthanasia being illegal, there have been numerous cases of patients suffering from terminal illnesses calling for the legalization of assisted suicide and most of them have had to travel to any of the five states to have their lives terminated (Steck et al. 2013). An example of such a case involved Brittany Maynard, a 29-year-old diagnosed in 2014 with a terminal brain tumor that would kill her in less than six months according to the doctor. Brittany would not withstand the pain and seek assisted suicide in her nearby state (Cohen-Kurzrock, 2016). On the contrary, euthanasia is legal in Colombia. Many cases of the terminally ill patient have been reported to have applied for euthanasia and their will granted. An example is the 79-year old man who was suffering from throat cancer and opted for euthanasia on July 2015 (Sanz-Rubiales, 2016). Also, U.S differs with Colombia since assisted suicide is illegal in Colombia while is legal in some states of U.S.
Some states in U.S allow assisted suicide but not euthanasia because of certain motives. In this states, for example Oregon, it is indicated in the laws that people who have chances of living in less than six months can be legible to chose to end their life. It also states that the patient should consciously apply for the assisted suicide and that he or she takes the drugs to end the life but should not be administered by a physician. Oregon argues that assisted suicide is preferred because the patient has applied with consent and ends the life individually without involving the physician physically unlike euthanasia which the physician is physically involved in administering the drug. In Colombia, assisted suicide is not allowed because it is believed that a patient may apply to end life because of being desperate or when the quality of care is too low yet could not have applied for assisted suicide if he or she had received better care. Euthanasia is legal and preferred because it involves the conscious evaluation of the physician before prescribing for the patient and therefore it will only be granted when the chances of survival are too low.
In the U.S both the Federal government and the fifty states plus the District of Columbia prohibit euthanasia as stipulated in the homicide laws. The Federal government completely lacks the assisted suicide laws which are present in the five state laws that allow assisted suicide. Assisted suicide laws guide the physicians on how assisted suicide should be administered to avoid euthanasia which can lead to legal justice (Steck et al. 2013). On the contrary, Colombia has the euthanasia laws outlined in the national government's constitution. The laws on euthanasia were passed in 1997 but had not been practiced until May 2015 when a woman suffering from cancer submitted a request in the Court of law that analyzed the request and made euthanasia mandatory by all physicians in Health Ministry (Sanz-Rubiales, 2016).
In both U.S and Colombia, euthanasia faces huge controversy. Despite the fact that euthanasia is illegal in the U.S, a study shows that in every ten people, seven of them support euthanasia. This can be reflected in the number of patients running from their states into other states seeking assisted suicide. According to statistics gathered from Oregon State, it is noted that cases of assisted suicide have been rising steadily at a rate of 0.2% annually since the Death with Dignity Act was passed in 1994 (Emanuel, 2016). Much of the controversy in euthanasia in U.S is caused by religion and culture. Most religions in U.S such Catholics and Islam fiercely disagree with euthanasia or assisted suicide terming it unethical as far as the sanctity of life is concerned. Catholics are on the front line in opposing any form of euthanasia citing Biblical verses that show how euthanasia could be disobedience to God's commands. In the case of Brittany mentioned earlier, the catholic leaders came out to strongly oppose her move terming it absurd and too hasty.
Similarly, in Colombia euthanasia, though legal, still faces controversy from different groups of people. When the euthanasia laws were passed in 1997, so many people came out to discriminate the laws including religious groups as well as the medical practitioners who feared to implement such laws. Despite passing it into law, it was not implemented until 2015 when the Constitutional Court ordered the Health Ministry to implement the laws following a request by a woman suffering from cancer. This was when the controversy re-emerged with the doctors criticizing the command. Doctors feared euthanasia as they view as if they will have been involved in causing death which is against their wish. Religious groups such as the Catholics came out boldly to oppose the move threatening to shut down their hospitals if the practice was to be conducted (Nicol, 2015).
In both U.S and Colombia, those who argue for euthanasia base their arguments on the principle of autonomy which indicates that people act intentionally based on their understanding and should not be controlled. In medicine, patients should be allowed to make independent decisions and the physician should create conditions that enable autonomous decisions by the patient. People argue that with respect to euthanasia, the physician is allowed to help the patient in creating conditions for decision making which involves advising on the doses for ending life during terminal illness and suffering. They also believe that denying the patient right to end life is controlling or interfering with self determination which is against the principle of autonomy.