The Death with Dignity Act has been legalized in certain states in America, including Oregon. The Act legalizes physician assisted dying, which is often termed as physician assisted suicide. It allows people that are terminally ill to choose to end their life peacefully and painlessly.
The debate surrounding this topic is heated, and often religiously fueled. People that are against is say that it is God’s decision when a person dies and no one should intervene with that. Others say it is a humane and compassionate thing to allow people who are close to death and in pain decide to do. Learn more and form your own opinion.
The Pros of Death with Dignity Act
Here are few of the advantages to the ethical front of the law:
1. A person will have the freedom to select induced death when are already suffering too much from his incurable illness, where even the finest treatment does not enhance his life’s quality.
2. Legalizing Death with Dignity will help in alleviating the patient’s suffering of terminal ill. It will be unfair and inhuman to allow them stand the intolerable pain.
3. The motive of the Act is to aid in dying painlessly and so must be positively considered by the makers of the law.
4. Death with Dignity Act follows the theory of coping with suffering in such a way that it assists a person from dying peacefully out of potential peril.
5. Death with dignity must be a normal extension of the rights of the patient enabling him to make a decision about the value of death and life. Keeping a life support method against the wish of the patient is recognized to be unethical by medical philosophy and by law.
The Cons of Death with Dignity Act
People against the practice of Death with Dignity most usually resort to morality and ethics in their invective against it. The following are some cons of the Act:
1. Death with Dignity or mercy killing is ethically incorrect and must be prohibited by law. This is considered as homicide and killing or murdering another individual may not be rationalized on any circumstances.
2. The life of every human deserves exceptional protection and security. Innovative medical technology should make it possible to improve quality of life and life span. Rehabilitation and palliative care centers are more favorable alternatives to assist dying patients live a better and pain-free life.
3. Family members may take unjustified disadvantage when mercy killing was legalized through influencing the decision of the patient into it just for their own gains. In addition, there will be no way to guarantee whether the decision of assisted suicide is really voluntary or insisted by others.
4. It is an act of murdering in all religious beliefs.
Legalizing Death with Dignity Act may have advantages, but its disadvantages are also innumerable. In this case, you will be the one to decide on which side you will stand on the topic of mercy killing.
