Euthanasia

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, in the case of Woodrow, his action of shooting his brother out of compassion for his condition qualifies as active euthanasia, the action of conscious and determined taking of specific steps to cause a patient's death. The author points out that there are three types of euthanasia: voluntary euthanasia, the explicit and voluntary consent of the patient in either verbal form or written consent such as in a living will; non-voluntary euthanasia, the killing of a patient who is unable to make his or her intentions known because of their unconscious, comatose, or other disabled state; and involuntary euthanasia, the killing of an individual whose consent is either explicitly or not explicitly given because they do not wish to die. The third type is obviously morally wrong and will not be discussed in this paper. The paper relates that, if by allowing doctors to eliminate the unnecessary suffering of patients based on either the vocal expression of permission or based on the obvious facts in the case, then situations such as Woodrow's would not occur.

From the Paper:

"The case of Woodrow Collums is an example of euthanasia. Woodrow Collums went to the Oak Hills Care Home in Poteet, Texas on November 16, 1981, and saw his brother J.K. Collums. J.K. was a victim of severe Alzheimer's disease, and was unable to care for his bodily needs, could not speak, and could not respond to others. He was fed through a tube. Woodrow made the conscious decision, on that day, to shoot and kill J.K. His defense for his actions was that is brother was suffering greatly, and he could not, in good conscience, allow that suffering to continue. This is euthanasia: the decision to take a life out of compassion."

More papers on Euthanasia:

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• Persuasive Essay # 37089 : "Euthanasia in America"
• Argumentative Essay # 3150 : "Justifying Euthanasia"

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