Mercy Killing or Murder?

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the controversial issue of euthanasia while focusing on the murder trial of Robert Latimer. Latimer was charged with second degree murder when he ended the pain-filled life of his 12-year-old daughter, Tracy, who suffered from cerebral palsy and was a wheelchair-bound quadriplegic. The writer explores the questions of morality, equality and justice that this particular case has raised. The courts have been forced to look at issues such as the worth of a disabled person's life in comparison to that of a healthy person's and to decide if sending the defendant to prison for life would constitute cruel and unusual punishment. This paper details the legal and moral aspects of this particular case which has forced the courts and the legislature to look at the issue of euthanasia in a different light.

From the Paper:

"The Latimer Case spans over several years and still has yet to reach a conclusion. It began on Sunday, October 24, 1993 in Battleford Saskatchewan. Robert Latimer had made the decision to end the life of his disabled daughter, Tracy. Tracy, who was twelve at the time, had Cerebral Palsy and was a quadriplegic. She was scheduled to have a hip operation early the next month to help alleviate some of the pain she was in as a result of her condition. That morning at 11:00am Robert Latimer took Tracy from her bed and put her inside his pickup truck. Using pipes he pumped the trucks exhaust fumes inside the truck where he had Tracy wrapped in a sleeping bag. He left her in the truck for approximately one hour. Tracy died of carbon monoxide poisoning."

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• Argumentative Essay # 3705 : "Arguments in Favor of The Right to Die"

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