Euthanasia Essay Example for Free

Euthanasia Essay Euthanasia is challenging moral, ethic, and religious values. There are some groups of people who favor the right to die; even the state of Oregon has statutes such as the right-to-die or death-with-dignity. The purpose of these groups is to achieve nationwide recognition of the right to die with dignity. Other groups, such as the Hemlock Society, believe that in justified cases (terminally ill) there is an obligation to help, if asked, a dying person to end his of her life. At the present this is against the law nd the Hemlock Society wants to see this rule modified so that a doctor may help without fear of prosecution (Berger and Berger 162). On the other hand, religious groups are horrified by this idea. For example, the Catholic tradition sees death as a negativity and not as something one has a right to. In this tradition, spiritual death in which human being rejects the offer of Gods self-disclosure and cuts himself or herself off from the source of supernatural life, is worse than physical death. Thus, to directly take the life of a person is not only wrong because of the harm done to the other party, but, for Catholics, it is also rong because it is an act of appropriating to oneself an activity reserved to God alone (Berger and Berger 14). There is no need for euthanasia. God gave life and only God should resolve when life ends. In the article Active and Passive Euthanasia, Rachels describes the situation of a patient who is dying of incurable cancer of the throat. He was certain to die within a few days, but he did not wanted to go on living for those days, since the pain was unbearable. So, he asked the doctor to put an end to it (Rachels 485). Life is sacred, and this illustration provides a clear denial for the physical pain and not for the ife itself. Therefore, if there were methods to alleviate the pain caused by any disease, fewer patients would opt for euthanasia. Indeed, no one (doctor, patient, family) would have to attribute to him of herself a decision reserved only for God. Life is a gift from God, and euthanasia represents a crime against God. Another objection to euthanasia is the fact that physicians may not be completely assured that a patient is dying. There are practitioners who contend that no one really knows when death is inevitable(Frank J. Ayd, Jr. qtd in Larue 9). Sidney Hook is n example of this fact. He was a stricken patient who suffered from congestive heart failure. While in the hospital, Hook experienced violent and painful hiccups for several days. His left side and one of his vocal cords became paralyzed. The physician who was assisting Hook did not know if Hooks case was incurable. For this reason, at Hooks request he refused to discontinue all life supporting services. Miraculously enough, a month later Sidney Hook was discharged form the hospital (Hook 483). He survived what many people believe to be an irreversible coma. Euthanasia is unnecessary. In addition, doctors are, as well as patients, human beings with feelings and emotions. The purpose of their professional career is to assist and cure the ill. They have been prepared to save not to kill. Adopting euthanasia as part of their medical practice would contradict with the purpose of their existence, as doctors. Medical practitioners are not prepared to deal with some of the psychosocial dimensions of dying and death. Their training has prepared them as rescuers form illness and pain, and physicians may see themselves as archrivals of death (Larue 11). Legalizing euthanasia could lead to involuntary euthanasia. And, because this practice can be performed without the patients knowledge, newborn infants with defects, comatose people, and senile aged, to mention some, could eventually be killed as the terminally ill. As Marcia Angell explain in her essay, The Supreme Court and Physician- Assisted Suicide-The Ultimate Right, although it is possible that we may someday decide to legalize voluntary euthanasia under certain circumstances or assisted suicide for patients who are terminally ill, legalizing assisted suicide for the dying does not in itself make these other decisions nevitable (Angell 504). Thus, euthanasia should not be legalized in this country. More over, depressed patients would have the option to request euthanasia. And, they will since depression is a state of mind that renders people unable to think rationally. As Marcia Angell states, depressed patients would seek physician-assisted suicide rather than help for their depression (The Supreme Court and Physician-Assisted Suicide-The Ultimate Right 505). Depression is a treatable problem and does not count as an irreversible suffering. People in such conditions usually feel nwanted. They do not see a reason why they should continue on with their lives. However, these people are in great need of love. They do not need euthanasia as an option. Contemporary advances in medical technology have made possible the prolongation of life. Indeed, it has contributed to the inability for Americans to accept death. Americans have developed a paradoxical relationship with death-we know more about the causes and conditions surrounding death, but we have not equipped ourselves emotionally to cope with dying and death (Dickinson and Leming13). Nevertheless, illness and disability at advanced age have created the possibility for the act of painlessly ending the life of a person. Groups of people who support euthanasia believe that it is the quality of life that should influence the decision and that death may be preferable to a severely impaired life (Rottenberg 481). However, life is sacred, and no matter how severely disable the patient may be, no human being can arrogate to him- or herself a decision reserved for God (Rottenberg 481). Doctors are not totally convinced of when a patient is dying. They may misdiagnose the ailment such as Sidney Hook who survived from a presumed to be irreversible coma. Depressed patients would have the option to request physician-assisted suicide instead of help for their depression. Even in the terminally ill, a request for assisted suicide might signify treatable depression, not irreversible suffering (Angell 505). More over, euthanasia would create a moral slippery slope. It is impossible to avoid slippery slopes in medicine (or in any aspect of life) (Angell 504). For these reasons euthanasia should not be legalized in this country.

Internet Censorship Essay - Filters Help Improve Morality :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

Internet Filters Help Improve Morality Hello there. My name is Apple Internet Macintosh, known to most people as "iMac". I was born a very long time ago as an Apple Computer; computer nerds keep updating my brain and I seem new and young every new year. I know it is hard to understand, but actually it is really helpful to my users. Most of my users mainly use one of my programs, which is the Internet. Sometimes my users don't use this in a good way and look at nasty and sick sites. I don't like looking at these sites and change is needed. The Internet first came to me and many of my other computer friends from the ARPANET project, a defense related project to help the army become more educated in technology. It came together between UCLA and Stanford in 1969, when UCLA students tried to log "onto the Stanford computer and try to send it some data". Problems occurred, and some major events took place; then, in 1976, networking was available to many, and the Internet was off and running (Gromov). Today you can even shop from home and have products delivered right to your doorstep using the Internet. The Internet is a great way to find anything that you need and even find a loved one you haven't heard from and want to get in contact with again. To do this, there are many search engines on the world wide web that help you find what you are looking for. Some people abuse this help to find porn sites, bomb-making sites, and other dangerous sites. There are many people that use the web every day learning new ways to be sick minded such as making bombs to blow up buildings, killing people, and looking at naked bodies of children. Not only are these sites available, but there are sites out there that teach young people how to damage their bodies by starving themselves or how to hurt others by making weapons. I am not alone in my decision to stop this nonsense. People use my program in many ways, but there is also a different side of this picture. Take the events of September 11, 2001, for example. There are many web sites out there that support Osama bin Laden and his actions. A boy from Florida, for example, flew a small plane into a multi-story bank building trying to recreate the events of September 11, 2001.

Invisible Man Essay

In Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, the character of Trueblood is unique and well developed. Trueblood is a man who impregnates his wife, and at the same period of time commits incest and impregnates his daughter. This character’s reasoning for having sexual relations with his daughter is that he was dreaming when this happened; a feat that while fantastical, could also be plausible due to Trueblood’s nature. Trueblood, while a moral character aside from his transgression, is also oblivious. A good example of this happens on page 48 when Dr.  Norton asks â€Å"You feel no inner turmoil, no need to cast out the offending eye? † to which Trueblood replies â€Å"I’m all right, suh. My eyes is all right too†. Regardless of his ignorance, Trueblood shows remorse for his actions, and believes that a â€Å"man don’t leave his family†, which attests to the morality of the character. Much like the Invisible man, Trueblood found his own morality which did not exactly follow society’s guidelines. When explaining his situation, Trueblood brings up the issue regarding awareness of reality, since according to him he has sex with his daughter during a dream state. As he describes it on page 59, the dream seems to be a metaphor for what actually happened: â€Å"I runs and runs till I should be tired but ain’t tired but feelin’ more rested as I runs†¦ Only I’m still in the tunnel. Then way up ahead I sees a bright light like a jack-o-lantern over a graveyard. It gits brighter and brighter†¦ it burst like a great big electric light in my eyes†. Trueblood comforts himself by saying â€Å"You ain’t guilty†; he does not admit his guilt since he does not see fault in what he did since he was not in control of himself. This is his perception of reality. Again, this unawareness of reality is parallel to the Invisible Man’s life, who cannot see anything as real until understanding he is invisible. The way Trueblood has been treated by the white community, however, seems to be one of the major issues. Before impregnating his own daughter, he claims his life to have been hard: â€Å"Every time I think†¦ what a hard time we was having I gits the shakes† and â€Å"it was cold and us didn’t have much fire†¦ I tried to git help but wouldn’t nobody help us†. After his sinful act, surprisingly enough, it was the white community which came to his aid. Not only are the police ssisting by giving Trueblood protection from the black community, but also assisting by giving him money. To this, Trueblood says â€Å"I done the worse thing a man could even do in his family and instead of chasin’ me out of the country, they gimme more help than they ever give any other colored man† (67). Again, morality is the theme here – the white community is treating Trueblood in a way as if rewarding him, even though his act was actually reprehensible. While this could be seen as the white community’s moral obligation to assist someone who was ostracized from their own community, it could also be seen as moral hypocrisy.

Women Today Compared With Women Of The 18th Century Essay

Women vs. Women Women in the 18th century are similar yet different from the women of today. In the time era of the 1800’s appearance was very essential to women as it is in the present times. Fashion, skin care, and mouth hygiene was and is the three most important forms of appearance and hygiene. Firstly, Fashion in the 1800’s consisted of high-necked, long sleeve dresses with a corset underneath. A Corset is a lace-up shirt generally bought one or two inches smaller than the woman’ waist size to make the wearer look skinnier. Corsets often were so tight that the woman wearing one would pass out from lack of oxygen. In the 1800’s woman literally died to be thin. Today, woman act the same way; however, the women do not wear†¦show more content†¦Women back then were told to cut a hole in the middle of a lemon, fill the hole with candy, burn it, squeeze the juice out, and proceed to rub the lemon juice on their faces. It was expected to clear and clean out the por es on the woman’s face. Today, women have products made for them. From lotion to acne cream, the women of today indulge in beauty products to make their skin look healthier, shinier, and clearer. Thirdly, who cares for shiny skin, if bad breathe overpowers a person’s looks? Women in the 18th century were persuaded by society, three times a day, six times a week to drink a mixture of spring water, lemon juice, ten drops of hydrochloric acid, and sugar. In the 20th century, society has breath mints and tooth paste to prevent unpleasant breath. Neither proves harmful to the body contrasted to hydrochloric acid, which has been confirmed to cause cancer. In closing, looking great today, in the 20th century, may not cost a woman anything but money, but women in the 18th century usually paid with their lives. Although, not all women died in that time frame, it was ridiculous and irresponsible for women to care so much about their appearance; however, they are not alone in the ir actions. The women of today also act irresponsible and ridiculous in their actions. Paying to look skinner with a life or with money is very childish. In many ways, women in the 18th century differ from the 20th century women, but though-out history, human nature manages to bindShow MoreRelatedFemale Oppression : A Woman s Vindication For Her Rights1657 Words   |  7 PagesA Woman’s Vindication for Her Rights During the 18th century, the lives and treatment towards women differed greatly from women compared to today. The liberties and accommodations for women that we are accustomed to in our modern age did not exist back then; and when it came to what women were allowed to do in the 18th century, men typically governed and made all of the decisions. 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