Philosphy Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Philosphy - Term Paper Example Euthanasia is considered here as a moral evil, and should not be permitted by law, even in the cases specified in the standard permission. Euthanasia or assisted suicide can be any action aimed at putting an end to life of any person, to meet his/her own accord, and executed by a disinterested person. The term â€Å"euthanasia† was first coined by Francis Bacon in the 17th century for the definition of â€Å"easy death†, and in the 19th century it has come to mean â€Å"to kill someone out of pity.† This is a question of premeditated murder in order to alleviate unnecessary suffering. In this case, there is no more ambiguous word than â€Å"euthanasia.† The very idea of euthanasia was born a long time ago. But from the time of Hippocrates to the present day traditional medical ethics includes a ban: â€Å"I will not give a lethal drug to anyone if I am asked, nor will I advise such a plan†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (The Hippocratic Oath) More recently, however, doctor s seem increasingly ready to come to this practice, at least when the patient himself asks about death. How this tendency should be considered? Is it a release from outdated restrictions or a certain permissiveness, which is both wrong from a moral point of view, and dangerous in practice? Literally, the term â€Å"euthanasia† is translated as a â€Å"good death† but the term has come to signify not so much â€Å"good† death itself, as its infliction. â€Å"Euthanasia† can be defined as â€Å"the killing of another person for his alleged good† with his consent (voluntary euthanasia), or without consent or even against the will of this person (â€Å"involuntary† and â€Å"forced† euthanasia). â€Å"Killing† means an act or admission of action, chosen with the aim of depriving a person of life, i.e., irrespective of whether direct or indirect impact. Here there is some terminological confusion (in the opinion of some researchers, deliberately provoked by supporters of euthanasia) which occurred under the influence of various kinds of statements concerning understanding of this term, putting on the same level â€Å"letting die† (negative or passive euthanasia) and â€Å"assisting to die† (active or real euthanasia). This confusion is not harmless; it is maintained deliberately in order to bring doctors and public opinion to a false dilemma: either you are humane and able to sympathize with your neighbor, and thus have to step over the forbidden (cause death); or you put the abstract dogma above simple human sympathy, and thus will not stop even before going to prolong the needless suffering which you yourself would not have survived (Keown, 2002, pp. 9-15). In which case we can speak of assisted suicide or euthanasia? Assisted suicide means only intentional murder. In one case, the life of a hopelessly terminally ill person is taken away, in order to save him/her from unnecessary suffering â₠¬â€œ either through direct intervention (e.g., injection of barbiturates), or leaving a person to die by stopping to feed the patient. In another case, the life of a newborn child with severe physical disabilities is taken, when the child is directly killed or condemned to certain death, e.g., by stopping the supply of food and basic treatment only in order not to inflict new pain to his/her parents. Hence, euthanasia or assisted suicide is itself put on the level of intentions: the term euthanasia is used only when there is an intention to take the life of the person or to speed up