You wouldnt let a doctor kill your healthy aunt, would you?

Why should it be any different

if she was sick? Euthanasia is the practice that some would prescribe, which is physician-assisted
suicide, essentially who is already terminally ill. Killing is regarded of the highest of crimes in the
United States, and legalizing euthanasia would be against every sacred code of life. It would change
the highly respected medical professions to those of healing to those of murder, ruining their
reputation. It would allow family members to pressure loved ones into departing early for financial
purposes. It would also grant doctors too much power, which could be abused or misused. Legalizing
euthanasia would be detrimental to the health of medicinal society by delegitimizing the medical
profession, allowing for the families of those terminally ill to influence the ill to hasten their death
for financial purposes, and giving doctors too much power.
Legalizing euthanasia would change the very essence of what a doctor is, and would cause
doctors to go from healing to killing those in their care, thus delegitimizing the profession. Currently,
all practicing doctors swear by the Hippocratic Oath, which has been binding doctors to their
profession since the 5th century, making it one of the oldest and most respected binding oaths
[Tyson]. The oath demands doctors to not cause harm, and euthanasia would defy this sacred
standard which has defined the medical profession for centuries. Many believe that "The prohibition
against killing patients... stands as the first promise of self-restraint sworn to in the Hippocratic Oath,
as medicine's primary taboo: 'I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody if asked for it, nor will I
make a suggestion to this effect,[Hui]. In taking this oath, the physician forswears the giving of
euthanasia when asked for it. By this oath, patients are assured that their doctor will do everything to
preserve their health, which gives the profession a great deal of respect. Typically, if a medical
malpractice occurs which would hurt the patient, the doctor has their license revoked. If euthanasia
were to be legalized, patients would conclude that their doctors are prepared to kill them at their
request, and the medical profession never again will be worthy of trust and respect as a healer,
comforter and protector of life. [Hui]. A doctor would no longer be a respected member of a moral
profession. Decreasing the respect for doctors would ruin the profession, and with people unsure if
their health and safety is guaranteed when seeking medical treatment, fewer would ask for help,
which would not only financially damage the situation, but also hurt the general populace.
Another disastrous outcome of legalizing euthanasia is that terminally ill people may be so
concerned about preserving the financial stability of those coming after them, that they feel pressured
to end their life for financial reasons. Considering that death is inevitable for one who is terminally
ill, euthanasia is a cheaper pathway to the same destination. It has been seen that families may
pressure patients to choose assisted suicide to avoid spending money that the patient otherwise could
leave to the family. Patients themselves may opt for assisted suicide to save money as a duty to their
loved-ones. [Pabst-Battain] The drugs to cause a painless death can cause from $35 to $45, in
comparison the average medical care for a terminally ill patient, which can be $35,000 to $40,000
[Pabst-Battain]. Family pressures are proven to influence those terminally ill, in Oregon, 66% of
cases the reason for patients' requests was because they did to want to be a burden. [Pabst-Battain]
The Dutch Attorney General released a statement which identified 33% of those asking for terminal
euthanasia in Holland as believing that they were dependent on people who did not want them
[Richmond]. This statistic may indicate a certain percentage of those terminally ill being talked in
choosing euthanasia, essentially being pressured into killing themselves to please their familys
economic wishes. No human deserves to think that they should die for the economic gain of others,
and keeping euthanasia illegal would prevent that possibility.
Euthanasia also gives doctors too much power, it allows them to take away the life from
another human being, which is considered one of the highest crimes in the United States, and as
patients solely depend on information given to them by the doctor, if the doctor makes a mistake the
result can be fatal. Doctors already hold an unfair power over patients as they are the ones treating
them, and controlling their condition. Most patients operate on what their doctors tell them, so they
generally decide in favour of euthanasia on the basis of information given to them by doctors:
information about their diagnosis, prognosis, treatments available, and anticipated degree of future
suffering, [Euthanasia]. If a doctor makes a suggestion, such as euthanasia, it can be very difficult
for a patient to go against that, especially in such a vulnerable state. However, many things can go
wrong in a medical situation, Diagnoses may be mistaken. Prognoses may be wildly misjudged.
New treatments which the doctor is unaware of may have recently been developed or about to be
developed. The doctor may not be up-to-date in symptom control. [Euthanasia]. If the patient is
making the decision on faulty information, he may decide to make a decision to end his life early
even if he may be assured high quality of life for a longer period of time than he allows himself.
Doctors are human, and mistakes are an occurrence. Doctors may be subject to their own preference
and opinions in their profession; It must be recognized that assisted suicide and euthanasia will be
practiced through the prism of social inequality and prejudice that characterizes the delivery of
services in all segments of society, including health care...While our society aspires to eradicate
discrimination and the most punishing effects of poverty in employment practices, housing,
education, and law enforcement, we consistently fall short of our goals. The costs of this failure with
assisted suicide and euthanasia would be extreme. [Hui]. Laws against euthanasia were enacted to
to prevent abuse and to protect people from unscrupulous doctors and others." [Marker] The human
error involved in medical fields may be minute, but in the case of euthanasia, a misdiagnosis may kill
someone who may have otherwise recovered. By legalizing euthanasia, doctors would be given additional
power over a patient which may be abused or misused, and the best way to prevent such accidents would
be remove the possibility in its entirety.
Legalizing euthanasia would be a grievous error in judgement for the government,
considering the possibly disastrous consequences. It would decrease the trust held for doctors, which
would be a disaster for public health. It could also pressure from ones family to influence the
decisions made by the terminally ill person. The doctors responsible for providing euthanasia may
also make mistakes, and in this case, they may prove fatal. Legalizing euthanasia would be a terrible
course of action, which would damage the medical profession and familial bonds which hold this
nation together.















Works Cited
"Euthanasia." Christian Medical Fellowship. The Christian Medical Fellowship, n.d. Web. 27
May 2014.

Hui, Edwin C. "A Case Against Active Euthanasia." Humane Healthcare. The Humane Health
Society, n.d. Web. 24 May 2014.

Marker, Rita. International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide,"Euthanasia and
Assisted Suicide: Frequently Asked Questions," www.internationaltaskforce.org Jan.
2010.

Pabst-Battain, Margaret. "Impact of Euthanasia on the Family." Home. New Zealand Resource
Center for Life Related Issues, n.d. Web. 26 May 2014.

Richmond, David E. "Ten Reasons Why Voluntary Euthanasia Should Not Be Legalised." A New
Zealand Resource for Life Resources. A New Zealand Resource for Life Resources, n.d. Web.
25 May 2014.

Tyson, Peter. "The Hippocratic Oath Today." PBS. PBS, 27 Mar. 2001. Web. 26 May 2014.