Tuesday, October 18

Good afternoon!

Your afternoon blog assignment is as follows:

BLog Title: Week 10 Definitions and Critical Reading Passage
Assignment: Your vocabulary words this week are: consent, criteria, and emphasis
*** Find the definitions for each word.
*** Read the critical reading passage & answer the questions at the end (5 sentence minimum)


Should doctors be allowed to help critically ill patients commit suicide?

The word euthanasia was coined in the 17th century by Francis Bacon who defined it as “an easy, painless, and happy death.” Today, it refers to when a doctor consents to help a critically ill patient commit suicide by injecting him or her with a drug that causes death; critically ill means that they have a disease or illness which will result in death.

Supporters of doctors who assist critically ill patients to die say that people have the right to end their lives in a painless and dignified way. One could say that a person’s right “to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” includes the right to decide to free oneself from a painful disease or illness. Doctors who support euthanasia emphasize that the criteria for consenting to help a patient die is that the patient is suffering from a terminal illness, has a poor quality of life, and has made a conscious decision to end his/her life.

Critics of euthanasia say that doctors take an oath to protect patients. Assisting them to end their lives goes against that promise. Opponents also emphasize the possibility of doctors taking this too far by helping the poor and disabled end their lives. Religious critics say that doctor-assisted suicide goes against God’s will. Others fear that a patient's age and inability to pay medical bills may be used as criteria to determine who lives and who dies.

As of 2011, the Supreme Court has ruled against euthanasia, but many patients are still asking doctors for assistance.

Do you think that euthanasia should be an individual right or should it be determined by the courts? Is there a chance that physician-assisted suicide could go too far?