The Right to Die

What is Euthanasia?

According to the Oxford Dictionary, Euthanasia is defined as, “The painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma. The practice is illegal in most countries”

Euthanasia is an an umbrella term for all the different methods of a gentle death. There are five different types of euthanasia

Voluntary Active Euthanasia (VAE): -In these cases, a patient has willfully made a decision to die, but the person might simply be unable to carry out the act themselves, so they ask a doctor to do it for the person. -The physican accedes to a rational request of an adequately informed, competent patient to be killed

Voluntary Passive Euthanasia (VPE): Again this is essentially the same thing as voluntary euthanasia except it is a death performed by withdrawal of a life sustaining treatment.

Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS): The decision still rests with the patient but here, the “assistance” comes in the form of something like a prescription from a doctor, but the patient is the one who ultimately ends their own life.

Involuntary Active Euthanasia (IAE): the killing of a patient who is suffering in order to relieve that suffering but without a request from the patient to be killed. This is most likely to occur with permanently incompetent patients or those in a vegetative state who are unable to make such a request.

Involuntary Passive Euthanasia (IPE): Again, with this type of euthanasia the suffering patient is in a vegetative state and unable to make any requests but instead here treatment is ceased in order to relieve the suffering.

My claim: I am here to persuade you to advocate in favor of euthanasia so everyone suffering with a painful terminal illness can claim the right to die with dignity.