According to the article, Euthanasia refers Essays

According to the article, Euthanasia refers Essays According to the article, Euthanasia refers Paper According to the article, Euthanasia refers Paper The book â€Å"Final Wishes: A Cautionary Tale on Death Dignity Physician Assisted Suicide by Paul Chamberlain generally deals with the issue on euthanasia and assisted suicide. Before the text will be discussed in full detail and the issue/s presented in the text elaborated, we need to have a clear and accepted definition of euthanasia. The article Euthanasia and assisted suicide on www.cma.ca (June 1998) differentiated euthanasia and assisted suicide. The article said that the identified two are often regarded as morally equivalent but there is a clear practical distinction, as well as a legal distinction. According to the article, Euthanasia refers to the knowingly and intentionally performance of an act that is explicitly intended to end another persons. According to the same site, for euthanasia to be performed, the subject should be competent, is an informed person with an incurable illness and has voluntarily asked for his or her life to be ended. On the other hand, assistance in suicide means knowingly and intentionally providing a person with the knowledge or means or both required to commit suicide, including counseling about lethal doses of drugs, prescribing such lethal doses or supplying the drugs. In the hospital physician-assisted suicide can take various forms where the patient is being withdrawn of by care. By withdraw of care refers to terminating life support such as a ventilator to assist one in breathing, withdrawing vasopressors which keeps someone’s blood pressure stable, discontinued tube feeds which supplies someone with nutrients to sustain life or/and withdrawinig of any pharmaceutical treatments that fight infection or disease such as antibiotics or chemotherapy agents. This distinction, as well as other issues attached to euthanasia and assisted suicide are presented and discussed in the text comprehensively. The following sections will deal on my personal insights of the story and a policy-perspective. Moreover, the paper will also elaborate and further discuss the issues attached to assisted suicide or euthanasia in general. I. Text Insights Personal Perspective I like the text because it was real not only because it was based on a real life situation but in the sense that it presented all the arguments that are useful in the issue of Euthanasia. The author was very objective in presenting his ideas on the subject matter. Both sides of the story were also heard: the arguments used by those who are in favor of mercy-killing or euthanasia and those that are used by moralists in their struggle in fighting against euthanasia. The relationship of the Dr. Ron Grey (the doctor) and Patrick (patient) as friends made the story more interesting. By using such plot, the author incorporates emotion in the situation which makes it more realistic since it is the main argument of those who are not for euthanasia. The book was very informative brought about by the author’s objectivity in presenting the key arguments relevant to the issue of mercy-killing. As the story progress, these points were tackled with much enthusiasm and without any bias thus, one learns as he is entertained by the book. It is also good to note that the book is free of any unexplained medical jargon and technical terms making it easy to be understood by those who does not belong or is familiar with the field of medicine. The facts as well as the drama that were embedded in the text were valuable. Aside from the facts and arguments that were presented both in favor and against euthanasia, the emotions attached to ever single detail were as well to be treasured. The book is evidence that emotions and morals does not only works for those who are aware of it but also for those who have forgotten about it. If I were to end the story, it would be the same as the way Paul Chamberlain concluded his book. When Dr. Grey ended up with the decision not to perform euthanasia to his friend, the author in a way showed that the issue is relative. It lies on personal values and principles and it cannot be judged nor questioned by others. If in practice the patient decides whether he or she would subject himself to the process of euthanasia, the doctor, just the same has the liberty to chose from performing the task or not. His refusal in doing a seemingly dying person’s wish emphasized the point that if Patrick has his values, so as Dr. Grey did. I am one with Dr. Grey in refusing the task because I believe that it should be first legalized. If something is identified by the state as illegal, it is good as saying that it is not to be executed both in private and public. There were some point in the text that I thought Dr. Grey was about to perform euthanasia to his friend but it also did not surprised me that in the end, he refused in doing so. Paul Chamberlain wrote the story in such a way that every moment is something new which makes the reader expect the most unexpected events to occur. This strategy by Chamberlain ironically makes the story unpredictable yet at the same time, understood. Before I read the book, my only knowledge about the issue on euthanasia is that it was morally questioned. I am not that aware of the medical shortcomings related to the subject. It was only then when I have read the story that I became aware on the issue of misdiagnosis. The way the issues and arguments were tackled in the story in a way deepened my understanding about the certain complicacies and underlying issues attached to the larger problem of euthanasia.