Week 14: The Issue of Euthanasia, or Mercy Killing

Week 14
Your Name
Your Institution of Affiliation
November 22, 2017
In a highly publicized case, a woman named Terri Schiavo was on a feeding tube for 15 years following a heart attack, which resulted in severe brain damage. She was described as in a persistent vegetative state. Her husband tried on several occasions to have the feeding tube removed so that Schiavo could die; her parents and siblings opposed this action. The family brought a number of legal actions to prevent the removal of the feeding tube. On each occasion, the courts uphold Mr. Schiavo’s request. In 2005, Ms. Schiavo’s parents were able to muster enough political influence to bring the matter to Congress, which voted to allow them to make an appeal to the Federal Courts. Discuss what role you believe that the federal government should play in such case. How does this case relate to the voluntary refusal of food and fluid or to the concept of euthanasia? What might other circumstances lead to forms of euthanasia?
The issue of Euthanasia, or ‘mercy killing’, has been one of the most debated ones in the world. Particularly, the debate lies in between those who think that everyone has the “right to die” (especially in painful situations) and those who think that the right to life is incorruptible. In reality, euthanasia has been considered completely legal in some liberal and progressive countries, such as the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg and partially legal in other parts of the world. However, despite the ideal intentions posed upon by this concept of euthanasia, the main reason why it is debated lies in the perception of this act, through the lenses of the moral law. In other words, states who support the act are considered immoral, while those who don't is considered otherwise. Although this could be considered as a misconception especially in the perspective of International Law, it still poses the question, “What should be the role of the Government in relation to Euthanasia?” In order to answer this, the author of this article would cite the case of Terry Schiavo, a woman whose case has sparked a deep controversy about the role of the government in assisted suicide, especially one where there is no “verbal consent” from the patient itself. Aside from this, the author would also try to discuss some of the ideas and circumstances that are central to this concept. Nonetheless, in consideration of all of this, the author believes that while the legality of euthanasia should vary from one culture to another, a definite set of reservations should be set at the least in order to prevent abuses that would undermine one’s rights.
As stated earlier, the case of Terry Schiavo has been one of the most famous cases that placed this dilemma into the spotlight. Mainly, this is because a huge debate that reached even the federal courts of the United States’ government, with her husband wanting to “omit” her life support in the hopes of helping her end her suffering, while Terry’s parents trying to prevent it from happening. Although Terry’s case happened in the United States, similar democratic countries such as the United Kingdom would regard the husband’s request as ‘completely legal’. Specifically, this is because of the fact that the country has enacted the “Bland Ruling of 1993”, which deems the omission of life-saving support legal as long as it meets certain criteria, such as the patient being in a “vegetative state”. In the United States, however, the legality of euthanasia or assisted suicide in any form differs from state to state. According to ProCon.org (n.d.), as of today only six states and the addition of Washington DC have legalized “physician-assisted deaths”. In all of these states, the laws provide a detailed number of requirements such as the patient being in legal age, as well as the submission of waivers by the patient or his relatives within a certain period of time. In line with these, what this shows is that while the Federal government could impose laws and even strict measures to make sure that euthanasia is not abused, the decision would still fall to the patient (or the relatives).
However, while it is true that in most cases, euthanasia happens via the explicit consent of the patient or his family members, this does not mean that we could consider this act as “right” in all cases. Mainly, this is because of the fact that our perception on the subject matter would definitely be affected with the perspective that we are using, whether we view this through the lens of morality or fundamental justice. Nonetheless, I believe that while the state’s decision regarding the legality of assisted suicide is neither right nor wrong, at the least, its main responsibility is to make sure that abuse must never happen.
Review the major themes of psychosocial theory as they related to bereavement. How does the ego strengths that emerge at each stage help a person cope with loss? How might the experiences of bereavement influence psychosocial development at different periods of life?
In Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory, he discussed in detail how does an individual grows and develops his personality based on a series of “conflicts” that happen in his life. Particularly, he believes that these conflicts happen in eight succeeding periods of life, where the individual must resolve each in order to proceed to the next (Cherry, 2017). In cases where the individual is able to manage these conflicts well, Erikson has regarded these as “ego strength” or “ego quality”. However, when an individual fails to manage this crisis well, Erikson said that this would create the feeling of ‘inadequacy’ that could affect how he manages the latter phases of his life. However, ...