Pro Euthanasia Argument in Mla Format Essay - 1792 Words

Argument Essay Euthanasia Active euthanasia should be permitted as a medical treatment to allow people the right to die with dignity without pain and in peace. Euthanasia, also known as assisted suicide or mercy killing, takes on many different forms. When most Americans think of euthanasia, they think of a specific form that is referred to as â€Å"active euthanasia† which means to actively do something that will end a patient’s life with or without that individual’s consent. When euthanasia is performed in an involuntary manner it is usually because the patient is comatose, unconscious, or otherwise unable to communicate whether or not they want to have their life prolonged through artificial means. In such cases, the physician makes an†¦show more content†¦in Petrou 23). Had Hans Knottenbelt been living in any of the forty-nine out of fifty American states where euthanasia is illegal, the sight of his death would have been anything but beautiful. His daughter describes what an average night was like for her father while he was suffering from Lou Gehrigs disease: My Dad woke up in the evenings like a scared rabbit. He was so scared. Not scared of dying, but scared of suffocation, of the way he would die (qtd. in Petrou 22). Without the option of peacefully ending his life, Knottenbelts fears would have become reality. The most likely scenario would have been for him to wake up in the middle of the night and discover his airway blocked up with fluids. In a panic, he would have furiously rung the bell beside his bed to alert his family he needed help, as he did on a near nightly basis. This time his help would either arrive too late, or be unable to clear his windpipe. Knottenbelt would have died in one of the most excruciating ways imaginable. The unlucky family member who had come to his side to try to help him would be forced to watch him violently struggle for air right up until the moment of his death. Frank Collins from Baruch College wrote an essay titled â€Å"To die or not to die† which gives another prime example of a case where active euthanasia should be practiced. He writes about the tragic story of a French woman by the