Health Care Law – Right To Die
We all fall ill at one point or another in our lives. During such times, we end up seeking medical services, which help us regain our high productivity levels and joy in life. There is no doubt that doctors and other health providers are important people in our wellbeing. However, sometimes people might end up being terminally ill. When this happens, a debate on what a doctor should do arises. This debate arises because some patients may wish for mercy killing rather than suffering.
Arguments for right to die
Different arguments in favour of the right to die have been put across. One of these arguments is the monetary effects during the attempts to keep a patient alive. In most cases, medical institutions end up benefiting from such sustainability but the people paying those bills usually suffer major debts and some almost end up being bankrupt. However, some countries have come up with a solution whereby medical covers give terminally ill patients money rather than paying bills for them. This way, the patient and his family decide on whether to seek medical assistance or whether to consider the patient’s right to die. As a result, the covering firm and the family end up in a win-win situation. In other cases, a patient realises that he does not stand a chance to survive his condition. Rather than having to spend all his savings, he chooses mercy-killing and let his next of kin enjoy his savings.
Arguments for opposition towards right-to-die
As much as the right-to-dies seems logical and is supported by a good number of people, many arguments against this right also exist. Firstly, it is possible for a doctor to wrongly diagnose a terminal illness. If a mercy killing were to happen in such a scenario, the patient would wrongly lose his chance to live longer. Another reason against patient’s right-to-dies is the fact that such a patient is most likely to be undergoing a phase of depression. However, if he or she were treated of the condition, his or her will to live would resurface. It is also possible that some medical establishments fail to adequately manage a patient’s pain. As a result of this pain, the patient feels that he would be better off dead than alive due to the pain. Therefore, critics of right-to-die propose that a patient’s pain should be managed at whatever cost in order to make him comfortable.