Euthanasia

Firstly, I would like to point out that my opponent has copied and pasted a majority of his arguments; everything except for the conclusion. I am not accusing him of plagiarism because of the sources listed and the quotations, but I would like to say that this debate would be a fairer and stronger one if my opponent put a little more effort into his arguments against mine than only what is available on the web. It will give you a better understanding of the topic and an easier path to refuting my points clearly. Thank you for challenging me to this debate; I accept your definitions. Because the Definitions state that Euthanasia "is sometimes is categorized as assisted suicide," I shall expand on that as a point after I refute my opponent's. Again, I urge you to take more time with this debate than copying and pasting; it is not of any benefit to you so far. Refutations to my opponent's main points: 1) "The right of a competent, terminally ill person to avoid excruciating pain and embrace a timely and dignified death bears the sanction of history and is implicit in the concept of ordered liberty. " According to Dictionary. Reference. com, the definitions of these words are as follows: Terminally: "occurring at or causing the end of life: a terminal disease. " Illness: "unhealthy condition; poor health; indisposition; sickness. " Suicide: "the intentional taking of one's own life. " [5] These three definitions date back before the 15th century. In this case, depression would be considered a terminal illness, and suicide would be the result of depression, which causes death. If suicide is considered a negative act, then why isn't pulling the plug between the same concept of life and death? Suicide and Euthanasia is the same thing in a sense that it is a type of suicide. I shall expand later on in my main points. 2) "At the Hemlock Society we get calls daily from desperate people who are looking for someone like Jack Kevorkian to end their lives which have lost all quality. .. Americans should enjoy a right guaranteed in the European Declaration of Human Rights -- the right not to be forced to suffer. It should be considered as much of a crime to make someone live who with justification does not wish to continue as it is to take life without consent. " I ask you this: when did the European Declaration of Independence have anything to do with America? About 200 years ago, America declared independence from Britain. We went to war with Britain; it wasn't a religious war, or a war between ethnicities; it was a war over ideas. Why is this important? [4] America has different ideas than those of Europe, and in the American Declaration of Independence, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. " [3] According to the American Declaration of Independence, no body, including the government body, has the power to take away the right of life. Making euthanasia legal is directly violating this right. If my opponent dares to challenge one of the most important documents in American history, be my guest. This point has been completely refuted. [3] 3. "Individuals have a right to die when life becomes excruciating or undignified. " Stated clearly in my last refutation, there is a right to life; a right to death would contradict the American Declaration of Independence. [3] As I shall state later in my pain points, depression is a state when life becomes excruciating, but this does not give the individual a right to die. It is justified for them to feel this way, but they should seek help. 4) "While some people refer to the liberty interest implicated in right-to-die cases as a liberty interest in committing suicide, we do not describe it that way. We use the broader and more accurate terms, 'the right to die,' 'determining the time and manner of one's death,' and 'hastening one's death' for an important reason. " According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, the definition of "Importance" is "Marked by or indicative of significant worth or consequence: valuable in content or relationship. " Nowhere in this definition does it state that the importance of a choice between life and death is judged by its positivism; in conclusion by the definition, the choice is by consequence. Considering that suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem, this is what euthanasia is. I will also expand on that later. 5) "Removing life support causes an excruciating death; euthanasia is more humane. The Terri Shiavo case is illustrative of the situation created by the illegality of euthanasia. " According to CNN, Terri Schiavo originally collapsed from lack of potassium in her body; she was bulimic and may have lost potassium through binging. According to her mother and father, she had not received physical therapy for over ten years before her death. According to the University of Miami, her husband had heard her say that she never wanted to be kept alive in any artificial way. However, what she said was never written down on paper. There is no proof that she actually said this. According to the definition of artificial in the Merriam Webster Dictionary, Euthanasia is artificial, meaning man-made and unnatural, which includes giving medications to the suffering patient to stop the beating of their heart or stop their breathing. Therefore, the Terri Schiavo case is a whole other story unrelated to this debate. Now, I will head into my own points. 1) There is an alternative to euthanasia in terms of its purpose. Many doctors are against the idea of euthanasia, including Dr. Peter Ravenscroft of Australia. "He believes that when people have an incurable illness, they should be given palliative care. That means care that lessens their pain and suffering, and helps them to feel less afraid. " Euthanasia is an act of giving medication or treatment to a suffering patient knowing that it will make them die. Palliative care, however, is an act of giving medication or treatment to make the suffering patient comfortable, but not to intentionally kill them. [2] 2) It contradicts the meaning of the job of a doctor. The Merriam Webster Dictionary states that a doctor is "a person skilled of specialized in the healing arts. " [1] Giving someone medication to intentionally kill them is definitely not considered a healing art. I will expand on this in my second constructive speech. 3) Euthanasia is a form of suicide in every way. Refer to the definition of suicide listed in my refutations. I ask my opponent to give me an argument of how euthanasia is not assisted suicide. The patient asks to be killed, and the doctor gives them something to end their life! If a suicidal person suffering from an illness (as stated in my previous definitions), and they asked to be killed, a doctor would not prescribe them a treatment to do so. They would prescribe a treatment to help them cure this. According to my opponent's definition of terms, a person considering euthanasia would be suffering a disease that is currently incurable. However, I have stated a legit alternative to euthanasia, which is palliative care. 4) Euthanasia violates the American Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence of America states "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. " [3] Euthanasia takes away the right to life. For these reasons, euthanasia should be illegal. Sources: [1] . http://www.merriam-webster.com... [2] . http://www.newint.org... [3] The United States Declaration of Independence [4] History [5] . http://www.dictionary.reference.com... Thank you.