If assisted suicide is to be permitted, it is essential that Essay

If assisted suicide is to be permitted, it is essential that parliament decides on legislation which, apart from the permission - Essay Example Passive euthanasia on the other hand is not by performing the act itself, but allowing someone to commit suicide. Passive euthanasia therefore is much easily accepted as compared to active euthanasia. Euthanasia by omission is the act wherein a person intentionally hastens the death of someone by not providing normal needs like food and water, and other needs that could prolong life. There also different classifications of euthanasia, there is voluntary, involuntary and non-voluntary. Euthanasia is voluntary if the patient made the request to die. If a patient for example made no actual request due to the incapability to express it, either by the severity of illness or unfit mental state, then it will be non-voluntary. The third classification is when a patient expresses a desire to live but is killed or allowed to die anyway; it is then called involuntary euthanasia. However, there are opposing views on passive euthanasia. Many claims that this type does not intend to take life and is therefore cannot be classified as such. Failure to treat a patient due to the knowledge that it will not help the patient and stopping treatments that are not effective and is not wanted or just proves to be a burden to the patient are in this category, 1 as well as giving fatal doses of pain-killers due to the patient’s need for it to alleviate pain. These practices are in fact considered as good medical practices by the law when done right. England is probably one of the latest to tackle the ethical issues regarding assisted suicide. A number of nations in Europe such as Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg have legalized different forms of physician-assisted suicide in the past few years. In the U.S., the state of Oregon has also legalized this practice, by permitting doctors to prescribe fatal doses of medicine to mentally capable but fatally ill patients. The current law in England pertaining to assisted suicide, under the 961 Suicide Act, entails that encouraging or a ssisting in a suicide can face up 14 years of imprisonment. Unfortunately, it has been found that more than a hundred United Kingdom citizens opted to travel to other places in order to end their lives.2 Recently Debbie Purdy, a patient with multiple sclerosis appealed to the House of Lords which ruled after the hearing, that there is a need for greater clarity. Purdy wanted to know if her husband will be prosecuted if he will help her to go abroad to die. Draft guidance was published by Keir Starmer, the director of public prosecutions, soon after, acting out of his own free will and despite his lack of authority to change the law. The draft though has been taken into effect right away. Starmer laid down factors that could possibly influence the possible prosecution of a person which has now been updated after a consultation that received approximately 5000 submissions. Factors that are to be considered before prosecution includes whether the patient made a voluntary decision, if i s well-informed and if he is settled with the action to be undertaken. The motivation and agenda of the accused must also be emphasized, acting entirely out of compassion and not for any financial purposes or gain of it. The set of guides are intended to make individuals with a death wish dwell on whether the person they are asking help from will need to face prosecution or not. However, this guide offers no guarantees