Medical Law

'I think it's ridiculous and appalling that people have to go abroad to end their life instead of being able to end their life at home'.Critically discuss the above comments in relation to the development of a right to die in English law.

Introduction

Death has to come either alone or in the presence of others, the preference lies with dying with dignity. A person who feels the certainty of death approaching than dying with respect is all the more desirable. The aspects that are important in dying with dignity and are incorporated in the human rights law such as right to die by a person's own wish, respect and recognition are all the factors that come under this. The hospitals already have an option for each of their terminally ill patients to have the right to die, regardless of the legal attention thisphenomenon has attained. Similarly, outside the hospital, a caring family, health professionals can provide the same experience of the dying person.The right to die is a topic which is debated in ethics, medicine and law and therefore, there have been issues in depicting conclusions from it. This paper will discuss the right to die from different perspectives and in what conditions a person should be able to determine the time of his death.

Discussion

There are some who would want to choose the time of their death, while some will totally negate the idea and would want to die naturally when the time comes. However, the right to choose comes with immense debate and many ethical, legal and medical concerns that are different in situations. There are people who die in the hospitals, however, many in their last days are taken home where they spend the most time with their family and loved ones. For instance, in Netherlands many people die at home. The choice is made by individuals who want to either die in the hands of care professionals or with their families. Death comes to everyone and today due to great advances in the medical knowledge and technology it neither comes suddenly nor unexpected. Most of the individuals who die are in the care of health professionals where most often their mental and physical capacities are almost lost. Therefore, the right to die with dignity enforces that a person may look at himself with self-respect and satisfaction rather than humiliation. People who want to have some control of their time of death argue that life is an important facet and it does not mean mechanical forces should be involved in maintaining life, but, the fact that one's heart is beating to maintain life. The medical professional must perform their duty to keep the person alive with dignity and is considered to have an intrinsic value.

Today, we are in a dilemma of understanding and solving different issues according to different situations. For instance, there is a person who is in a lot of pain and wants to die. Individuals who give life high intrinsic value to taking life and to ...