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Long Term Ramifications for Legitimacy of Euthanasia

Niranjan Chandi

The idea of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide has resurfaced as part of a growing emphasis on end-of-life care.The Medical Specialties recently recognised palliative care as a subspecialty, which allows terminally ill patients to request and receive lethal doses of medication from physicians.Perhaps the most attention has been paid to euthanasia. Surprisingly, medical advances that allow for the treatment of many previously fatal illnesses (pneumonia) or the replacement of function of failing organs (dialysis and ventilation) appear to have increased the prevalence of difficult end-of-life situations. There is a wide range of physician actions available that can prevent a long, physically and emotionally painful death. The most basic act is to simply refuse treatment, which is virtually uncontroversial when dealing with extraordinary therapies.