The problem of legalization of euthanasia

The tasks for summative assessment in the subject "Global Perspectives and project Work" on the topic of Euthanasia. The test consists of 2 sources and 4 tasks. The first source is a bar chart that represents the answers of different religious groups on the question: "Do you think the law should be changed so that the people with incurable diseases have the right to ask close friends/relatives to help them commit suicide without risking prosecution?" The second source is a speech of two differe...

Раздел	Иностранные языки
Класс	-
Тип	Тесты
Автор	Кабулова М.Б.
Дата	26.03.2015
Формат	docx
Изображения	Есть

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Euthanasia

Source A The problem of legalization of euthanasia

Source B

John Anderson is an American pathologist, euthanasia activist, painter, author, composer, and instrumentalist. He is best known for publicly championing a terminal patient's right to die via physician-assisted suicide; he claimed to have assisted at least 130 patients to that end.

"The best way to die naturally would be a sudden heart attack in sleep, it's fast and not painful. But it doesn't happen to all suffering people. So, in order to end their suffering I fight for euthanasia, the most humane way to pass away. The main idea is that I just assist the person in his or her decision. The patient decides when it is the best to go. As a medical doctor it's my duty to evaluate the situation with as much data that I can gather, with as much expertise that I have and as much experience that I have. I have to determine whether or not the wish of the patient is medically justified. The two must then coincide, the wish of the patient and the medical justification. The person should be allowed to die quickly and painlessly. However, not every doctor should be allowed to do it because it can turn to business. The doctors should be specified not by the government but by the medical professionals and the process is for no charge. The transfer of money should be involved in this profound situation as in any medical operations, and the price must be fixed. We have lost the common sense in this society because of religious fanaticism! People are basing the law and the whole outlook on natural life, on mythology! That's why we have all these problems in the world! Well, I started to develop the whole theory of euthanasia for my personal needs. You don't know what will happen when you get older. I may end up terribly suffering, I want some colleagues to be free to come and help me when I say the time has come. That's why I'm fighting, for me. And if it helps everybody else, so be it. Dying is not a crime. "

Kevin Brown is a senior lecturer at Medical University in Minnesota, social activist, euthanasia opponent. He's got Master's degree in religious studies.

"I oppose the legalization of assisted suicide. There are some specific worries that I want to point out about euthanasia. First of all, it is not about the individual cases, absolutely not. It is not just assisting a person in suicide; it is a lot worse than that. It is the message to society that we legalize homicides! I am absolutely sure that it is a dangerous thing to do. Another significant issue is that killing somebody, a doctor kills a certain part of his soul. You can turn to any religion with this question; the answer will be the same: killing is a sin. So, do we really want to create the army of murderers in white robes? There is no need to explain that the life is sacred. The problem of our society is that people don't know how to live their lives; people don't understand the spice and beauty of life. Moreover, the methods like euthanasia are gone to the past. Today medicine has progressed a lot. We can solve the problems and cure the illnesses that we couldn't cure 15-20 years ago. So, should we really face assisted suicide as medical methods? Some people would say "yes" in cases of unbearable suffering. This opens the door anybody who sees their own case as having unbearable suffering. How can we really justify saying that one person's unbearable suffering is not worth another person's unbearable suffering. So, I think legislation of assisted suicide will raise more problems."

1. (a) Refer to the source A. Look through the graph and identify two trends in euthanasia question.

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1. (b) Refer to source A. Choose any two graphs (religions) and explain the differences in trends.

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2. Refer to source B. Refer to Source B. Identify one statement of beliefs in Kevin Brown's speech. Explain why you think it is a statement of beliefs and whether you feel it supports Kevin's perspective well.

3. Refer to source B. Discuss both perspectives and decide who gives the most reasonable argument, John Anderson or Kevin Brown? In your answer you should support your point of view with their words and phrases and you may consider their:

• Expertise

• Authority

• Ability to see

• Facts

• Beliefs

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