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Voluntary Euthanasi Equality And Compassion

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Brittany Maynard was 29 when she was diagnosed with a malignant terminal brain tumor. Her doctor gave her six months to live. She had the option to undergo full body radiation treatment that would have lengthened her life but would have left her in constant pain while she withered away. She consciously made the decision that she wished to die on her own terms and moved from California to Oregon where physician-assisted suicide has been legalized. In the early morning hours of a chilly November morning, Brittany took a cocktail of drugs prescribed by her physician. She was surrounded by those she loved and died with the dignity that she wanted. Human euthanasia, although controversial, is a humane way to end a person's life, it can be administered voluntary, involuntarily, or passively. …show more content…

According to Kumar Amarasekara and Mirko Bagaric in the article, "Moving from Voluntary Euthanasia to Non-Voluntary Euthanasia: Equality and Compassion" published in the Ratio Juris, it is no longer a criminal offense to attempt, or to even take, a person's own life, but if someone else, even a doctor, knowingly assists in the termination of another's life that person can be held accountable for homicide (403). It should be noted that there is a stigma against assisted suicide.

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