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Term Paper For Bioethics

term paper for bioethics

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halaq757
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10 views4 pages

Term Paper For Bioethics

term paper for bioethics

Uploaded by

halaq757
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Medical Assisted Dying and it’s Controversies

By Hajer Al Aqabi

MAiD (Medical Assistance in Dying) is a medical method that lets individuals

potentially end their life with the help of medical assistance. It was passed in June of

2016 by the Canadian Parliament (Justice, 2016). It has created the rise of many

medical and ethical issues, and has become a highly controversial topic. One of the

main issues being, who should qualify for MAiD and how it is currently too restrictive in

Canada. MAiD currently has a set of requirements that excludes individuals under the

age of eighteen. While the arguments against individuals under the age of eighteen

being allowed to participate in MAiD is highly recognized; many individuals believe that

MAiD should be recognized during unique circumstances. In order for the medical

system to be practiced fairly; MAiD should extend to individuals under the age of

eighteen who have a unique circumstance as long as the individual consents and that

they meet the requirements already set for MAiD for person’s over the age of eighteen.

One of the many concerns that individuals argue on why we should not allow

MAiD to include individuals under the age of eighteen is that it will lead to involuntary

euthanasia. Involuntary euthanasia is when an individual is unable to give their consent

for euthanasia and has been considered a type of murder. In the past, children were

fooled by putting euthanasia masks on, without knowing that their life would be

compromised because of its usage. This statement is completely false however;

because MAiD has a set of requirements that prevents any possibility of involuntary

euthanasia being performed and it is unfair to prevent MAiD due to that reason. One of

those requirements being; is that the individual must consent while being competent
and fully aware themselves. Additionally; section 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights

and Freedoms states that Everyone has the right not to be subjected to any cruel and

unusual treatment or punishment (Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms). This

section prevents non-voluntary euthanasia from being performed without an individual's

consent. By using this reasoning to not allow the usage of MAiD; we go against the

principle of justice. The principle of justice ensures that individuals are treated in a way

that is fair. We are dismissing the pain of those individuals and allowing them to live in

a way that greatly decreases their quality of life. If we acted in a way that was fair, we

would allow individuals under the age of eighteen to have access to MAiD and have

complete autonomy.

In order to have true and complete autonomy; an individual should be able to

make decisions of their own. By definition, autonomy is when we allow a person to

make a decision of their own without the interference of outside parties. It is typically

argued that autonomy is a reward that we gain as we grow older because as we grow;

we gain more experiences and become more knowledgeable and aware of our

surroundings. However, it is difficult to argue that we differ in experiences when it comes

to physical pain. Physical pain does not differ between one individual to the other due to

the fact that one is older. For example, if you have two individuals both of whom have

their legs cut off, their pain cannot be undermined due to their age difference.

Additionally, autonomy includes four principles, respect for the patient’s respect

for self-determination, beneficence “to do good”, non-maleficence, and finally justice. It

is also typical for individuals to have complete empathy for another and want to

eliminate the suffering of another.


The principle of mercy ensures that is played out by stating how we should

eliminate the suffering of others because of the sole reason that it exists. Physical pain

exists for every individual; the only difference is that there's a different level of pain

tolerance. By allowing everyone to perform with the principle of mercy, we are allowing

for a society that performs more fairly and that cares for each other. Allowing individuals

to live with extreme pain does ensure the principle of mercy but rather allows for it to be

violated. However; many people argue that MaiD should not be performed if one’s life

can be maintained because of the medication they endure on the daily. Additionally;

many individuals argue that they cannot function properly with medication and that it

impacts their daily lives and how they function. They report that even though they are

still alive; their quality of life has decreased dramatically. While individuals over the age

of eighteen have the right to pursue MAiD and undergo a procedure that allows them to

avoid living a life with such a low quality of life; making life unworthy of living. They

argue that it is much harder for them to continue to live a life of continuous hardship.

Refusing MAiD also violates many parts of the Canadian Charter of Rights and

Freedoms. One of the parts that it violates is equality rights (section 15 of the charter).

Equality rights states that everyone has equal rights and is safe against discrimination

and is treated with respect and dignity. This includes people of any age and protects

individuals from being discriminated against because of their age. However, without

including individuals under the age of eighteen; we go against equality rights and

therefore; we are discriminating. In order to fix this; it is highly recommended that the

Canadian legislation would fix this.


Overall, the Canadian government has to make some changes to their existing

laws regarding MAiD to ensure a more fair distribution of who has access to it. This will

allow the quality of life for many Canadian citizens to greatly increase and for the

suffering of many individuals to end.

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