676 thorny issues euthanasia lively discussion topics

Lively Discussion Topics Thorny Issues: Euthanasia Read the text Use a dictionary if necessary Vocabulary agonizing My father was lying in bed and was in terrible pain Six months earlier he had been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and was admitted to hospital because he couldn’t breathe on his own anymore and needed constant pain medication Now those painkillers, including the morphine drip, couldn’t bring relief anymore Every day was an ordeal He called me and my brother to his bedside and asked us to help him Because of the agonizing pain and the fact that there was no hope whatsoever of recovery, he wanted us to ask the doctors to help him die He didn’t want to suffer, nor lose the little dignity he had still left I thought it was a fair request My brother, however, didn’t see it that way cancer coma(tose) diagnose dignity mandatory mercy misery morphine Discussion Questions ordeal If you were in terrible pain and dying, would you ask for euthanasia? Do you think people have the right to die or the obligation to live? If you saw a loved one suffering endlessly and beyond hope, what would you do? Is euthanasia legal where you live? If so, you agree? If not, is it done anyway? Should helping someone die with dignity be punished as a crime? Should patients in a lifelong coma be euthanized? If so, who decides? Most people think putting animals out of their misery is an act of mercy Should we show mercy to people as well? Wouldn’t it be better if euthanasia was mandatory for all incurable or comatose patients, as well as for the severely handicapped and convicted murderers? recovery relief painkiller suffer terminal Brainstorm: For and against Why euthanasia is a good idea: More worksheets available on www.ESLprintables.com PhilipR Why euthanasia is a bad idea: Author: Lively Discussion Topics Take a stand: Debate, speak or write Prepare a short speech or essay in which you outline debate I am for/against euthanasia because… Doctors who assist patients… If I had someone close to me in such a situation… your point of view or organize a whole-class More worksheets available on www.ESLprintables.com PhilipR I think… Killing others is… People who help others die… I would never… Possible exceptions… Finally… Author: Lively Discussion Topics Teacher Notes & Background Info The idea of this lesson is to have a lively discussion on the worksheet topic Students should be given a copy of the first sheet of this file • • • • Allow some time for the Reading part Let students either use a dictionary, put them in small groups to discuss unknown vocabulary or act as a dictionary yourself You could also ask them to guess the meaning of unknown words Depending on class size, have a whole-class (or group) discussion/debate using the Discussion Questions Brainstorm: Let students brainstorm either alone or in pairs; after that, they can share their idea with others Take a stand: All students should prepare a short speech or essay This could be done in group As it might be impossible to hear (or read) them all, you could ask groups to assign a number to each group member (they not need to tell the teacher) The teacher then picks a random number (say – if groups have four members) and that student will give a short speech or read (part of) their essay aloud Alternatively, organize a whole-class debate (just make sure there are enough students in each ‘camp’ These guidelines are of course flexible A lesson using this worksheet will probably last 45 to 60 minutes (depending on how much time you allow for preparing or writing and on how enthusiastic your students are) Euthanasia: The intentional killing by act or omission of a dependent human being for his or her alleged benefit Arguments For Euthanasia: www.euthanasia.com • It provides a way to relieve extreme pain • It provides a way of relief when a person's quality of life is low • Frees up medical funds to help other people • It is another case of freedom of choice Arguments Against Euthanasia: • Euthanasia devalues human life • Euthanasia can become a means of health care cost containment • Physicians and other medical care people should not be involved in directly causing death • There is a "slippery slope" effect that has occurred where euthanasia has been first been legalized for only the terminally ill and later laws are changed to allow it for other people or to be done non-voluntarily Reasons for Euthanasia • Unbearable pain • Right to commit suicide • People should not be forced to stay alive Arguments Against Euthanasia • Euthanasia would not only be for people who are "terminally ill" More worksheets available on www.ESLprintables.com • Euthanasia can become a means of health care cost containment PhilipR• Euthanasia will become non-voluntary • Euthanasia is a rejection of the importance and value of human life www.euthanasia.com Author: Lively Discussion Topics Euthanasia also called mercy killing www.Britannica.com act or practice of painlessly putting to death persons suffering from painful and incurable disease or incapacitating physical disorder or allowing them to die by withholding treatment or withdrawing artificial life-support measures Because there is no specific provision for it in most legal systems, it is usually regarded as either suicide (if performed by the patient himself) or murder (if performed by another) A physician may, however, lawfully decide not to prolong life in cases of extreme suffering; and he may administer drugs to relieve pain, even if this shortens the patient’s life In the late 20th century, several European countries had special provisions in their criminal codes for lenient sentencing and the consideration of extenuating circumstances in prosecutions for euthanasia The opinion that euthanasia is morally permissible is traceable to Socrates, Plato, and the Stoics It is rejected in traditional Christian belief, chiefly because it is thought to contravene the prohibition of murder in the Ten Commandments The organized movement for legalization of euthanasia commenced in England in 1935, when C Killick Millard founded the Voluntary Euthanasia Legalisation Society (later called the Euthanasia Society) The society’s bill was defeated in the House of Lords in 1936, as was a motion on the same subject in the House of Lords in 1950 In the United States the Euthanasia Society of America was founded in 1938 The first countries to legalize euthanasia were The Netherlands in 2001 and Belgium in 2002 In 1997 Oregon became the first state in the United States to decriminalize physician-assisted suicide; opponents of the controversial law, however, attempted to have it overturned In 2009 the Supreme Court of South Korea recognized a “right to die with dignity” in its decision to approve a request by the family of a brain-dead woman that she be removed from life-support systems The potential of modern medical practice to prolong life through technological means has provoked the question of what courses of action should be available to the physician and the family in cases of extreme physical or emotional suffering, especially if the patient is incapable of choice Passively doing nothing to prolong life or withdrawing life-support measures has resulted in criminal charges being brought against physicians; on the other hand, the families of comatose and apparently terminal patients have instituted legal action against the medical establishment to make them stop the use of extraordinary life support More worksheets available on www.ESLprintables.com PhilipR Author: