Question

in Euthanasia.. Is there an ethical difference between her dying in 6 hours and dying in a week? What about a year, and how do you draw this distinction?

Answer 1

Euthanasia is the termination of a very sick person life in order to relieve them of their suffering. The word euthanasia derives from Greek, the term means simple easy-good-death.
REASON- Globally pain is the main reason for terminally ill people plus their quality of life is zero.

There are many ethical issues that arise in the act of euthanasia. time taken for death to occur is one of them.

Peaceful relaxation and full unconsciousness sets in over 5-15 minutes. Next, a vein injection is given. As the anesthesia overwhelms the brain and shuts it down, the breathing quickens and stops within 30 seconds, followed by the heart slowing and stopping over 1-3 minutes. but different modes/ forms of euthanasia are there.

FORMS OF EUTHANASIA
ACTIVE EUTHANASIA- It is when death is brought by an act (for example taking a high dose of drugs, lethal injection). To end a person’s life by the use of drugs, either by oneself or by the physician
PASSIVE EUTHANASIA- When death is brought by an omission e.g.: When someone lets the person die, this can be done by withdrawing or withholding treatment.
Withdrawing treatment - For example switching off a machine that keeps the person alive
Withholding treatment - For example not carrying out a surgery that will extend life of the patient for a short time.
INDIRECT EUTHANASIA- This means providing treatments -mainly to reduce pain- that has a side effect of shortening the patient’s life. Since the primary intent wasn’t to kill, it is morally accepted by some people.
ASSISTED SUICIDE- This usually refers to cases where the persons who are going to die need help to kill themselves and ask for it. It may be something as simple as getting drugs for the person, and putting those
drugs within their reach.

so definitely , more time taken to ensue death is difficult & more ethically difficult to decide. its easier to perform the quicker and easy modes of it so that the patient overwhelmed by so much of pain and suffering is rendered free of it as soon as possible. increased time gap between administration of euthanasia method and actual death of a person should be ideally less to reduce the financial burden, proper management of resources of hospital & reallocation of resources to a needy area as it has been decided to perform.