active euthanasia position argument
Write a formal position argument for what you would do in the below case. Instructions for writing the argument are below the case text.
Case to be argued:
Arnold Nelson was a 65-year-old retired man who had suffered 66% body burns in an automobile fire. He did not realize that there was a gas line leak under his car when he started his engine. There was an explosion; but he was rescued. He speet two months undergoing painful burn therapy at General Hospital. However, he lost one-third of most of his fingers, the external portion of both of his ears, one eye, flexibility in both arms and both legs. and was severely disfigured in his face and most of his body. There were still open wounds which required gauze wrapping and disinfectant at least once a day. These were extremely painful and would continue for at least 4 more months before the pain subsided and healing took place. It was not clear whether Arnold would get sight back in one eye which had been grafted over by the doctors. Nor was it clear whether he would ever be able to move or flex his arms and legs. He would never have walked and was not terminally ill.
Arnold gave the following deposition to his attorney:
“I do not wish to go on living in this state. I am in constant pain and I do not wish to spend the rest of my life as a blind invalid. It is my civil right to decide what to do with my own life. Even though I did not have the foresight to sign a living will, I now declare that I wish to have either a sufficient dose of Secanol pills or morphine injections to assure that I go to sleep permanently and end my suffering. I further declare that I am of sound mind.”
One day after the above deposition was given, Dr. Grove, Arnold’s doctor and close friend, was urged by Arnold’s wife, Helen, to do what her husband asked. Dr. Grove agreed, and proceeded to fulfill Arnold’s request by injecting him with an overdose of morphine. He was charged with first degree murder by the local district attorney.
Facts:
* Arnold’s wife, Helen, is the beneficiary of a $500,000 life insurance policy Arnold took out on her.
* Arnold’s family, a wife and two sons, stand to inherit approximately $1.2 million dollars from Arnold’s estate.
* Arnold’s priest, Father O’Donnell, strongly objected to Arnold’s request. The Father said that the Church proclaims that human life is God’s to give or take away, not man. He says that it is a mortal sin for either Arnold or his doctor to act on Arnold’s request, especially since Arnold was not terminally ill.
* Arnold’s second son, Tom, will testify that he did not believe his father was rational and that his pain and suffering must have clouded his mind.
* Arnold’s first son, Harold, disagreed. He claimed their father always was an independent and physically active man who said he did not want to live as a vegetable.
* Home care for Arnold would have involved moving him into and out of a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
* Further treatment for Arnold to be stabilized for home care would have cost $650,000.
Instructions for writing formal position argument:
Your objective in this assignment is to compose a formal position argument that supports a SOUND argument for what you would do in this case assuming you were in this situation and you had to make a decision. Remember from your reading that a SOUND argument must pass two tests:
(1) THE VALIDITY TEST: It must be valid, and
(2) THE TRUE PREMISES TEST: All the premises must be true.
GUIDELINES FOR COMPOSING FIRST DRAFTS OF THIS PAPER?: Please adhere to the following criteria:
Criterion 1:Did you clearly state a primary (or core) argument that directly supported your final conclusion? (0-4 points)
Criterion 2:Did you develop secondary arguments that directly supported the premises of your primary argument, or, that further supported your primary argument? ((0-4 points)
Criterion 3:Was your language use (or content) clear, unambiguous, well-defined, and respectful?(See Chapters 4 through 9) (0-4 points)
Criterion 4:Was the structure of your overall argument clear, coherent, and consistent?(0-4 points)
Criterion 5:Did you offer a summation of why your argument passed the two tests of a sound argument, namely, (a) the validity test and (b) the reasonably true premises test? (0-4 points)
