A RIGHT TO DIE SHOULD NOT BE DENIED
             Forty-one year-old Peter Cinque was in the terminal stages of diabetes. He was blind, had lost both legs, and suffered from ulcers and cardiovascular problems, as well. He was being kept alive by a kidney dialysis machine. Then one day he asked his doctors to stop the treatment. As a conscious, rational adult, he had the legal right to determine what should or should not be done to his body. But the hospital authorities refused to honor this right until he had been examined by two psychiatrists to test his mental competence. After this, the hospital obtained a court order that required him to continue with dialysis treatments. A few days later, Mr. Cimque stopped breathing. He had suffered from brain damage and was in a coma. Only after this and two court hearings in the hospital that he was finally permitted to exercise his constitutional right of self-determination (Ogg 61). What an unfortunate incident. Mr. Cinque was forced to prolong his suffering due to a lack of guidelines to ensure the right of self-determination. For this reason, euthanasia must be legalized in a way that individuals to decide for themselves what should or should not be done to their bodies. That is, laws must be strengthened and guidelines must be set to ensure the right of euthanasia will not be denied to people.
             The case for euthanasia is justified on three fundamental moral principles: mercy, autonomy, and justice (Battin 18). First, there is principle of mercy. This means that one ought to relieve pain of another and that it is a doctor's duty to relieve pain and suffering for the patients. Granting mercy sometimes require euthanasia, both by direct killing and letting die. Moreover, allowing doctors to end the life of terminally ill patients is more merciful than allowing them to die slowly and painfully. Second, There is the principle of autonomy. That is, euthanasia is an individual's choice. It is ...