Is It Wrong To Kill Essay, Research Paper

Is It Wrong To Kill A Human Being?

During the past quarter century Abortion, Capital Punishment, and Euthanasia have been very controversial subjects in the United States. These methods are ineffective as well as cruel and immoral. They are power over life and death, and they touch some the deepest feelings in human beings. Thomas Jefferson states in The Declaration of Independence states ?all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.? This country was founded on these principles and it is every American?s duty to preserve human life.

In 1973, the Supreme Court passed Roe vs. Wade, which legalized abortion in the United States. Today roughly, a quarter of all pregnancies end in abortion. In 1998, there were nearly 1.2 million abortions reported to the Center Disease Control. According to Pro-Life advocates the unborn child, is no less a human being than his/her mother is and has an inalienable right to life, and abortion must be prohibited or at least sharply restricted. When a women choices to abort an unborn child, not only is she ending the life of an unborn child, she is putting herself at risk as well. Studies show that more than 10 percent of women undergoing an abortion suffer immediate complications, and one fifth of those are considered life threatening. Aborting mothers suffer many psychological effects as well, such as nightmares, hysterical outbreaks, and feelings of immense guilt and fear of punishment from God. Purely biologically speaking, it is undeniable that the fetus is a human. At the moment of conception, the fetus has a DNA that is different from his/her mother. If doctors measure the end of life by brain death, wouldn?t it be reasonable to measure the beginning of life by brain life. As early as six weeks, an unborn baby?s brain waves can be recorded. Some may argue that a fetus is nearly a mass of flesh and not nearly as complex as a human, but that is false. By the eighth week, the all of the body systems are present, and by the eleventh week all the body systems are functional. Doctors even believe that at eight weeks the unborn baby can feel pain. Therefore, when a woman decides to have an abortion she is killing a living, breathing, heart pumping human being.

The purpose for punishment is of the protection of society, and to reform the wrongdoer. Capital Punishment is no way an effective method of protecting society. The death penalty opponents dispute the deterrent effect of capital punishment, arguing that few murders rationally weigh the possibility that they might face the death penalty before committing a murder. Many murders are committed in sudden fits of passion or temporary insanity, in which Capital Punishment fails a deterrent. According to statistics, states that enforce the death penalty do not show a decrease in the number of murders committed on the per capita basis, than states that do not enforce the death penalty. Capital punishment is also irreversible, and errors of justice can never be rectified, like in the case of David Marshall and Donald Millgard where innocent men were executed. Capital punishment also removes all possibilities of reformation of the wrongdoer, and taking away both his chances to reform, and our opportunity and duty to reform him. A number of studies indicate that ethnic origin, sex, and economic status of the defendants and/or victims has an impact of whether the death penalty is sought. On average, more African Americans are executed than whites that are convicted of the same or similar crimes. In addition, very few women or wealthy people are executed by the death penalty. Therefore, a rich white female that murders a poor black male is less likely to be sentenced to the death penalty, and a poor black male that murders a rich white women is more likely to be sentenced to the death penalty.

The term Euthanasia means ?Good Death? but there is nothing good about a suicide. Some methods of Euthanasia go as far as even starving a patient to death. Many terminal ill patients that choose assisted suicide because the are so overwhelmed by pain, depression, and the weight of being a financial burden on their loved ones. A person in this state is in not thinking with a rational mind, therefore are not in any way capable choosing something so precious as the fate of their own life. Opponents believe it is then the responsibility of the government to intervene to protect the life of the patient. The doctor?s view on euthanasia is that they take a vow to always assist patients in prolonging their life and where there is life there is hope. The results of Euthanasia are permanent and irreversible. Today breakthroughs in the medical field are a regular occurrence. There are constant new treatments and ways to prolong life and increase the quality of life.

The gift of life is the most precious gift of all and it is our duty to protect every human beings life. The life of an unborn child, a convicted murder, or a terminal ill patient is no more or less valuable than the life of anyone else. If society has laws that are wrong to murder someone, how can that same society execute someone? What kind of example are we setting for our young if we become a society of barbarians and murders of people if we justified in killing? There is not a valid reason society has to take a human life. It might be more cost effective, or a short-term solution but it is the wrong and immoral thing do to. Society need to more concerned with doing the right, ethical, and moral thing, and that is to preserve every human life.