Death and dying Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Death and dying - Research Paper Example Religiously-motivated terrorism is seen in Afghanistan (Walker, 2011) and in America (Robinson, 1999) and throughout history and all over the world. Religion-inspired genocide was seen in the Crusades and in the treatment of the Tibetans by the Chinese government (Kopel, 2010). Religiously-motivated cult suicides, such as the People’s Temple Jonestown Massacre (Ross, 2001) or the Heaven’s Gate group suicide in which 41 died (religioustolerance.org, 1997), are seemingly less rare than they used to be. There are laws against killing, yet the government reserves the right to kill for punishment or to kill in war. They can even create a justification to kill for experimental purposes (Educational Foundation for Nuclear Science, 1970). The interpretation of law is complex. Another death and dying controversy centers around whether an individual has a fundamental right to die. The US Constitution talks about the right to life and liberty, but does not specify whether one’s liberty extends to the right to decide when to die. Dr. Kevorkian was a modern day Apostle , evangelizing for this right in society. He argues that everyone has that right and that doctors have the right to help people in carrying out a decision to end their own life (Nelan & McBride/Detroit, 1993) There is also a controversy around the meaning of near death experience. Some believe it to be a spiritual experience that comes with death and explains where you go after death , while others argue that it is just a result of the compression of the optic nerve and cerebral anoxia (Blackmore, 1998) and carbon dioxide in the blood (Science Daily, 2010). Some people meet Jesus or relatives and take it literally, while skeptics look for alternate explanations. There is controversy around how to dispose of the dead person’s corpse. Some people want to be buried, while others want to be cremated. There are