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Common medicine Ethical issues Euthanasia
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In the article “Right to Die” published by Infobase Learning, it basically discusses the autonomy in medical ethics and explains if a terminally ill patient has the right to die or not. In November 2016, voters in Colorado approved a law that would allow a physician to prescribe medication that would help end a patient’s life, if that is truly want the patient desired and had two physicians agreed to it. It made it a crime to force or influence someone into an assisted suicide. This debate has been fumed for several decades, whether ill people can end their own lives because it’s their respect for autonomy and their right and whether the physicians should be able to help them or not. This is known as physician-assisted suicide, where a physician provides the patient with the means to end his or her life (“Right to Die” ¶1-3). Supports argue that patients who are terminally ill and in extreme pain should be able to ask for help from their physicians to seek relief; because it’s their duty to respect the patient’s autonomy. They rather seek a dignified death than live with pain and dependency. Even courts have found that just like how people have the right to refuse a medical treatment, there is a similar right to ask for …show more content…
The reason is because it is the physician’s duty to respect the autonomy of a patient. It allows them to escape from the pain and suffering and be in a comfort state. As Jacob Appel said, “For many human beings, the value of their lives is inextricably linked to the quality of their lives, and life below a subjective threshold for quality is no longer worth living,”. Appel argued this in the New York Times in April 2012, “The option of assisted suicide also benefits many severely ill and elderly patients, offering them the solace of potential escape from suffering if they ever desire it” (“Right to Die”
Currently, in the United States, 12% of states including Vermont, Oregon, and California have legalized the Right to Die. This ongoing debate whether or not to assist in death with patients who have terminal illness has been and is still far from over. Before continuing, the definition of Right to Die is, “an individual who has been certified by a physician as having an illness or physical condition which can be reasonably be expected to result in death in 24 months or less after the date of the certification” (Terminally Ill Law & Legal Definition 1). With this definition, the Right to die ought to be available to any person that is determined terminally ill by a professional, upon this; with the request of Right to Die, euthanasia must be
In the medical field, there has always been the question raised, “What is ethical?” There is a growing conflict between two important principles: autonomy and death being considered a medical treatment. Physician assisted suicide is defined as help from a medical professional,
One position within the debate for physician assisted suicide is that it should not be legalized. Many defenders cite the issue of pain for this stance. They believe that the amount of suffering that a terminally ill patient is going through is deluding their minds. They also linked this distress towards clinical depression, the root that they say are causing them to want to ...
Watt, Bob. “TO EVERY THING THERE IS A SEASON AND A TIME TO EVERY PURPOSE UNDER THE HEAVEN – A TIME TO BE BORN AND A TIME TO DIE.1 NATURAL LAW, EMOTION AND THE RIGHT TO DIE.” Denning Law Journal 1.24 (2012): 89-115. University of Buckingham
The approach of physician-assisted suicide respects an individual’s need for personal dignity. It does not force the terminally ill patient to linger hopelessly, and helplessly, often at great cost to their psyche. It drive’s people mad knowing they are going to die in a short period of time, suffering while they wait in a hospital bed.
Because euthanasia and physician assisted death is free of pain. It is also better coping with the family members and friends of the person wanting to commit suicide. Meanwhile, it is simply better to say goodbye to family if that person is planning on dying. Imagine not knowing the next day you would never be able to see anything. They couldn't even talk nor see one of their family members ever again. That will be horrifying. Physician assisted death allows people to say goodbye to their family and friends. However, it's free of pain. This type of death is free of pain. People don't need to be obligated to go through anything to die. It is simply better than them doing it
“If you don't get what you want, you suffer; if you get what you don't want, you suffer; even when you get exactly what you want, you still suffer because you can't hold on to it forever. Your mind is your predicament. It wants to be free of change. Free of pain, free of the obligations of life and death. But change is law and no amount of pretending will alter that reality” (Socrates ). Death. The means to an end. Game over. Do we as humans have a choice in the matter of choosing life or death, or is that all left up to a higher power? Which is a highly debatable question that has no exact answer. Where should we draw the line in deciding who has that right, the patients, after all it is their life, the family or should it be up to the doctors, the ones who have to partake in ending one’s life? When searching for the solution a person must contemplate their beliefs and the many perspectives of people who could possibility sway his/her choice. In doing so, patients religion, values, and traditions come into play. The main reason behind the argument is , what is suicide? "suicide is death caused by self-directed injurious behavior with any intent to die as a result of the behavior"(CDC). Conversely the option of death should be granted to a patient who is suffering from severe injuries or a situation involving a predicted death, unless otherwise stated in their wishes beforehand.
Critics to the idea of providing dying patients with lethal doses, fear that people will use this type those and kill others, “lack of supervision over the use of lethal drugs…risk that the drugs might be used for some other purpose”(Young 45). Young explains that another debate that has been going on within this issue is the distinction between killings patients and allowing them die. What people don’t understand is that it is not considered killing a patient if it’s the option they wished for. “If a dying patient requests help with dying because… he is … in intolerable burden, he should be benefited by a physician assisting him to die”(Young 119). Patients who are suffering from diseases that have no cure should be given the option to decide the timing and manner of their own death. Young explains that patients who are unlikely to benefit from the discovery of a cure, or with incurable medical conditions are individuals who should have access to either euthanasia or assisted suicide. Advocates agreeing to this method do understand that choosing death is a very serious matter, which is why it should not be settled in a moment. Therefore, if a patient and physician agree that a life must end and it has been discussed, and agreed, young concludes, “ if a patient asks his physician to end his life, that constitutes a request for
Doctors prefer to never have to euthanize a patient. It is a contradiction of everything they have been taught for a doctor to euthanize someone, because a doctor’s job is to do everything in their power to keep the patient alive, not assist them in suicide. The majority of doctors who specialize in palliative care, a field focused on quality of life for patients with severe and terminal illnesses, think legalizing assisted suicide is very unnecessary. This is due to the fact that if patients do not kill themselves, they will end up dying on a ventilator in the hospital under the best possible care available, with people around them trying to keep them as comfortable as possible. Legalized euthanasia everywhere has been compared to going down a slippery slope. Officials believe that it could be done over excessively and the fear of assisted suicide numbers rising greatly is a great fear. This is why euthanasia is such a controversial subject worldwide. But, even though it is a very controversial subject, euthanasia is humane. Every doctor also has a say in whether or not they choose to euthanize a patient or not, leaving only the doctors who are willing to do this type of practice, for euthanizing patients. Medicine and drugs prescribed by a doctor for pain or suffering can not always help a person to the extent they desire, even with the help of doctors
As patients come closer to the end of their lives, certain organs stop performing as well as they use to. People are unable to do simple tasks like putting on clothes, going to the restroom without assistance, eat on our own, and sometimes even breathe without the help of a machine. Needing to depend on someone for everything suddenly brings feelings of helplessness much like an infant feels. It is easy to see why some patients with terminal illnesses would seek any type of relief from this hardship, even if that relief is suicide. Euthanasia or assisted suicide is where a physician would give a patient an aid in dying. “Assisted suicide is a controversial medical and ethical issue based on the question of whether, in certain situations, Medical practioners should be allowed to help patients actively determine the time and circumstances of their death” (Lee). “Arguments for and against assisted suicide (sometimes called the “right to die” debate) are complicated by the fact that they come from very many different points of view: medical issues, ethical issues, legal issues, religious issues, and social issues all play a part in shaping people’s opinions on the subject” (Lee). Euthanasia should not be legalized because it is considered murder, it goes against physicians’ Hippocratic Oath, violates the Controlled
A divergent set of issues and opinions involving medical care for the very seriously ill patient have dogged the bioethics community for decades. While sophisticated medical technology has allowed people to live longer, it has also caused protracted death, most often to the severe detriment of individuals and their families. Ira Byock, director of palliative medicine at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, believes too many Americans are “dying badly.” In discussing this issue, he stated, “Families cannot imagine there could be anything worse than their loved one dying, but in fact, there are things worse.” “It’s having someone you love…suffering, dying connected to machines” (CBS News, 2014). In the not distant past, the knowledge, skills, and technology were simply not available to cure, much less prolong the deaths of gravely ill people. In addition to the ethical and moral dilemmas this presents, the costs of intensive treatment often do not realize appreciable benefits. However, cost alone should not determine when care becomes “futile” as this veers medicine into an even more dangerous ethical quagmire. While preserving life with the best possible care is always good medicine, the suffering and protracted deaths caused from the continued use of futile measures benefits no one. For this reason, the determination of futility should be a joint decision between the physician, the patient, and his or her surrogate.
Both doctors and physicians take oaths to commit to the patients best interest then they should have the option rather than the unsettling alternative. It’s their duty to help and heal, shoving tubes and poking them with needles, to keep them alive when they can’t LIVE contradicts the whole purpose of a doctor. In another sense, physician assisted suicide also promotes dignity. Choosing to end your already decided fate, should be up to the patient. According to Diane in an excerpt from “Assisted Suicide”, “her dad shot himself in the head which she found unexpectedly one evening. He had been suffering from after being in combat and couldn't handle the pain anymore. She wishes no one go through that horrific experience" (Friedman). Euthanasia wasn’t an option for her dad, he did what he knew would end his suffering, and that lead to unbearable grief and so many questions asking “why?” Stumbling across a loved one who committed suicide, because it was their only way of escaping their unbearable pain, is something no one forgets. Not having the chance to say good-bye to your loved one, having to rely on a single sheet of paper (if you’re lucky) to explain how or why they did what they did. Euthanasia gives the family time to mourn when the decision has been made, it gives them time to ask questions so they're not left guessing why.
The right to die is defined as a person should be able to refuse treatment and die naturally. There are some patients that refuse treatment and just want to end the suffering by taking lethal drugs provided by a doctor which is called assisted suicide. In the US it's currently legal in 5 states: Oregon, Washington, Vermont, Colorado, and California. In Idaho it’s not talked about that much but has been a big issue in the US. The supreme court has decided to let each state to decide if it should be allowed. Assisted suicide is an easy way out and shouldn’t be an option offered to patients.
Throughout history, there have been many disagreements on certain issues ranging from war, to the Constitution, to slavery. Currently, one of the biggest disagreements in society is that of euthanasia. The Oxford English Dictionary defines euthanasia as the, “act of inducing a gentle and easy death, especially with reference to a proposal that the law should sanction the putting painlessly to death of those suffering from incurable and extremely painful diseases.” (“Euthanasia”) Some believe that assisted suicide is morally and ethically wrong, while others state that it is helping the patient’s pain cease to exist. Ultimately, if a terminally ill patient wishes to end his or her suffering, the government should allow a physician to respect his or her request.
Should a patient have the right to ask for a physician’s help to end his or her life? This question has raised great controversy for many years. The legalization of physician assisted suicide or active euthanasia is a complex issue and both sides have strong arguments. Supporters of active euthanasia often argue that active euthanasia is a good death, painless, quick, and ultimately is the patient’s choice. While it is understandable, though heart-rending, why a patient that is in severe pain and suffering that is incurable would choose euthanasia, it still does not outweigh the potential negative effects that the legalization of euthanasia may have. Active euthanasia should not be legalized because