The Pros And Cons Of Physician Assisted Suicide

1385 Words3 Pages

Also Known As Murder
Imagine a family member being extremely ill and suffering from day to day. When they decide they cannot take the pain any more, would you want them to pull through for you or would you fulfill their dying wish and let the doctor pull the plug? Could you even make a decision? Many people would not allow such an event to happen because with all the pain and confusion the patient is enduring may cause confusion and suicidal tendencies. However, there are people who believe otherwise. This is called physician-assisted suicide. Physician-assisted suicide (PAS) is a controversial topic that causes much debate. Though it is only legal in the three states Oregon, Washington and Montana, there are many people who are for it and think it can be necessary. Even with morals put aside, Physician-assisted suicide should be illegal because it will be a huge violation of the oath every doctor must abide by, there would be no real way to distinguish between people who are suffering and the people who are faking or depressed, and it causes a lot of confusion to people with new diseases or new strands of disease that does not have a clear cure.
Once physician- assisted suicide (PAS) is legalized, the Oath doctors take would be infringed upon. Allen states “Physician-assisted suicide is viewed as the most controversial types of euthanasia because it violates the Hippocratic Oath” (15). The oath consists of the doctors promising to keep the patients’ health and well-being first and try their best to keep their patients’ lives long and healthy until it is naturally their time to leave the world. (Allen 15). It is obviously a violation of the oath when doctors aid in the death of their patients. They do not help the patients pr...

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...h the disease. Doctors or patients should not use that as an excuse to go through with PAS. Kaveny says, “…they have argued that PAS would be just the first step down a slippery slope” (1), which is very true because the faults that will come along with PAS will eventually cause the downfall of our health system. It will do that mainly because how could anyone trust a doctor that gives up so easily.
With all the defects of the PAS movement exposed, it is safe to say that PAS should be illegal everywhere. It causes destruction of our health system by violating the Hippocratic Oath, letting innocent people die a preventable death, and the struggles with new diseases and outbreaks. PAS should not even be in debate; it should just be banned. There should be more thought and debate for more research and cures for these diseases. Kill the disease not the patient.

Ethical Issues With Physician Assisted Suicide
824 Words | 2 Pages
The ethical issues of physician-assisted suicide are both emotional and controversial, as it struggles with the issue of life and death. If you take a moment and imagine how you would choose to live your last day, it is almost guaranteed that it wouldn’t be a day spent lying in a hospital bed, suffering in pain, continuously being pumped with medicine, and living in a strangers’ body. Today we live in a culture that denies the terminally ill the right to maintain control over when and how to end their lives. Physicians-assisted suicide “is the voluntary termination of one's own life by the administration of a lethal substance with the direct or indirect assistance of a physician” (Medical Definition of Physician-Assisted Suicide, 2017). Physician-assisted
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The Pros And Cons Of Physician Assisted Suicide
908 Words | 2 Pages
...their own life and die with their own dignity is huge thing among anyone. No one should be denied the right to leave this earth if they are in constant and terrible pain. But people were also asked whether physician-assisted suicide should be allowed for people in severe pain who aren't terminally ill or for those with disabilities and the outcome was, “a solid majority — 71 percent — opposed the idea, with only 29 percent in favor of it. The results were the same as in 2011.” (Hensley, 2012). The whole idea of having physician-assisted suicide is for a patient with a severe illness with months to live is to go out in peace and without any complications. Overall, physician-assisted suicide has many pros and cons but the main issue is the patient. It should not be up to anybody except the dying patient. There are only four states that have legalized assisted-suicide.
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The Pros And Cons Of Physician Assisted Suicide
1112 Words | 3 Pages
If my solution (legalization of PAS) should become the law countrywide, this would be the best solution in the long run. There would not be patient’s suffering and desperate to end their life, there would be a way out. A way to end their life with dignity and to give their families some piece of mind. There are many situations and scenarios in our lives where decisions are taken out of our hands, one way or another. I feel that that the right to die should be a decision that each individual person should make (and be able to make) for themselves.
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Physician-Assisted Suicide: A Case Study Analysis
1833 Words | 4 Pages
PAS is an emotional debate that has been addressed in the courts repeatedly. In 1997, the Supreme Courts ruled PAS illegal in Washington State during the Washington et al. v. Glucksberg et al. case. Several of the main reasons provided are, the state has the commitment to protect life, the medical profession, and vulnerable groups (Washington et al. v. Glucksberg et al., 1997). However, in 2008 the Supreme Courts reversed their previous decision and passed the Death with Dignity Act legalizing PAS for Washington State. This declares that terminally ill individuals in the state of Oregon, Washington, Montana, and Vermont now have the liberty to choose how they will end their lives with either hospice care, palliative care, comfort measures, or PAS. The question remains is will the rest of the United States follow their lead?
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Physician Assisted Suicide Persuasive Speech
1080 Words | 3 Pages
Intro: The Hippocratic Oath clearly states, “I will not give a drug that is deadly to anyone if asked [for it], nor will I suggest the way to such counsel.”Steven Miles, a professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School published an article, “The Hippocratic Oath,” expressing that doctors must uphold the standards of the Hippocratic Oath to modern relevance. Euthanasia continues as a controversial policy issue. Providing resourceful information allows us to recognize what is in the best interest for patients and doctors alike. Today, I will convince you that physician-assisted suicide should be illegal. The United States must implement a policy stopping the usage of euthanasia for the terminally ill. I will provide knowledge of
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Physician Assisted Suicide ( Pas )
859 Words | 2 Pages
Imagine, if you will, that you have just found out you have a terminal medical condition. Doesn’t matter which one, it’s terminal. Over the 6 months you have to live you experience unmeasurable amounts of pain, and when your free of your pain the medication you’re under renders you in an impaired sense of consciousness. Towards the 4th month, you begin to believe all this suffering is pointless, you are to die anyways, why not with a little dignity. You begin to consider Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS). In this essay I will explain the ethical decisions and dilemmas one may face when deciding to accept the idea of Physician-Assisted Suicide. I will also provide factual information pertaining to the subject of PAS and testimony from some that advocate for legalization of PAS. PAS is not to be taken lightly. It is the decision to end one’s life with the aid of a medical physician. Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary states that PAS is “Suicide by a patient facilitated by means (as a drug prescription) or by information (as an indication of a lethal dosage) provided by a physician aware of the patient’s intent.” PAS is considered, by our textbook – Doing Ethics by Lewis Vaughn, an active voluntary form of euthanasia. There are other forms of euthanasia such as non-voluntary, involuntary, and passive. This essay is focusing on PAS, an active voluntary form of euthanasia. PAS is commonly known as “Dying/Death with Dignity.” The most recent publicized case of PAS is the case of Brittany Maynard. She was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in California, where she lived. At the time California didn’t have Legislative right to allow Brittany the right to commit PAS so she was transported to Oregon where PAS is legal....
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Argumentative Essay On Physician Assisted Suicide
1967 Words | 4 Pages
Imagine being diagnosed with a disease that is going to kill you, but then you learn that you cannot do anything to avoid the pain it will cause you. The palliative care you will receive will only be able to provide slight comfort. You look at the options and consult with your physician, and decide physician-assisted suicide, or PAS, is what you want. Within the last two decades, the argument regarding physician-assisted suicide has grown. While some believe that death should be "natural", physician-assisted suicide helps the terminally ill maintain their dignity while dying. Physician assisted suicide should be a viable option for those diagnosed with a terminal illness. It provides a permanent relief to the pain and suffering that is involved
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The Right to Die with Dignity: Physician Assisted Suicide
777 Words | 2 Pages
Physician-assisted suicide is defined as a physician providing either equipment or medication, or to inform the patient of the most available means, for the purpose of assisting the patient to end his or her own life. The people’s opinion support PAS according to a poll given in 1998. The majority 33% of people agreed that Physician assisted suicide should be made legal in a variety of circumstances, and 32% agreed with making it legal in select cases. (Gallup)
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Physician Assisted Suicide
986 Words | 2 Pages
First of all, the “Right-To-Die” group and the Hemlock Society contend that terminally ill individuals have the right to end their own lives in some instances, and because PAS is illegal, many patients are unable to get the help necessary to terminate their lives and must involuntarily endure the extreme pain and suffering of their diseases. Others argue that PAS must be legalized...
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Does Fred Help Bertha?
1351 Words | 3 Pages
Doctors of medicine who willingly participate in PAS are playing with a double edged sword. If they help the deadly ill by prescribing lethal doses of barbiturates, then society may see them as sinners or even murderers. On the other side of that sword, if they do not aid the sick, then they may be seen as not fulfilling their oath and or lack compassion. In regards to PAS, physicians help to bring humans into the world, and aid them throughout their entire lives; it would only seem right that the medical doctor be included in the final stages of one’s life to aid them in the dying
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The Death With Dignity Act
1734 Words | 4 Pages
In closing, despite all of the different opinions that people have on PAS, there are many good outcomes that come with the decision. Having the right to make a “choice” is what PAS comes down to. Many argue that it is inhumane, while many will argue that it is a choice. If choosing PAS as a last dying right, then one should respect that choice. It is a choice and only the patient should have the right to choose.
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Argumentative Essay On Physician Assisted Suicide
1224 Words | 3 Pages
PAS falls underneath the umbrella of euthanasia. ? “Michael Manning, MD, in his 1998 book Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide: Killing or Caring?, traced the history of the word euthanasia: ‘The term euthanasia...originally meant only 'good death, ' but in modern society it has come to mean a death free of any
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Argumentative Essay On Assisted Suicide
1062 Words | 3 Pages
Assisted suicide brings up one of the biggest moral debates currently circulating in America. Physician assisted suicide allows a patient to be informed, including counseling about and prescribing lethal doses of drugs, and allowed to decide, with the help of a doctor, to commit suicide. There are so many questions about assisted suicide and no clear answers. Should assisted suicide be allowed only for the terminally ill, or for everyone? What does it actually mean to assist in a suicide? What will the consequences of legalizing assisted suicide be? What protection will there be to protect innocent people? Is it (morally) right or wrong? Those who are considered “pro-death”, believe that being able to choose how one dies is one’s own right.
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Medical Ethics
776 Words | 2 Pages
However, self-determination, and ultimately respect for autonomy are relied heavily on as principle arguments in the PAS issue. Daniel Callahan, author of When Self-Determination Runs Amok, is against any social policy that would allow for PAS to be practiced. Callahan believes that the argument for PAS does not have a firm foundation, because self-determination and mercy, the two principles that are in support of PAS, may become separated (711). If mercy is seen as a core element in support of PAS, why restrict PAS only to those who can ask for it -- don't the unconscious or incompetent deserve mercy also?      Callahan is in opposition to the belief that the essence of human dignity is the notion that a person should be free to choose how and when they want to die.
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Argumentative Essay On Euthanasia
1374 Words | 3 Pages
People believe physicians should be able to aid in this process because they have valuable knowledge on how the body works, “… knowledge that can be used to kill or to cure” (Callahan 74). This argument contradicts the moral meaning of medicine. Indeed, the word "medical" comes from the Latin word “mederi,” which means "to heal." Medicine is understood to heal, cure, or comfort people, not kill. As a matter of fact, in the International Medical Code of Ethics and the American Nurses Association’s Code of Ethics fully states that the act of euthanasia violates their role and shall not be performed. Just because of the mere fact that physicians have the knowledge and medical equipment to kill does not indicate a physician should be permitted to perform euthanasia. Dan Brock states, “… permitting physicians to perform euthanasia, it is said, would be incompatible with their fundamental moral and professional commitment as healers to care for patients and to protect life” (77). Dan Brock also raises the question, if euthanasia became a common practice that was performed by physicians, would we eventually fear or lose trust in our physicians?
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The Pros And Cons Of Physician Assisted Suicide

Ethical Issues With Physician Assisted Suicide