Death by the Art of Healing
Physician assisted suicide is a highly controversial growing concern, within our
society and law-makers today. Even though it could relieve the suffering of patients,
physician assisted suicide is immoral, violates the Hippocratic oath and devalues the
integrity of medicine. Physician assisted suicide should not be practiced or legalized
because it can also be classified as homicide.
Although, euthanasia and physician assisted suicide have the same motives and
goals for killing the patients, the need for the definitions to be clear is important.
Euthanasia is defined by the physician preforming the act of death on the patient. While,
physician assisted suicide is where “the physician provides the necessary means or
information and the patient performs the act themselves (Emanuel, von Gunten and
Ferris 3).
Suffering has always been a part of human existence. Requests to end suffering
by means of death through both physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia have
occurred since the beginning of medicine. “Based on a recent study, 57% of physicians
practicing today have received a request for physician-assisted suicide in some form or
another” (Emanuel, von Gunten and Ferris 1-2).
There are many reasons a patient might request assistance for their suicide.
Patients make requests for many different reasons that usually arise from physical,
psychological, social, or spiritual suffering, or practical concerns. “In one study patients
who were depressed were 4 to 5 times more likely to have made serious inquiries about
physician assisted suicide or euthanasia” (Emanuel, von Gunten and Ferris 2).
For centuries most religions particularly the Christian religion has bel...
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Aldershot, England: Ashgate, 2008. Print.
Stingl, Michael. The Price of Compassion: Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia.
Peterborough, Ont.: Broadview, 2010. Print.
Euthanasia is divided into two separate classifications consisting of passive euthanasia and active euthanasia. Traditionally, “euthanasia is passive when a physician allows her patient to die, by withholding or withdrawing vital treatment from him…euthanasia is active when a patient's death results from his physician's killing the patient, typically by administering lethal medication” (Varelius, 2016). While active euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide share many of the same characteristics, they differ in the role for committing the final act, resulting in the death of the patient. A third party, consisting of either a family member or the physician, is responsible for “pulling-the-plug” in active euthanasia. On the other hand, in physician-assisted suicide, it is ultimately up to the patient to commit the final death-inducing act. Varelius suggests that the separation of passive and active euthanasia can be explained by the involvement that the physician partakes in their patients’ death
Any discussion that pertains to the topic of euthanasia must first include a clear definition of the key terms and issues. With this in mind, it should be noted that euthanasia includes both what has been called physician-assisted "suicide" and voluntary active euthanasia. Physician-assisted suicide involves providing lethal medication(s) available to the patient to be used at a time of the patient’s own choosing (Boudreau, p.2, 2014). Indifferently, voluntary active euthanasia involves the physician taking an active role in carrying out the patient’s request, and usually involves intravenous delivery of a lethal substance. Physician-assisted suicide is felt to be easier psychologically for the physician and patient than euthanasia because
The word Euthanasia comes from the Greek and means “good death” (http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/hp.asp) and in the range of this paper, it is called physician assisted suicide or “active” euthanasia. The definition of “active” euthanasia is ending one’s life yourself or with the aid of a doctor. It can be done in various different ways; however, the most common form is with a combination of drugs, usually given by a physician. ( http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/hp.asp) The reason Physician Assisted Suicide (or PAS) is an important issue in this country and around the world is that there are many people out there suffering from debilitating, incurable and intensely painful diseases that would like to end their lives with dignity and without suffering.
Euthanasia comes from the Greek word that means “good death” (“Euthanasia” Literary). In general, euthanasia refers to causing the death of someone to end their pain and suffering oftentimes in cases of terminal illness. Some people call this “mercy killings.”
Active Euthanasia: Physician Assisted Suicide is Wrong? The issue at hand is whether physician-assisted suicide should be legalized for patients who are terminally ill and/or enduring prolonged suffering. In this debate, the choice of terms is central. The most common term, euthanasia, comes from the Greek word meaning "good death."
Euthanasia – the ending of a terminally ill patient’s life by a third party, normally a physician, to end the pain and suffering of the patient.
Whose life is it, anyway? Euthanasia is a word that means good death. Euthanasia normally implies that the act must be initiated by the person who wishes to commit suicide. But, some people define euthanasia to include both voluntary and involuntary termination of life. Physician assisted suicide is when a physician supplies information and/or the means of committing suicide (lethal dose of sleeping pills or carbon monoxide gas) to a person, so that they can easily terminate their own life.
Depression is a serious mental health illness which affects an individuals’ mind, body and mood. It is a chronic and lifelong health condition (NICE, 2006) thought to be caused by a number of biological factors including neurotransmitter disturbances in the brain and an element of genetic vulnerability; these are often in addition to psychosocial factors such as the occurrence of undesirable life events, limited social network options, poor self esteem and the occurrence of any adverse life events during a persons’ lifetime (Bernstein, 2006). Depression can have an impact on a persons’ ability to do many things including working, engaging with others, participating fully in family life or maintaining relationships, and it can also impact on a person...
Across the world, there are thousands upon millions of people who suffer from depression. Upon the numerous sufferers,
Clinical depression is very common. Over nine million Americans are diagnosed with clinical depression at some point in their lives. Many more people suffer from clinical depression because they do not seek treatment. They may feel that depression is a personal weakness, or try to cope with their symptoms alone. On the other hand, some people are comfortable with admitting their symptoms and seeking help. Such a discrepancy may account for the differences in reported cases of depression between men and women, which indicate that more than twice the numbers of women than men are clinically depressed. According to the numbers of reported cases of depression, 25% of women and 10% of men will have one or more episodes of clinical depression during their lifetimes.
whilst, euthanasia is defined as; an intentional means of causing the death of a person, the motive being to benefit that person or protect him/her from further suffering.
National Institute of Mental Health. (2014). “Depression: What Every Woman Should Know”. Pub No. 95-3871.
Cassano, P. Fava, M. (2002). Depression and public health: an overview. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 53, 849–857. Retrieved from http://www.psychology.com/resources/depression.php
Depression is one of the most common psychological problems. Each year over 17 million Americans experience a period of clinical depression. Thus, depression affects nearly everyone through personal experiences or through depression in a family member or friend.
The word Euthanasia originated from the Greek language: eu means "good" and thanatos means "death". One meaning given to the word is "the intentional termination of life by another at the explicit request of the person who dies." 2 That is, the term euthanasia normally implies that the act must be initiated by the person who wishes to commit suicide. However, some people define euthanasia to include both voluntary and involuntary termination of life. Like so many moral/ethical/religious terms, "euthanasia" has many meanings. The result is mass confusion.