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Debates over physician assisted suicide
Physician assisted suicide case study
Physician assisted suicide case study
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The argument to be addressed in this research paper is physician-assisted suicide in the United States. Should terminally ill patients be legally allowed to choose when to end their own lives through a physician-assisted suicide in the United States? Why should people be denied the right to do with their bodies what they want? With a consent given, is it wrong for doctors is able to help people to do this in a safe and controlled environment? If we disallow people the ability to do this we could be perpetuating the suffering of the terminally ill. Some cases where the patient is terminally ill and death is imminent, people may be in favor of it. Some people want to end their suffering and feel people should choose when to end their own life. …show more content…
Human life should be valued and it is not a doctor’s prerogative to take a life. People should have power and the choice to do what they wish with their bodies. If it means people cannot go on, they should be able take it up with a renowned physician in a safe environment rather than taking matters into their own hands. Why should we force people to keep suffering? It is unfair to the people who are terminally ill because they should not be forced to live in misery. Terminally ill patients want their families to remember them in a positive light rather than watching them slowly die before their eyes. People should be able to be in charge of their own life and they should be able to end it on their own terms. Terminally ill patients should be allowed to use physician-assisted suicide as a
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.
There are many convincing and compelling arguments for and against Physician Assisted Suicide. There are numerous different aspects of this issue, including religious, legal and ethical issues. However, for the purpose of this paper, I will examine the ethical concerns of both sides. There are strong pro and con arguments regarding this, and I will make a case for both. It is definitely an issue that has been debated for years and will continue to be debated in years to come.
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....
The right to assisted suicide is a significant topic that concerns people all over the United States. The debates go back and forth about whether a dying patient has the right to die with the assistance of a physician. Some are against it because of religious and moral reasons. Others are for it because of their compassion and respect for the dying. Physicians are also divided on the issue. They differ where they place the line that separates relief from dying--and killing. For many the main concern with assisted suicide lies with the competence of the terminally ill. Many terminally ill patients who are in the final stages of their lives have requested doctors to aid them in exercising active euthanasia. It is sad to realize that these people are in great agony and that to them the only hope of bringing that agony to a halt is through assisted suicide.When people see the word euthanasia, they see the meaning of the word in two different lights. Euthanasia for some carries a negative connotation; it is the same as murder. For others, however, euthanasia is the act of putting someone to death painlessly, or allowing a person suffering from an incurable and painful disease or condition to die by withholding extreme medical measures. But after studying both sides of the issue, a compassionate individual must conclude that competent terminal patients should be given the right to assisted suicide in order to end their suffering, reduce the damaging financial effects of hospital care on their families, and preserve the individual right of people to determine their own fate.
Arguments in support for physician-assisted suicide are that it allows people who are terminally ill to be relieved of their pain and suffering. It also allows a terminally ill person to die in dignity. Furthermore, choosing when to die is personal freedom. On the other hand, death is the natural part of human nature and nobody has the right to decide when to die or live not even the doctor. Physician-assisted suicide may lead to abuse by relatives or friends who have ulterior motives other than the wish of the person to get well. Legalization of euthanasia might lead to assaults on individual autonomy, which means it will be abused by people; that is people might be placed in terrible conditions intentionally by their friends, relatives or families and then suggest to the doctor that their lives be terminated since the individual cannot function as a human being. It might end up being a substitute for rational therapeutic, psychological, and social interventions, which could have otherwise enhanced the quality of life for patients who are dying. There is now even evidence that the legalization of assisted suicide in the Northern Territory in Australia has undermined the people's trust in the medical care system (Levine 2012).
Terminally ill patients should have the legal option of physician-assisted suicide. Terminally ill patients deserve the right to control their own death. Legalizing assisted suicide would relive families of the burdens of caring for a terminally ill relative. Doctors should not be prosecuted for assisting in the suicide of a terminally ill patient. We as a society must protect life, but we must also recognize the right to a humane death. When a person is near death, in unbearable pain, they have the right to ask a physician to assist in ending their lives.
Physicians Assisted Suicide An Argumentative Essay Physicians Assisted suicide is a topic many people are not fully informed about. Physician assisted suicide, or PAS for short, is when a physician can legally prescribe medicine for a patient to take in order to medically kill themselves. I believe that PAS should be talked more about in order for more people to understand how bad or grave it can be to a family and to our world. PAS falls underneath the umbrella of euthanasia. ?
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
Brittany Maynard, a 29 year old that had terminal brain cancer, was an advocate for the “death with dignity” that terminally ill patients should be able to receive medication that will allow patients to die on their own terms. In her editorial for CNN, she explained, “Having this choice at the end of my life has become incredibly important. It has given me a sense of peace during a tumultuous time that otherwise would be dominated by fear, uncertainty and pain” (Maynard, “My Right to Death with Dignity at 29”). For Brittany, having the choice to decide when and where her last moments would be was crucial for her as that choice is important for many other terminally ill patients who are denied that choice because physician-assisted suicide and
If you had the chance, wouldn’t you want to be remembered as the person you once were; happy and healthy? Well, my grandma never got that chance. My grandma was 64 when she was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. The doctors said she only had eight months to live. During those eight months my family and I watched as the cancer destroyed her body from the inside out. My grandma was suffering and there was nothing we could do. Physician assisted suicide could have helped end my grandma’s pain and that’s why it should be legalized in Texas.
Physician Assisted Suicide should be a right to all terminally ill patients in America with the exception of those who have not and cannot speak for themselves. Laws can be made to prevent abuse of the privilege and insure protection of human life. Medicine should be used for both saving, prolonging, and ending lives.
He is suffering from a terminal illness. He is bed ridden and in pain. You have heard the statistics and all the unpleasant details- you know that small cell lung cancer is incurable, but all you can do is helplessly watch him suffer. For all its advances, modern medicine has failed him with its lack of a cure or even relief from the suffering. There is such a small chance for your loved one’s survival. The only hope there seems to be is that death will overcome him and relieve him from his suffering. But death continues to evade him. And he continues to suffer.
Physician assisted suicide or euthanasia is considered a mercy killing by many people and nothing else. It is described as a way of putting people out of their misery which is a difficult issue because it plays on our moral, ethical, or Biblical values we all hold. These methods can be considered an element of suicide because the patient is requesting this process to take place, or possibly considered as murder because it requires the assistance of a third party to complete the action. These practices have caused many controversies in today’s society because people argue the fact that this can be justifiable in some cases where many religions believe this is totally against God’s will.
Human beings have the right to live, and the right to die. If there was no right to die, living would be considered a duty. One’s sickness may desire them to not continue with life if their condition causes extreme pain, discomfort, lack of independence, and make living unbearable. Doctor-assisted suicide is a popular controversy because often it is not done with ethicality and a lethal dose of pain medication is administered or certain treatments are withheld. However, when carried out with ethicality, a pill or injection is administered in the proper amount to cause death. Giving people the right to die and approaching it in an ethical way provides an opportunity for a better quality of life overall, over suffering.
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