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Argument essay on physician assisted suicide
Is euthanasia justified debate
Pro physician assisted suicide argumentative essay
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I believe that physician assisted suicide is a wrong moral decision based of biblical Truth. In the Bible, the concept of the sovereignty of God and the value and dignity of human life is often clearly expressed. Simply put, we do not have the final say in our own lives, and only God has the authority to end a life.
In the Bible, it is stated that God is sovereign, in charge of our lives, and we do not have to take charge for our own purposes, although we do have the ability. In I Samuel 2:6, it is written: “The Lord kills, and makes alive; He brings down to the grave, and brings up” (NIV). God is able to decide when a person dies or when they live in spite of modern medicine, although now people are tying to take charge of death. In Ecclesiastes
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Although, sometimes Christians do make seemingly make illogical moral descriptions, there are biblical and truthful reasons for facing pain and suffering on this world. It is entirely logical when people argue that suicide sometimes is the least painful and perhaps easiest choice for a person to make. Paul directly addressed this from a Christian perspective when he wrote in Philippians 21-23 “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.” Suicide relieves that pain and suffering that we all face here on earth, yet it is written that is is far more useful for us to remain here until out time comes. Put simply, it would be a selfish decision for a person to end their own life. Even a person that is confined to a bed can still bless their friends and family. They can still serve God in great ways as a prayer warrior. Christians can stay on earth and face pain because of the promise for life after death. We follow a great, all important mission to serve God in any way
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 on 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.
Currently, physician assisted suicide and euthanasia are only legal in a few states, but for years, many have tried over and over again to get this practice to be legal nationwide. Upon searching the web for news and articles pertaining to this touchy subject, I found a video called Ad Campaign for Physician-Assisted Death. This video by Kelsey Milbourn supports my views and effectively shows the benefits to legalizing physician assisted suicide and euthanasia. Within this video, I was able to pull out the rhetorical situation, which is a diagram that ties together the speaker, speech, audience, occasion, and presuppositions of both the audience and speaker.
Starting with the argument of it not being ethical, Martin Levin a practicing attorney states; that when he first began his paper and research he believed people should have the right to an assisted suicide. After doing extensive research he changed his mind. Just some of these reasons include sanctity of human life. It is stated that God created the human life and therefore our lives and bodies are the property of God. It is also stated that no one has the right to destroy Gods’ property (Levin M. 2002). In many churches ho...
...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.
Did you know, about 57% of physicians today have received a request for physician assisted suicide due to suffering from a terminally ill patient. Suffering has always been a part of human existence, and these requests have been occurring since medicine has been around. Moreover, there are two principles that all organized medicine agree upon. The first one is physicians have a responsibility to relieve pain and suffering of dying patients in their care. The second one is physicians must respect patients’ competent decisions to decline life-sustaining treatment. Basically, these principles state the patients over the age of 18 that are mentally stable have the right to choose to end their life if they are suffering from pain. As of right now, Oregon, Washington, and Vermont have legalized physician assisted suicide through legislation. Montana has legalized it via court ruling. The first Death with Dignity Act (DWDA) became effective in Oregon in 1997. Washington and Vermont later passed this act in 2009, and Montana passed the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act in 2008. One concern with physician assisted suicide is confusion of the patient’s wishes. To get rid of any confusion and provide evidence in case someone becomes terminally ill, people should make an advanced care plan. The two main lethal drugs that are used during physician assisted suicide are secobarbital and pentobarbital. Appropriate reporting is necessary when distributing these drugs and performing the suicide in order to publish an analysis. Studies found a large number of people accepted this procedure under certain circumstances; therefore, physician assisted suicide should be legal in the United States because terminally ill patients over the age of 18 that are...
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,
Euthanasia - Pro and Con & nbsp; Abstract & nbsp; This paper will define Euthanasia and assisted suicide. Euthanasia is often confused with and associated with assisted suicide, definitions of the two are. required. Two perspectives shall be presented in this paper. The first perspective favor euthanasia or the "right to die," the second perspective. favor antieuthanasia, or the "right to live". Each perspective shall. endeavor to clarify the legal, moral and ethical ramifications or aspects of euthanasia. & nbsp; Thesis Statement & nbsp; Euthanasia, also mercy killing, is the practice of ending a life so as to.
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.
Physician-assisted suicide refers to the physician acting indirectly in the death of the patient -- providing the means for death. The ethics of PAS is a continually debated topic. The range of arguments in support and opposition of PAS is vast. Justice, compassion, the moral irrelevance of the difference between killing and letting die, and individual liberty are many arguments for PAS. The distinction between killing and letting die, sanctity of life, "do no harm" principle of medicine, and the potential for abuse are some of the arguments in favor of making PAS illegal.
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. ?
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
There are two main arguments offered by Christians, and those of other faiths, that advise against an individual seeking suicide, for whatever reason: Life is a gift form God, and that " each individual is its steward." Thus, only God can start a life, and only God should be allowed to end one. An individual who commits suicide is committing a sin. Christians believe that God does not send us any experience that we cannot handle.
Euthanasia in the United States Every year two million people die in North America. Chronic illness, such as cancer or heart disease, accounts for two of every three deaths. It is estimated that approximately seventy percent of these people die after a decision is made to forgo life-sustaining treatment (Choice in Dying). In America and all around the world, the ongoing debate is whether patients should have the opportunity to implement this critical alternative of euthanasia. Although controversial, it is imperative that United States citizens are not denied this right to a humane death. Groups in opposition to euthanasia say that patients who yearn to make this decision are neither in a healthy psychological state of mind nor have the God-willing right to do so. These groups feel if euthanasia were to become a publicly accepted option to the terminally ill that physicians, family, and even patients may abuse it. They also strongly support modern end-of-life treatment, known as palliative care, as a more logical and moral option. Perhaps the strongest belief that euthanasia is wrong comes from those who follow the words of the Bible and believe that every aspect of life belongs to God. The Old Testament records an incident involving King Saul of Israel, who became seriously wounded on the battlefield. Fearing the advancing enemy, Saul took his own sword and tried to fall against it. He cried to a soldier, “Come and put me out of my misery for I am in terrible pain but life lingers on.” The soldier acted in accordance with the wishes of the king and killed him. The soldier then brought some of Saul’s armor to David and said, “I killed him, for I knew he couldn’t live.” David ordered the soldier put to death (Eareckson, 111). Those who believe in the Bible clearly see here that, whether a monarch or a common person, mercy killing is perceived as iniquitous in the Lord’s eyes. To see a more recent example of the Catholic Church’s disagreement of euthanasia we only have to look back a few years. In 1994, for instance, the Dutch television station IKON’s filming of the death of a man with Lou Gehrig’s disease in a documentary, “Death on Request,” brought a denunciation from the Vatican (Branegan, 30). Equally important to those supporting the anti-euthanasia cause is the thought of any physician, family member or patient who would abuse this right if given the chance.
As we have had discussions about this issue in class one of my peers talked about why suicide is never permissible. As they spoke, I could see that they were coming from the view of the universal law. They said that if we sometimes allow suicide to be permissible, then we should have many other morally wrong actions to be occasionally considered admissible also. Another argument for suicide to never be eligible would be that of the religion of Christianity. Within the ten commandments in the old testament, God told Moses the laws that the people must obey and one of them said: “Thou shall not kill.” With taking more into a deeper level of this, it can mean don’t kill others and yourself. Further, in the bible, it says that our body is a temple. Christians believe that suicide is wrong and is a tool of the devil used to have us go against God’s will for our lives and do not fulfill our purpose on this earth. As said formerly in the paper many people believe that suicide is a cowardly move for trying to solve situations. Opposes of my thoughts say that there are many other ways in life rather than death. While I agree with them on that part, I also have to ask how someone could see that other option if they can’t even think about anything other than suicide all the