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Legal and ethical issues surrounding physician-assisted suicides
Legal and ethical issues surrounding physician-assisted suicides
Legal and ethical issues surrounding physician-assisted suicides
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In the medical field a controversial topic is that of euthanasia. Euthanasia is the act or practice of ending the life of an individual suffering from a terminal illness or an incurable condition, as by lethal injection or the suspension of extraordinary medical treatment. Euthanasia in the medical field is also known as Physician Assisted Suicide. In order for a physician to even consider euthanasia there are a six steps to follow for approval. One the patient must be deemed medically aware of what they are asking. Two the patient must be terminally ill. Three the patient is informed of their situation and prospects. Four there are no reasonable prospects to relieve suffering. Five an independent physician must be consulted. Six euthanasia …show more content…
Physicians are concerned they will be unjustly charged. An online research survey was conducted to show unjustly charges and accusations upon physicians. “The survey was administered to members of a national palliative medicine professional society because these practitioners are most likely to be involved in the management of end-of-life cases The overall survey findings have just been published, (3) and 25 of 633 respondents (4%) reported having been formally investigated for hastening a patient's death when that was not their intention--13 while using opiates for symptom relief and 6 for using various medications while discontinuing mechanical ventilation. In one-third of these cases, a fellow member of the health care team initiated the charges against the physician.” (Cohen.) Even though there are strong accusations against physicians, some even going as far as to say that they are committing murder, this should not change the decision to do right by the patient. “Even in the face of potential accusations of euthanasia or murder, clinicians ought not to be bullied into compromising their management of dying patients and won't be if they know their institution has protocols for dealing with accusations when they arise.” …show more content…
According to Christiaan Barnard a world-renowned surgeon, he believed there was good life and good death. “He advocated compassion for the terminally ill but at the same time encouraged intense discussions when suffering and severe deterioration were at stake.” (Toledo-Pereyra. Pg.125) Barnard never practiced active euthanasia due to it not being legal and was considered murder in his country. Barnard was concerned about how it would make him feel to be unable to control the personal environment you live in. Barnard believed that if in the position where deemed terminally ill it would be better to die then to live out the rest of your life
Dworkin, Gerald. " The Nature of Medicine." Euthanasia and Physician Assisted Suicide: For and Against. 1st ed. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1998.
In this essay, I will discuss whether euthanasia is morally permissible or not. Euthanasia is the intention of ending life due to inevitable pain and suffering. The word euthanasia comes from the Greek words “eu,” which means good, and “thanatosis, which means death. There are two types of euthanasia, active and passive. Active euthanasia is when medical professionals deliberately do something that causes the patient to die, such as giving lethal injections. Passive euthanasia is when a patient dies because the medical professionals do not do anything to keep them alive or they stop doing something that was keeping them alive. Some pros of euthanasia is the freedom to decide your destiny, ending the pain, and to die with dignity. Some cons
Braddock and Tonelli. “Physician-Assisted Suicide.” Ethics in Medicine University of Washington Medical School. 2008. .
Cotton, Paul. "Medicine's Position Is Both Pivotal And Precarious In Assisted Suicide Debate." The Journal of the American Association 1 Feb. 1995: 363-64.
Euthanasia is defined as “the act or practice of painlessly putting to death persons suffering from incurable and distressing disease as an act of mercy” (Paola). The goal of this action is therefore not maleficent, such is murder, but instead compassionate. However, euthanasia in the terms of physician assisted suicide (PAS) is still illegal in United States as it is deemed a form of wrongful homicide. One of the most likely reasons PAS is illegal in the United States, with the exception of in Oregon and Washington, is because it is both morally and ethically controversial.
Death is something almost everyone fears, but the people that aren’t afraid are the ones suffering from terminal disease and other life-threatening illness. Euthanasia and physician assisted suicide are very serious topics in the medical community, as supporters to legalization argue that it’s the right of the person to live or die, while on the other side opponents argue legalizing it me1ans that doctors will have the ability to kill patients and that the government approves it. Euthanasia is legal in multiple countries including Netherlands, Switzerland, and Canada. Physician assisted suicide is legal in a lot of countries including; Germany, Japan, and Switzerland. Euthanasia is widely conversed in the world and has been since it was first
Physician-Assisted Suicide, or Euthanasia, is a serious issue, and it affects people throughout all walks of life. From teenagers with angst, to older adults feeling hopeless in their life, to the elderly suffering from terminal illnesses, suicide pervades throughout their thought processes as an alternative to their emotionally and physically pervasive situations. Euthanasia, or physician-assisted suicide, has a history dating back to the seventeenth century. Only recently has it become as controversial an issue as it has.
The ethical debate regarding euthanasia dates back to ancient Greece and Rome. It was the Hippocratic School (c. 400B.C.) that eliminated the practice of euthanasia and assisted suicide from medical practice. Euthanasia in itself raises many ethical dilemmas – such as, is it ethical for a doctor to assist a terminally ill patient in ending his life? Under what circumstances, if any, is euthanasia considered ethically appropriate for a doctor? More so, euthanasia raises the argument of the different ideas that people have about the value of the human experience.
Euthanasia is an action that result in the death of a person. There are four types of euthanasia, such as voluntary active euthanasia, nonvoluntary active euthanasia, voluntary passive euthanasia, and nonvoluntary passive euthanasia. Among the four types of euthanasia, voluntary active euthanasia or VAE is the most controversial ethical issue in the United States. It is the killing of a competent patient who decided to end his/her suffering by ending his/her life with the help of the physician. VAE is illegal in the Unites States; however, it is morally just. Voluntary active euthanasia is legitimately moral on the basis of Immanuel Kant’s human dignity, the utilitarian’s Greatest Happiness Principle, and James Rachel’s view of active euthanasia.
In order to provide a framework for my thesis statement on the morality of euthanasia, it is first necessary to define what euthanasia is and the different types of euthanasia. The term Euthanasia originates from the Greek term “eu”, meaning happy or good and “thanatos”, which means death, so the literal definition of the word Euthanasia can be translated to mean “good or happy death”.
A very important question that arises today is whether euthanasia be legal or illegal. Euthanasia is defined as “the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals (such as persons or domestic animals) in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy” (Webster). Doctors, Pastors, and normal day citizens are on both sides of the issue of euthanasia. Euthanasia is currently only legal in the states of Washington, Oregon, California, and Vermont. Through carefully looking at euthanasia, this paper will focus on three reasons euthanasia should be illegal. The following three reasons will be examined as to why euthanasia should be illegal, the power it gives to doctors, alternative treatment, and moral values.
Robert Matz; Daniel P. Sudmasy; Edward D. Pallegrino. "Euthanasia: Morals and Ethics." Archives of Internal Medicine 1999: p1815 Aug. 9, 1999 .
Euthanasia is a controversial issue in today's society. It is defined as the intentional ending of a life with the purpose of relieving pain or suffering. Many people believe that it is within a human's right to die a peaceful, dignified death with assistance. While others believe that euthanasia is an immoral act and that legalising the deliberate killing of humans will undermine the legal system in the UK. Currently in the UK, it is illegal for a doctor or another person to deliberately do something that causes the patient to die - e.g. an injection.
In fact, traditional medical objectives remain intact and that includes caring, curing and alleviating patient’s suffering. Opponents of euthanasia would thus question the core morality of medicine if the fundamental objective were altered in ways that are not compatible with the protection of human dignity, such ending the life of a patient. Medical ethics thus appreciates the rights of any physician to denounce the practices of euthanasia. Practitioner’s moral or religious values are generally regarded as valuable rationales to object such practices as euthanasia (Nunes & Rego, p.
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?