Physician Assisted Suicide is NOT Ethical

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Recommended: Ethical dilemmas in assisted suicide

Is physician assisted suicide morally right? This has been a controversial subject for some time now. People are wondering whether or not it is the most humane thing to do. If dogs can be putdown, why not people? The reason is in that question. They are people. Every life is important, no matter how long it may be. Instead of finding a way to get rid of people faster, the government could put those efforts in something more positive. If other people are considering whether or not the patients’ life is valuable, the patient could question it as well. Physician assisted suicide will put pressure on terminally ill people to die more quickly because it’s cheaper and because the patients may have low self-esteem. Physician assisted suicide is being debated more and more. “The large number of baby boomers facing end-of-life issues themselves is seen to have made the issue more prominent in recent years,” states Susan Haigh. Cathy Ludlum, a disabled rights activist, contributes her opinion. She says she wishes more people would focus on giving them a better life, rather than a better death (Haigh). Additionally, Physician assisted suicide would be granted to those with a terminal illness. The problem is that the word “terminal” has many different definitions. Some define it as something that is going to cause death eventually, while others say it is something that causes death to happen in under 6 months (Marker and Hamlon). Who and what is going to determine what is considered terminal enough for this procedure? Another concern is people petitioning to do assisted physician suicide, if they do not meet the requirements. Why would someone want to do this if they were not terminally ill? It could be the best option for the patient’s fami... ... middle of paper ... ...d Questions." Patients Rights Council, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 9 Feb. 2014. Oregon Right to Life. "Assisted Suicide in Oregon Does Not Have Adequate Safeguards." Assisted Suicide. Ed. Noël Merino. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Current Controversies. Rpt. from "Oregon's Assisted Suicide Experience: Safeguards Don't Work." 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 11 Feb. 2014. Peck, M. Scott. Denial of the Soul: Spiritual and Medical Perspectives on Euthanasia and Mortality. New York: Harmony, 1997. Print. Smith, Wesley J. "Assisted Suicide Will Not Remain Restricted to the Terminally Ill." Assisted Suicide. Ed. Sylvia Engdahl. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Current Controversies. Rpt. from "Death on Demand: The Assisted-Suicide Movement Sheds Its Fig Leaf." Weekly Standard (5 July 2007). Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 9 Feb. 2014.

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