Physician Assisted Suicide

1259 Words3 Pages

As recently the New Mexico judge allowed the physician to aid the dying of the patients that has the terminally illness, the state of New Mexico will potentially become the 5th state in the United States after Oregon, Washington, Montana and Vermont. This issue soon become the most eye-catching issues recently and brought up the debate of such issue along with the medical ethics, religions and human rights that was already goes along for decades, and this article will contain the argument that why should the physician-assisted suicide along with its’ legitimate and voluntarily practice should be justified from the perspective of the autonomy of the patients and it’s incununous to the society under current circumstances. Definition of physician-assisted suicide It’s hard to recognize the outcome and have an objective view about certain issue without knowing what is its’ actual definition. The definition of physician-assisted suicide is “when a person - typically someone suffering from an incurable illness or chronic intense pain - intentionally kills him/herself with the help of a doctor. A doctor may prescribe drugs on the understanding that the patient intends to use them to take a fatal overdose; or a doctor may insert an intravenous needle into the arm of a patient, who then pushes a switch to trigger a fatal injection”( ETHICAL DEBATE: On the horns of a dilemma.）. People usually are unable to distinguish the physician-assisted suicide from the euthanasia. In fact, “assisted suicide differs from euthanasia, which is when someone other than the patient ends the patient's life as painlessly as possible out of mercy. Euthanasia may be active, such as when a doctor gives a lethal injection to a patient. It can also be passive, ... ... middle of paper ... ...of Family Caregivers Support the Legalization of Physician-Assisted Suicide." Mental Health Weekly Digest. 17 Jun. 2013: 75. eLibrary. Web. 03 Feb. 2014. "ETHICAL DEBATE: On the horns of a dilemma." Chemist & Druggist. 03 Dec. 2005: 30. eLibrary. Web. 20 Jan. 2014. Horgan, John., Johnson, Johnny.. "Trends in Healthcare: Seeking a Better Way to Die." Scientific American 276. (1997):100-105. eLibrary. Web. 28 Jan. 2014. McCormick, J, Andrew.. "Self-Determination, the Right to Die, and Culture: A Literature Review." Social Work 2(2011):119. eLibrary. Web. 20 Jan. 2014. Steinbrook, Robert. "Physician-assisted suicide in Oregon--an uncertain future." New England Journal of Medicine 6(2002):460. eLibrary. Web. 17 Jan. 2014. "Suicide; No Evidence Physician Assisted Death Leads to "Slippery Slope"." Mental Health Weekly Digest. 08 Oct. 2007: 41. eLibrary. Web. 03 Feb. 2014.

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Velasquez, Manuel, Andre, Claire “Assisted Suicide A Right or Wrong.” Santa Clara university n.d. web 24 March 2012
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The ongoing controversy about Physician assisted suicides is an ongoing battle among physicians, patients and court systems. The question of whether or not individuals have the “right” to choose death over suffering in their final days or hours of life continues to be contested. On one side you have the physicians and the Hippocratic Oath they took to save lives; on the other you have the patients’ right to make life choices, even if that means to choose death to end suffering. The ultimate question “is it ethical for a physician to agree to assisted suicides and is it ethical for a patient to request assisted suicide?
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The Pros And Cons Of Physician Assisted Suicide
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In March of 1998, a woman suffering with cancer became the first person known to die under the law on physician-assisted suicide in the state of Oregon when she took a lethal dose of drugs. This law does not include people who have been on a life support system nor does it include those who have not voluntarily asked physicians to help them commit suicide. Many people worry that legalizing doctor assisted suicide is irrational and violates the life-saving tradition of medicine and it has been argued that the reason why some terminally ill patients yearn to commit suicide is nothing more than depression. Physician Assisted Suicide would lessen the human life or end the suffering and pain of those on the verge of dying; Physician Assisted Suicide needs to be figured out for those in dire need of it or for those fighting against it. The main purpose for this paper is to bring light on the advantages and disadvantages of physician-assisted suicide and to show what principled and moral reasoning there is behind each point.
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859 Words | 2 Pages
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....
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Physician Assisted Suicide
986 Words | 2 Pages
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Legalizing Physician Assisted Suicide
1128 Words | 3 Pages
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The Right to Physician Assisted Suicide
1874 Words | 4 Pages
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.
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Physician Assisted Suicide
2508 Words | 6 Pages
The concept of physician-assisted suicide has been a topic of debate since the birth of medicine. Controversy even surrounds its name as the term “suicide” is associated with a form of mental illness and irrational behavior, both of which are to be prevented it if at all possible according to medical obligation (Quill and Greenlaw). Physician assisted death/suicide occurs when a physician provides a medical means of death and instruction to a patient but does not administer the actual cause of death (Lonnquist and Weiss 389-91). This is quite different than the concept of active euthanasia in which a physician directly administers the cause of death. Recognized as far back as the 5th century BCE in the ancient Hippocratic Oath, the origin of this practice cou...
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824 Words | 2 Pages
The discussion of physician-assisted suicide is frequently focused around the ethical implications. The confusion commonly surfaces from the simple question, what is physician-assisted suicide? Physician-assisted suicide can be defined as a circumstance in which a medical physician provides a lethal dose of medication to a patient with a fatal illness. In this case, the patient has given consent, as well as direction, to the physician to ethically aid in their death (Introduction to Physician-Assisted Suicide: At Issue,
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Physician Assisted Suicide Summary
519 Words | 2 Pages
Individuals often debate whether physician-assisted suicide is morally right or wrong. According to the text, Oregon has a law that was passed in 1998 that legalized physician-assisted suicide (Timmons, 2017). This law allows competent individuals who have only six months or less left to live and that resides in Oregon to request a prescription from a physician that will end one’s life (Timmons, 2017). Michael Gill discusses objections to autonomy-based justifications of physician-assisted suicide. Individuals that are against autonomy-based justifications of physician-assisted suicide believe that the autonomy-based justifications of the law are irrational and absurd. One of the objections to autonomy-based justifications of physician-assisted suicide is that the autonomy-based justification implies that non-terminally ill individuals should also be given the option to commit suicide. The individuals that oppose this law thinks that giving everyone, including individuals that are not terminally ill, the option of physician-assisted suicide is irrational.
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3634 Words | 8 Pages
Do people have the right to die? Is there, in fact, a right to die? Assisted suicide is a controversial topic in the public eye today. Individuals choose their side of the controversy based on a number of variables ranging from their religious views and moral standings to political factors. Several aspects of this issue have been examined in books, TV shows, movies, magazine articles, and other means of bringing the subject to the attention of the public. However, perhaps the best way to look at this issue in the hopes of understanding the motives behind those involved is from the perspective of those concerned: the terminally ill and the disabled.
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Physician Assisted Suicide