Arguments Against Pas

678 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: case of physician assisted suicide

The concept of physician-assisted suicide (PAS) has been one of the most debated subject since the dawn of the medical profession. The controversy involves around whether or not PAS should be legalized. The first case of assisted-suicide was known to occur on March 24, 1998, in the state of Oregon, where a woman named Helen, in her mid-eighties, had been battling breast cancer for 22 years and was dying. In 1997, the Oregon Death with Dignity Act was passed and went into effect (“Euthanasia”, n.d). This law allows patients, who must be terminally ill and have been given 6 months or less to live that wish to hasten their deaths to obtain a medication prescribed by two doctors that would be sufficient to cause death. As of now, PAS is legal in only 5 states (California, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington), which means it is illegal in the rest of the country. This prevents many patients from seeking to hasten their death and must involuntarily suffer from unbearable pains. Therefore, PAS should be legalized because it allows terminally ill patients to have the option to whether or not end their lives and have a peaceful death. …show more content…

She gives 8 counter arguments against PAS and discusses why she thinks they are not convincing. This is good because it shows that the topic is debatable. However, there is barely any specific and convincing evidence provided to weaken the opposing views. It seems like she only talks about her opinions and personal point of view. Telling the story of her dad, why he committed suicide, to disprove one of the counter arguments is effective because it makes her relatable to the situation. She points out the inconsistent logics in the opposing argument, and provides facts as well. Overall, she needs to give more appropriate proof to counter each of the opposing arguments as well as throughout the

Show More
Related

  • A Re-Evaluation Of Dee In Susan Farrell's Everyday Use

    706 Words  | 2 Pages

    She seems to have a good understanding of the story and has done a fair share of research to prove her point. She re-evaluates Dee from a different perspective and makes reasonable points; additionally, she uses myriads other writers to back her view of Dee with credible sources. She has included a reference page and she seems to have experience in this field considering she has worked many other stories, as well.

    Read More

  • Black Lives Matter Summary

    1028 Words  | 3 Pages

    In her defensive she shows how exploiting our personal lives can cause problems and crimes that are not wanted. Sure, it helps us try to catch terrorism but in exchange it also leaves us defenseless against each other. Not everyone you think is on our side is on our side, especially those around

    Read More

  • Fat And Happy: In Defense Of Fat Acceptance By Mary Ray Worley

    1048 Words  | 3 Pages

    However, the good is outweighed by the bad in that this article has almost no factual support. Worley seems to be venting her thoughts without any outside factual support. It is difficult to label this article as effective due to the lack of any factual support and evidence to back up her arguments. That is exactly what needs to change in the article. Worley must use more sources for information to back up her points, then the article may be more convincing and worth

    Read More

  • Terry Pratchett's My Case For Euthanasia

    1291 Words  | 3 Pages

    These stories bounced around a little. He told about how little he knew of his grandfather’s death then to his father’s death then his diagnosis then about his journalism days and back to his father and how he would have helped in the assisted death if he was allowed the choice. It jumps from one point then another which could confuse the reader a little, as it did with me. However, the structure of his argument was consistent. He would list an opposing statement then give data that disproves it and strengthens his own argument. Once listing the supporting facts he purposed a suggested solution that would allow a better and more regulated way to allow patient and families to make the decision to seek a doctor for assisted death. Terry even took it a step farther and gave the guideline for the solution to be successful. It seems as if he uses this tactic of listing an opposing thought and then gives a fact supporting his argument instead allows him to pick apart the flaws to the audience to make the opposing arguments seem weak in

    Read More

  • Article Review: Turning Off The School-To-Prison Pipeline

    976 Words  | 2 Pages

    He makes some very valid points pertaining to the zero tolerance policy practiced by schools and how it has a negative effect on children in our school systems and essentially pushes them into our juvenile and prison systems. I am a firm believer that the zero tolerance does nothing good for students in school. In my mind it completely goes against everything our schools supposedly stand for. We tell kids to go to school to learn, but the first time they break a rule we suspend them and send them home or even worse we expel them for the entire year. I just don’t see how that isn’t setting kids up for failure down the road and neglecting them of a quality education. One statistic the author presented that really caught me off guard was when they said that when someone is suspended or expelled even once in their entire time in school their chances of ending up behind bars is increased at a rate of five times than that of someone who doesn’t get suspended or expelled. This made me really reflect on how many friends I had in high school that were suspended and ultimately flunked out. It made me wonder if the system truly wasn’t there for them to help them get an

    Read More

  • The Death With Dignity Act

    1734 Words  | 4 Pages

    Oftentimes when one hears the term Physician Assisted Suicide (hereafter PAS) the words cruel and unethical come to mind. On October 27, 1997 Oregon passed the Death with Dignity Act, this act would allow terminally ill Oregon residents to end their lives through a voluntary self-administered dose of lethal medications that are prescribed by a physician (Death with Dignity Act) . This has become a vital, medical and social movement. Having a choice should mean that a terminally ill patient is entitled to the choice to pursue PAS. If people have the right to refuse lifesaving treatments, such as chemo and palliative care, then the choice of ending life with PAS should be a choice that is allowed.

    Read More

  • A Rhetorical Analysis Of Blackfish By Gabriela Cowperthwaite

    969 Words  | 2 Pages

    This combination gets the reader emotionally invested in Cowperthwaite’s argument while showing that there is actual evidence to back up the argument presented in

    Read More

  • H

    820 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to Oregon’s Public Health website, since October 27, 1997, 1,173 Oregon residents have obtained lethal prescriptions to end their lives using the Death with Dignity Act. As of 2014, only two states have legalized this controversial procedure. The states of Oregon and Washington allow their terminally ill residents to choose whether or not they have to suffer. Religious beliefs, moral beliefs, and ethical standards should not be forced upon a patient by anyone other than themselves. Every citizen has the right to autonomy and should be able to decide on their own how they want to live their life. Therefore, the Death with Dignity Act should be legalized in all 50 states.

    Read More

  • Physicians' Perspectives on Legalizing Assisted Suicide

    827 Words  | 2 Pages

    In order to appropriately comprehend the argument between these benefits and disadvantages of legalizing PAS it is essential to explore the opinions of those who would be administering and counseling patients. More recently physicians are releasing their point of view on the debate as they are increasingly pressured by society to defend a side. In 2006, a study was conducted by the University of Vermont medical students in association with university-affiliated physicians as well as other professors and staff members. The survey was designed to “assess whether clearly defined variables – gender, specialty, location of practice, whether the physician is currently practicing, whether the patients are cared for through the end of life and whether the physician has experience with patient requests of PAS – were predictive of physician support of the proposed PAS legislation…” (Craig et al. 400). The results of this study concluded that of the 1052 participants (with a 48% response rate), 15.7% were undecided, 16.0% believed it should be prohibited, 26.0% believed it should not be legislated and 38.2% believed PAS should be legislated. Furthermore, 50.1% responses back said they would participate in PAS under a law (Craig et al.

    Read More

  • 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.

    Read More

  • Medical Ethics

    776 Words  | 2 Pages

    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 are vast. Justice, compassion, the moral irrelevance of the difference between killing and letting die, 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. However, self-determination, and ultimately respect for autonomy are relied on heavily as principle arguments in the PAS issue.

    Read More

  • What is Poverty?

    1070 Words  | 3 Pages

    She shows us that there is no hope for the poor without understanding. Parker is successful in getting her point across with her use of connotative language and her ability to create images. She has done a good job. of attacking the reader and getting him or her to listen to what she has to say. Even though she attacks the audience she does it in an appropriate way whereas she does not come across as offensive.

    Read More

  • Euthanasia is the Right to Live or Die

    509 Words  | 2 Pages

    Oregon’s Death With Dignity Act has opened the door to a private matter that had been handled privately between doctors and patients for years (Siegel). Euthanasia is withholding vital medicine or providing means for the patient to ease him or herself into death. Active euthanasia is when someone else injects lethal doses of drugs into the patient. Passive euthanasia is when someone provides the poison for the patient to kill him or herself. Death is a natural process, and it is a part of life. It is a time to come to terms with our selves, and our last chance to become our best selves. Besides, miracles happen every day, and this may be your big chance!

    Read More

  • Ethos, Pathos and Nuclear Energy

    1278 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...o persuade her audience through her strong assumptions and facts of evidence from her researched work.

    Read More

  • Assisted Suicide Should Not be Legalized

    1627 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout the course of history, death and suffering have been a prominent topic of discussion among people everywhere. Scientists are constantly looking for ways to alleviate and/or cure the pain that comes with the process of dying. Treatments typically focus on pain management and quality of life, and include medication and various types of therapy. When traditional treatments are not able to eliminate pain and suffering or the promise of healing, patients will often consider euthanasia or assisted suicide. Assisted suicide occurs when a person is terminally ill and believes that their life is not worth living anymore. As a result of these thoughts and feelings, a physician or other person is enlisted to “assist” the patient in committing suicide. Typically this is done by administering a lethal overdose of a narcotic, antidepressant or sedative, or by combining drugs to create an adverse reaction and hasten the death of the sick patient. Though many people believe that assisted suicide is a quick and honorable way to end the sufferings of a person with a severe illness, it is, in fact, morally wrong. Assisted suicide is unethical because it takes away the value of a human life, it is murder, and it opens the door for coercion of the elderly and terminally ill to seek an untimely and premature death. Despite the common people’s beliefs, assisted suicide is wrong and shouldn’t be legalized.

    Read More

More about Arguments Against Pas

Open Document