In a survey of 355 oncologists, the majority found euthanasia or assisted suicide unacceptable. However one in seven oncologists had actually carried out euthanasia or assisted suicide (2). 37% of physicians who look after AIDS patients would be unlikely to assist a patient with established AIDS to commit suicide but 48% said they would be likely to do so (3). 48% of 1355 physicians in Washington state agree that euthanasia is never ethically justified but 33% said they would be willing to perform euthanasia (4). 40% of 1119 Michigan physicians involved in the care of terminally ill patients were in favor of legalization of assisted suicide and 17% favored prohibition of assisted suicide. 22% of physicians would participate in either assisted suicide or euthanasia (5).
In the article “Attitudes and Desires Related to Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide Among Terminally Ill Patients and their Caregivers” research was done to expose terminally ill patients and their caregiver’s views towards euthanasia and physician assisted suicide (Ezekiel et al., 2000). Surveying a sample of terminally ill patients, as well as their caregivers, twice a week from March 1996 until July 1997, provided enough data to evaluate (Ezekiel et al., 2000). The participants included a total of 988 terminally ill patients and 893 caregivers. The research was done to not only determine whether or not people support assisted suicide, but also to show how many patients had considered taking their own lives, and how man...
Zehnder, P. W., & Royse, D. (1999) Attitudes toward assisted suicide: A survey of hospice volunteers.
At the moment, about five states have legalized either physician assisted suicide or euthanasia. This slow turnaround is a far cry from what it used to be more than thirty years ago. At this time, only Oregon made it legal for terminally ill patients to choose assisted death if needed. "One concern has been that disadvantaged populations would be disproportionately represented among patients who chose assisted suicide. Experience in Oregon suggests this has not been the case. In the United States, socially disadvantaged groups have variably included ethnic minorities, the poor, women, and the elderly...The available evidence does not bear out widely voiced concerns that physician-assisted suicide will be requested by those who are socially disadvantaged or make their requests based on lack of access to palliative care, poor social support, or financial needs "(Ganzini par. 13). This just goes to show that people have put their concern in the wrong opinion. There is truth in that abuse would certainly be a huge concern. But, that should not mean that euthanasia and assisted suicide should be completely out of the question. Instead people should find out solutions to remedy these concerns. One suggestion is to create a list of stipulations that would keep people from taking advantage. Dave Andrusko is a proponent against
In 2007, the American Geriatrics Society defined Physician-Assisted Suicide as, “When a physician provides either equipment or medication, or informs the patient of the most efficacious use of already available means, for the purpose of assisting the patient to end his or her own life” (qtd. in Lachman 121). Physician-Assisted Suicide is what it says, suicide. In the United States the controversy of the “Right to die” is not new. According to Vicki D. Lachman a Clinical Associate Professor, after the Supreme Court decision in 1997, it was determined that there is not a constitutional right to die. The Supreme Court is allowing states to pass laws to legalize Physician-Assisted Suicide. Since then three states, Oregon, Washington, and Montana have made it legal to perform Phy...
In short, euthanasia asks questions that cannot be answered from the perspective of medicine alone. The inappropriateness between assisting voluntary death and the professional ethos of physicians may mean that physicians should not assist death, except it does not necessarily settle the argument of whether anyone ever should. Acceptance for palliative care seems to be growing, but support of assisted suicide is growing also, because end of life issues are kept in the public eye. Additional empirical analysis of this situation is important. Furthermore, this debate could continue to yield insights into the issues around suffering at the end of life.
Paul, P 2002, Euthanasia and assisted suicide, American Demographics, vol. 24, no. 10, pp. 20-21, viewed 30 April 2014, .
Newman, E. (1996). Making the final choice: Should physician-assisted suicide be legalized? San Diego, CA: Truth Seeker Co., Inc.
...of Family Caregivers Support the Legalization of Physician-Assisted Suicide." Mental Health Weekly Digest. 17 Jun. 2013: 75. eLibrary. Web. 03 Feb. 2014.
the legalization of assisted suicide strikes a great deal of people as a cause of support, upon
Euthanasia and assisted suicide is a rising controversial problem in the world. Many people are against the idea of helping someone 'kill themselves'. This is a problem because many people who have had fatal incidents and are left with chronic conditions live everyday in pain, mental suffering, and emotional suffering. Euthanasia and assited sucide is to help someone who no longer wants to live, pass on. A poll taken by CBS News asked respondents if they thought "a doctor should be allowed to assist the person in taking their own life" who "has a disease that will ultimately destroy their mind or body and they want to take their own life." About 56 percent of Americans said yes and 37 percent said no. This close tie of public opinion has been continuous throughout many years, but euthanasia and assisted sucide has not been legalized in the United States.
"Assisted Suicide: Finding Common Ground." Lois Snyder, JD; and Authur L. Caplan, PhD. Annals of Internal Medicine. March 21, 2000. v.132, n.6
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.
As patients come closer to the end of their lives, certain organs stop performing as well as they use to. People are unable to do simple tasks like putting on clothes, going to the restroom without assistance, eat on our own, and sometimes even breathe without the help of a machine. Needing to depend on someone for everything suddenly brings feelings of helplessness much like an infant feels. It is easy to see why some patients with terminal illnesses would seek any type of relief from this hardship, even if that relief is suicide. Euthanasia or assisted suicide is where a physician would give a patient an aid in dying. “Assisted suicide is a controversial medical and ethical issue based on the question of whether, in certain situations, Medical practioners should be allowed to help patients actively determine the time and circumstances of their death” (Lee). “Arguments for and against assisted suicide (sometimes called the “right to die” debate) are complicated by the fact that they come from very many different points of view: medical issues, ethical issues, legal issues, religious issues, and social issues all play a part in shaping people’s opinions on the subject” (Lee). Euthanasia should not be legalized because it is considered murder, it goes against physicians’ Hippocratic Oath, violates the Controlled
Numerous US studies have established that the Americans most directly affected by the issue of physician-assisted suicide -- those who are frail, elderly and suffering from terminal illness -- are also more opposed to legalizing the practice than others are: