Physician-Assissted Suicide: The Tantalizing Taboo
analytical Essay
1313 words
Physician-assisted suicide is legal in three of the fifty states in America: Oregon, Montana, and Washington. Getting approval for physician-assisted suicide in Oregon is a long process with many guidelines and restrictions. The patient must be terminally ill, with little hope for treatment and less than six months to live. It is required that they are a resident of Oregon, and at least 18 years of age. They must also be able to communicate their own wishes. Once the initial decision is made by the patient, he or she must make two oral requests for a prescription of lethal drugs to their attending physician, or the doctor that has initial care of that patient. These two requests should be made no less than 15 days apart, and a the patient must sign a written request in the presence of at least two witnesses. Once the forms are signed, the attending physician, as well as another consulting physician, will review the patient’s case and verify the diagnosis and prognosis. If either of the two physicians believes the patient is being influenced by a psychological or psychiatric disease, they must refer the patient for a psychological examination. If the patient is declared mentally fit to make this decision, the attending physician has an obligation to offer alternatives to the Death with Dignity Act, including hospice care, comfort, and pain management. Should the patient decide to proceed with physician-assisted suicide, the attending physician is required to recommend that the patient notify their next-of-kin of their request for lethal drugs, although it is not required (Oregon 1).
If one is to even begin to understand the dilemma stirred up by the proposition of legalizing physician-assisted suicide, they must first understand ...
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...a common answer for all terminal patients. However, even in Oregon, where physician-assisted suicide was legalized over a decade ago, the procedure accounts for only about 1 in 1,000 deaths in the state.
Works Cited
Brown, Colette. "Proper Debate on Controversial Issue Is a Matter of Life and Death." Editorial.
Irish Examiner 11 Jan. 2012. 11 Jan. 2012. Web. 3 Feb. 2012.
"Physician Assisted Suicide - Right to Die." USLegal.com. USLegal, Inc. Web. 2 Feb. 2012.
Quill, Timothy E., and Jane Greenlaw. "Physician Assisted Death." Thehastingscenter.org. The
Hastings Center. Web. 29 Jan. 2012.
Tyson, Peter. "The Hippocratic Oath Today." Pbs.org. NOVA, 27 Mar. 2001. Web. 2 Feb. 2012.
Williams, Christine M. "Medically Vulnerable Need Compassion, Not Death, Speaker Says."
Editorial. The Pilot [Boston, MA]. PilotCatholicNews.com. 3 Feb. 2012. Web. 3 Feb.
2012.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that physician-assisted suicide is legal in three of the fifty states in america: oregon, montana, and washington. the patient must be terminally ill, with little hope for treatment and less than six months to live.
- Argues that the hippocratic oath is a common argument against physician-assisted suicide, since it states that life is fragile and requires great responsibility.
- Explains that physician-assisted suicide is legal in three of the fifty states in america: oregon, montana, and washington. the patient must be terminally ill, with little hope for treatment and less than six months to live.
- Explains that the death with dignity act was founded on the principle that people should have the right to decide to end their lives early, sparing them from months of waiting for death.
- Argues that allowing physicians to participate in assisted suicide would cause more harm than good. physician-assisted suicide is fundamentally incompatible with the physician's role as healer and would be difficult or impossible to control.
- Opines that brown's "proper debate on controversial issue is a matter of life and death."
- Explains tyson, peter, "the hippocratic oath today." pbs.org.
Related
- explanatory
- opinion
- analytical
- Physician Assisted Suicideexplanatory essayThe practice of assisted suicide is not a modern phenomenon. In ancient Greece, the government gave hemlock to those who wanted it. William Shakespeare memorialized the Roman practice in Julius Caesar by depicting Brutus running into the sword held by Strato (Egendorf). While physician assisted suicide is not a new concept the moral debate surrounding euthanasia in America has certainly been brought to the forefront in the last thirty years with the advancements of modern medicine. The direct effects of such a rapid increase in medical science is the prolonging of a human's life span. However, some may wonder if living to be 80 or 90 years old is a blessing or a curse?
In this essay, the author
- Explains that physician assisted suicide is not a new concept, but the moral debate surrounding euthanasia in america has been brought to the forefront with the advancements of modern medicine.
- Explains that the longer people live the more likely they are to develop an incurable health condition, some of which are painful and/or could eventually lead to death.
- Explains that physician assisted suicide in the united states is legal only in montana, oregon, and washington state. passive euthanasia is the intentional withholding of life saving drugs, treatments or devices, resulting in death of the afflicted.
- Opines that physician assisted suicide contradicts the hippocratic oath, which states that a medical practitioner must not play at god.
- Opines that the supporters of medically supervised suicide, may feel it is a doctor's obligation to assist patients dying in monitored environments. others may believe that as an american citizen they have certain inalienable rights.
- Explains that the debate over legalizing physician assisted suicide is not only taking place in the united states.
- Describes dr. jack kevorkian, a michigan pathologist who assisted in the deaths of over 100 terminally ill patients.
- Cites egendorf, laura k., humphry, derek, and humry. "assisted suicide essays and articles at enotes."
- Cites kevorkian's famous quotes at brainyquote and morrow, rn, angela. physician assisted suicide - reasons for seeking physician
967 wordsRead More - Physician’s Assisted Suicideopinion essayImagine yourself lying in bed at the hospital hooked up to all sorts of machines that are just barely keeping you alive. Imagine the pain and suffering you are in on a daily bass and the medication being given to you isn’t cutting it any longer and all the doctors and nurses can do for you is just keep you comfortable. The doctors have literally given you no chance of survival and death is imminent. You have taken the time you have left to say your good-byes, came to terms with dying, and you are ready to leave this world. If you could choose to end your life instead of wasting away, would you take advantage of it?
In this essay, the author
- Imagines the pain and suffering in a hospital bed, with no chance of survival and death imminent. if you could choose to end your life instead of wasting away, would you take advantage of it?
- Explains that death is the inevitable fate of all humans. when facing death, the question may arise as to whether or not third parties should be allowed to intentionally end the life of the patient.
- Opines that physician assisted suicide should be legal for terminally ill patients in the us. oregon was the first state to pass a law allowing physicians to help end the lives of patients.
- Explains the law put in place by oregon and washington must have two physician's consent that the patient is terminally ill, a psychiatrist'
- Explains that many dislike physician assisted suicide because they believe it might eventually lead to involuntary euthanasia. this is supported by statistics taken by the netherlands that state, "roughly 1,000 patients die due to an end-of-life decision made without their explicit consent."
- Argues that assisted suicide could encourage people to give up and take the easy way out. it might give off the wrong impression to the public that when life becomes hard it is acceptable to quit.
- Explains that supporters of physician-assisted suicide justify their position by placing the value of individual autonomy above all other values and ethical considerations.
- Opines that physician's assisted suicide alleviates the pain and suffering of patients. when the patient is forced to endure agonizing pain even though they want to die, some decided to end their lives on their own ending in a messy outcome.
- Opines that people in the u.s. end their lives for a reason, and that the government cannot stop suicide from happening.
- Explains that giving terminally ill adults the power back to choose when they want to go makes their ending of life much more peaceful. patients who are denied their rights to die are doing an injustice towards all citizens.
- Argues that physician's assisted death should be legalized in all the us so the terminally ill can leave the world on their own note giving them back the power that their illness took away from them.
1072 wordsRead More - Euthanasia Essay - Physician Assisted Murderexplanatory essayPhysician assisted suicide is illegal in all states but one state. Oregon law states that when a patient requests physician assisted suicide they must be suffering from a disease that will end his or her life within 6 months.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that physician assisted suicide is illegal in all states except oregon. it is defined by religious tolerance.org.
- Opines that terminally ill patients should have a legal right to control the manner in which they die.
- Explains that every culture has a taboo against murder, including our own. the practice of physician assisted suicide is wrong across all religious and cultural groups.
- Opines that doctors can assist patients in making their dying days easier and to alleviate their pain. the american medical associations' vice-president for ethical standards and director of its institute for ethics says this is a defining moment in medicine.
- Opines that the moral and ethical dilemmas surrounding the legalization of physician assisted suicide will be an issue for years to come, until society is not permitted to play god anymore.
- Explains that snyder, lois, and caplan, ph.d., found common ground in assisted suicide.
- Explains that physician assisted suicide is illegal in all states but one state. the supreme court has ruled that it is not a constitutional right.
942 wordsRead More - The Morality of Assisted Suicideanalytical essayOregon is the only state that allows assisted suicide. A doctor will prescribe medication and the pharmacist will say “be sure to take all of these pills at one time-with a light snack or alcohol-to induce death”(45). The states insurance companies pay for the medication, which are paid for by Medicaid called “comfort care”(46).
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes the morality of assisted suicide, which has only recently begun to confront patients all over the world.
- Explains that rita l. maker, an attorney and executive director of the international anti-euthanasia task force, believes the debate isn't about the tragic, personal act of suicide, nor is it about attempted suicide.
- Explains that oregon is the only state that allows assisted suicide. the state insurance companies pay for the medication, which are paid for by medicaid called "comfort care."
- Opines that whether other states embrace oregon-style care will depend upon a willingness to carefully examine what truly is at stake in this debate about public policy.
- Explains that many health-maintenance organizations are 'for-profit' enterprises where stockholder benefit, not patient well-being, is the bottom line. not many people research into their medical coverage until they are sick.
- Explains that some medical programs want doctors to not treat patients right a way and will usually cause conflict.
- Opines that doctors who are thrifty would be six times more likely than their counterparts to provide a lethal prescription. wesley smith, an attorney and consumer advocate, expresses that the last people to receive medical care will be the first.
- Argues that it should not be a crime for doctors to respect the wishes of terminally ill patients who want assistance in committing suicide.
- Analyzes how angell has no clue why the legislature would make a patient suffer when he or she doesn't want to suffer anymore.
- Opines that the supreme court's verdict was a whitewash against doctor-assisted suicide, 9-0.
- Analyzes how angell concludes compassionate doctors always have helped dying patients to end their lives, even though this is all done under the table, by the doctor supplying the patient with mass quantities of a certain prescription.
- Analyzes how timothy e. quill, m.d., practicing physician, wrote this article in the new england journal of medicine, which pertains to aiding someone to death.
- Narrates how diane was enraged at the oncologist's presumption that she would want treatment, and devastated by the finality of the diagnosis.
- Analyzes how quill pointed out that it was extraordinarily important to diane to maintain control of herself and her own dignity during the time remaining to her.
- Explains that diane wanted to die in the easiest and least painful way. the hemlock society discussed her choices and she called quill seven days later asking for sleeping pills.
- Narrates how diane's son and husband did everything at home to spend as much time with her as they could. quill confirmed "bone pain, weakness, fatigue, and fevers began to dominate her life."
- Narrates how diane's husband called the medical examiner and told him she died of 'acute leukemia'.
- Concludes that diane taught them about the range of help they can provide if they know people well and allow them to say what they really want. they did not assist her in suicide directly, but indirectly made it possible, successful, and relatively painless.
- Analyzes how betty rollin, an employee at nbc news, wrote last wish, a book about her mother's death, which tells the story of how she helped assist-suicide upon her mom.
- Analyzes how rollin misses her mother and doesn't display any pictures of her because she breaks down every time she sees their mother's profile.
- Narrates how rollin wrote a book about her mother the last wish, which was made into an tv movie. she received many letters that agreed with her and some that didn't.
- Analyzes how a young geriatric nurse believes that doctors cannot deal with death. she supports euthanasia and says that people who are suffering and dying want to die, but they cannot die unless they have help.
- Opines that assisted-suicide laws must have regulations, which were passed a year ago in washington state. more regulations will be submitted in california this november.
- Explains that michael white, a lawyer and president of american against human suffering, asked them to speak in front of the american bar association.
- Analyzes rollin's claim that people dying in hospital beds have a right to die, if that’s what they truly want. the people against him talk about god and interfering with god.
- Opines that assisted suicide is good because it takes away pain. rollins mother took the prescription when she felt comfortable.
- Opines that physicians should respect the wishes of their patients, even when the patient wants to die. dying patients should have the right to choose a quick, painless death.
1973 wordsRead More - Physician Assisted Suicideanalytical essayAssisted Suicide Physician assisted suicide, also known as right to die has become a hot button issue within the last twenty years. The reason behind the interest is because in the “land of the free” known as America, that promotes independence and personal rights; it seems quite regressive to many to deny a person their right to die. After the 1997 Supreme Court decision which declined to nationally recognize assisted suicide, Chief Justice William Rehquist stated this issue best when he said we are “engaged in an earnest and profound debate about the morality, legality and practicality of physician assisted suicide as it should in a democratic society”(Karim Paragraph 10). Cut to 2014 and over ten years later this issue has gained more momentum than ever, specifically in California after the California Compassionate Choices Act following the passing and implementation of The Dignity Act in Oregon (Tucker 1611). The benefits of assisted suicide include an end in suffering for patients while saving their family from future debt and allowing their organs and the energy used to keep them alive to save others who can live a complete and healthy life.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that physician assisted suicide, also known as right to die, has become a hot button issue within the last twenty years.
- Argues that physician assisted suicide prevents pain and suffering surrounding the final months and days of a person's life by their choice alone.
- Explains that autonomy is synonymous with independence and is often brought up as a major pro for assisted suicide because terminally ill want to keep their autonomy and not depend on anyone in their final days.
- Explains that physician assisted suicide is irrational and selfish to some, but benefits include preventing family from accruing future debt. california could prevent debt and misery surrounding dying people by adopting the death with dignity act.
- Opines that prolonging a life when the outcome is death is not the state's business. doctors' main goal is to save lives, but some patients may be able to donate viable organs and help others.
- Argues that physician assisted suicide is morally wrong and should not be further implemented in our country for that reason alone.
- Cites alstyne, william van, dahl, e., and n. levy. "the case for physician assisted suicide: how can it possibly be proven?"
- Analyzes karaim, reed, steinbock, b., tucker, kathryn, and tucker.
1112 wordsRead More - Assisted Suicide: Murder or Mercy?analytical essayPhysician assisted suicide is becoming a larger issue in our society. More people are learning about it, and that is creating more controversy. Oregon passed their Death with Dignity Act on November 8, 1994. A court battle took place in 1997 to repeal the law, but it failed. The law came into full effect in November 1997. There's a problem with this law, though. The laws in place to protect its patients from abuse are shaky. Even though legal physician assisted suicide will be hard to control, if it is handled properly, it should be legalized (Oregon Right to Life).
In this essay, the author
- Explains that 'regular' suicide is not illegal, but involves the person himself, so no one can punish them for it. dr. jack kevorkian was a strong proponent of assisted suicide.
- Argues that assisted suicide will lead to euthanasia, which is a common legal solution for those with mental illness, permanent disability, and old age.
- Explains that less than 4 percent of people who request assisted suicide go on to achieve it within the next five years. depression can impair judgment and decision-making skills.
- Explains that the nightingale alliance says that 95% of pain can be controlled, and the other 5%, reduced to a tolerable level.
- Argues that doctors, insurance companies, or even family members may try and push others into the decision. seeing a loved one suffer is difficult.
- Argues that doctor shopping is becoming a huge problem and that some of the safety laws that are in place are being bypassed.
- Argues that people deserve to die with dignity, which is why oregon's law is the death with dignity act.
- Explains that physician assisted suicide is becoming a larger issue in our society, and that is creating more controversy.
- Argues that by not legalizing assisted suicide, we are being inhumane and causing people to die alone.
- Analyzes the controversy surrounding the legalization of assisted suicide.
2039 wordsRead More - Pro Assisted Suicideanalytical essayDespite the changes in modern medicine, the attitudes toward assisted suicide in America’s courts and legislatures have not altered considerably. For instance, in June 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that people do not have a constitutional right to assisted suicide. Although a constitutional right was not established, the ruling did not preclude states from passing laws prohibiting or permitting assisted suicide. However, similar to its status 130 years ago, assisted suicide is not widely supported in America’s state legislatures. As of 1997, physician-assisted suicide was legal in only one state—Oregon. Moreover, that law faced challenges from right-to-life opponents and the Justice Department, which w...
In this essay, the author
- Argues that assisted suicide should be allowed everywhere because everyone should have the right to choose how to live and die.
- Explains that the attitudes toward assisted suicide in america's courts and legislatures have not changed significantly.
- Explains that oregon is the only state that has legalized assisted suicide. the statute states that two separate doctors must agree that the patient is mentally competent and the decision was voluntary.
- Explains the principle of self-determination to control the time, place, and nature of one's death and the desire to preserve dignity and personhood in the dying process.
- Explains that the ethics of physician assisted suicide (pas) continues to be debated, arguing that pas may be a rational choice for escaping unbearable suffering.
- Argues that even when choices are socially shaped, they should be respected as independent as long as there is appropriate evaluation of decisional capacity on the person who is deciding whether or not they want to live.
- Explains that physician assisted suicide is generally recognized as illegal in association with the definition of homicide. supporters against active suicide feel that it is the duty of physicians to help and heal patients rather than aiding their exit from this world.
- Explains that euthanasia activists claim that laws against a person's death are government mandated suffering, whereas supporters believe that legislation against it violates fundamental concepts of liberty, freedom of choice, and self-determination.
- Opines that assisted suicide should be allowed everywhere because everyone should have the right to choose how to live and die.
1418 wordsRead More - Physician Aid-in-Dying (PAD): The Right to Chooseopinion essayIn 1994, Oregon passed the Death with Dignity Act. This law states that Oregon residents, who have been diagnosed with a life ending disease and have less than six months to live, may obtain a lethal medicine prescribed by a physician, which would end their life when and where they chose to do so. This law or act requires the collection of data from patients and physicians and publishes it in an annual r...
In this essay, the author
- Explains the controversial act known as physician aid-in-dying challenges us to question our ethical, religious, and cultural values or beliefs.
- States that oregon passed the death with dignity act in 1994. the law requires the collection of data from patients and physicians and publishes it in an annual report.
- Opines that pad is a respectful solution for terminally ill patients who wish to choose their own timing and manner in which they die.
- Explains that pad is not the same as euthanasia, since it involves prescribed medicines used to purposely end a patient's life.
- Explains that assisted suicide is used every day by the patient creating a living will with particular instructions regarding their medical treatments.
- Compares dr. jack kevorkian's euthanasia procedures on terminally ill patients to what pad physicians are doing today.
- Explains that the medical and pharmaceutical systems are flawed and prescription medications are abused daily in the united states, but patients must follow the strict guidelines set forth by the state of oregon.
- Opines that pad is an opportunity to stimulate open discussions with our doctors about end-of-life care and what our potential options are.
- Summarizes braddock, clarence, and mark tonelli's "physician aid-in-dying: ethical topic in medicine."
- Explains campbell, courtney, "aid-in-dying and the taking of human life." journal of medical ethics.
- Analyzes sloss, david, "the right to choose how to die: a constitutional analysis of state laws prohibiting physician-assisted suicide." stanford law review.
1783 wordsRead More - Ethical Issues With Physician Assisted Suicideexplanatory essayThe ethical issues of physician-assisted suicide are both emotional and controversial, as it struggles with the issue of life and death. If you take a moment and imagine how you would choose to live your last day, it is almost guaranteed that it wouldn’t be a day spent lying in a hospital bed, suffering in pain, continuously being pumped with medicine, and living in a strangers’ body. Today we live in a culture that denies the terminally ill the right to maintain control over when and how to end their lives. Physicians-assisted suicide “is the voluntary termination of one's own life by the administration of a lethal substance with the direct or indirect assistance of a physician” (Medical Definition of Physician-Assisted Suicide, 2017). Physician-assisted
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the ethical issues of physician-assisted suicide are emotional and controversial, as it struggles with the issue of life and death.
- Explains that life-sustaining procedures such as ventilators, feeding tubes, and treatments for infectious and terminal diseases have positively influenced modern medicine, but inadvertently cause terminal patients extensive pain and suffering.
- Explains that the discussion of physician-assisted suicide is often focused around the ethical implications. the patient has given consent to the physician to ethically aid in their death.
- Explains that euthanasia is divided into two separate classifications, namely passive and active. active and physician-assisted suicide share many of the same characteristics but differ in the role for committing the final act.
- Explains that physician-assisted suicide is legalized in six out of the fifty states in america, but there are additional states that have death with dignity laws.
824 wordsRead More - Physician-Assisted Suicide: A Case Study Analysisanalytical essayPhysician-Assisted Suicide: A Case Study Analysis There are many legal and ethical issues when discussing the topic of physician-assisted suicide (PAS). The legal issues are those regarding numerous court cases over the past few decades, the debate over how the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution comes into play, and the legalization vs. illegalization of this practice. The 14th Amendment states, “nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” (U.S. Const. amend.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes the legal and ethical issues surrounding physician-assisted suicide (pas) using a specific case that went to the supreme courts.
- Explains that there are many moral and ethical issues surrounding the topic of suicide and therefore pas.
- Explains that the government has the commitment to protect all human life, regardless of one's physical, emotional, or mental state. in washington et al. v. glucksberg, the state has an important role in preventing suicide.
- Explains that pas is an emotional debate that has been addressed in the courts repeatedly.
- Explains how the washington et al. v. glucksberg case was ruled constitutional to uphold pas as illegal.
- Explains that the nursing code of ethics states that it is important to maintain the integrity of the profession and to continue to promote health and safety for all patients.
- States that oregon legalized pas in 1994 and required all data to be documented and reported to the state.
- Argues that the slippery slope argument becomes a moral problem when pas is concerned to be the gateway to euthanasia. oregon passed the death with dignity act in 1997.
- Explains that autonomy and dignity are the two most influential aspects for the argument to support pas and are moral dilemmas that most people face sometime in their life.
- Agrees with the supreme court's decision of passing the death with dignity act. terminally ill mentally competent adults should have the liberty to decide when and how they will die.
1833 wordsRead More