Physician-Assisted Suicide

2225 Words5 Pages

Physician-Assisted Suicide

In today's society, a very controversial issue is physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill patients. Many people feel that it is wrong for people, regardless of their health situation, to ask their doctor or attendant to end their life. Others feel it is their right to be able to choose how and when they die. When a doctor is asked to help a patient to their death, they have certain responsibilities that come along with it. Among these duties, they must prove valid information as to the terminal illness the patient is suffering. They also must educate the patient as to what their final options may be. When they make the decision of whether or not to help the patient into death, and should they accept responsibility, they must provide the lethal dose of medicines that will end the life of the patient.

For those, myself included, who believe physician-assisted suicide should be their choice, we feel it should be legalized because: they don't want to go through the suffering caused by the illness they have. They fear the loss of their independence because they feel they become a burden to their family or friends.

On the other hand those opposed to the issue of assisted suicide feel it goes against religious beliefs and common medical ethics. They also believe that there is always the possibility that a miracle will occur and the patient will overcome the illness and also that the doctor could have provided the wrong diagnosis to the patient initially. The strongest reason against physician-assisted suicide has been the idea that if assisted suicide becomes legal, it will get out of hand and target certain people in society, such as those with disabilities.

In 1990, physician-assi...

... middle of paper ...

...you, unless you become a patient. With the freedoms offered to us, we should not even have to ask a doctor for permission about suicide. People should be allowed to decide their fate, just as they can decide whether to drive or walk to the grocery store. This should be the case, especially for terminally ill patients who are greatly affected by a disease.

The writer feels that life is something that is valuable, even when people can't move around themselves, or can't do all things for themselves. Life isn't just something that everyone inherits. People were given life for a reason, and whether that reason is to work through a terminal illness or to make it through life without any health problems, nobody should be able to choose their time of death. Someone who fights through a terminal illness dies with more dignity than someone who takes the easy way out does.

Open Document