Physician Assisted Suicide Research Paper

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Recommended: Physician-assisted suicide IS RIGHT OR WRONG

Physician-assisted suicide (PAS) is a very tough topic to assess in the medical field. This form of so-called treatment is performed all around the world. The physician can prescribe a medication to a patient of a dosage that would end up taking their life. It is completely up to the patient to do the rest. It is not legal in the state of Alabama and not really anywhere other than a handful of places. There are a lot of different views on this topic, why or why not it should be legalized. Some people believe that this act should be a felony. I, on the other hand, believe that if a patient wants an out of all their pain and suffering then they should be allowed to have the right to do so. Some of the patients that will consider this method are terminal. That includes cancer and dementia along with other illnesses. These patients are very ill and have weighed out all other options. Some may think that that this method is selfish for the family members but what would that family really be going through if that said patient did not do the physician-assisted suicide? Families would be watching their loved one waste away in a hospital bed with a huge hospital bill to pay …show more content…

In the end, cancer is not curable. Chemo is very hard on a person’s body I know from experience. If the patient is on chemo for a long period of time organs can eventually shut down. So, therefore, if cancer does not end up killing the individual then the chemo will. Some cancer patients do not even have the choice of receiving chemotherapy. When this choice is not an option anymore it is because cancer has developed and has spread all over the body. When this has happened the patient is usually given a timeline of how long they have to live. This is why (PAS) would be a reasonable option for them. They know they are going to die and instead of those last excruciating months of being sick they would go in peace before it got unbearable for

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    The patient might just be waiting for the disease they have caught to kill them, but it does not always go so quickly . ¨Ending a patient's life by injection, with the added solace that it will be quick and painless, is much easier than this constant physical and emotional care¨ (Ezekiel Emanuel, 1997, p. 75). If a patient is terminally ill and will not get better, it allows them to end the suffering. If the physician has to keep a constant eye on the patient and they need constant care and the patient is not getting better, the option is there if they want to end all of it they can. Sometimes dealing with all of the physical care like medications and not being able to live completely normal with a disease is hard. It can get extremely hard and stressful that all the patients can think about doing is ending it, this alternative gives the patient a painless option. According to Somerville (2009), ¨… respect for people's rights to autonomy and self determination means everyone has a right to die at a time of their choosing¨ ( p.4). The patient deserves to choose whether they want to keep fighting or if they cannot go any farther. The patient should not have to push through a fight they have been fighting and know they cannot win. According to Kevorkian ¨the patient decides when it's best to go.¨ Nobody tells the patient when they have to end their lives, they understand their body and know

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  • The Pros And Cons Of Physician Assisted Suicide

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    ...their own life and die with their own dignity is huge thing among anyone. No one should be denied the right to leave this earth if they are in constant and terrible pain. But people were also asked whether physician-assisted suicide should be allowed for people in severe pain who aren't terminally ill or for those with disabilities and the outcome was, “a solid majority — 71 percent — opposed the idea, with only 29 percent in favor of it. The results were the same as in 2011.” (Hensley, 2012). The whole idea of having physician-assisted suicide is for a patient with a severe illness with months to live is to go out in peace and without any complications. Overall, physician-assisted suicide has many pros and cons but the main issue is the patient. It should not be up to anybody except the dying patient. There are only four states that have legalized assisted-suicide.

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    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.

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  • Physician Assisted Suicide Analysis

    311 Words  | 1 Pages

    This article relates a lot to the religious spectrum of what it means to participate in physician assisted suicide. This type of argumentative essay seems to be an argument of evaluation because it is evaluating criteria and measuring it against certain standards. In this case, it is the standards of the Catholic Church as well as the standards that doctors practice and the morals they carry. It also is an argument of definition. There is scientific data but the facts can be provoked with certain evidence or proof.

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  • Argumentative Essay On Physician Assisted Suicide

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    Physicians Assisted suicide is a topic many people are not fully informed about. Physician assisted suicide, or PAS for short is when a physician can legally prescribe medicine for a patient to take in order to medically kill themselves. I believe that PAS should be talked more about in order for more people to understand how bad or grave it can be to a family and to our world.

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  • Should Physician Assisted Suicide Be Legalized Essay

    442 Words  | 1 Pages

    Physician-assisted suicide should be legal because it is the individual’s decision to choose on his or her life. While family members and friends will be affected emotionally by his or her decision, it is ultimately the individual that chooses to end his or her life. While they may persuade the individual not to, that right to live should be based on the individual. In addition, people can choose to not have the right to choose to die, this is just an option to shorten the individual’s time of suffering. Should an individual want to end his or her life, and the peers do not, then that could be considered refusing that individual’s wishes. Physician-assisted suicide is a choice and should be given as an option to individuals especially like Craig who is suffering with an incurable disease and an inevitable death.

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    430 Words  | 1 Pages

    Issue: Should Physician assisted suicide (PAS) or euthanasia be legalized for patients who suffer from terminal illnesses?

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  • Arguments Against Physician Assisted Suicide

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    I believe that physician assisted suicide is a wrong moral decision based of biblical Truth. In the Bible, the concept of the sovereignty of God and the value and dignity of human life is often clearly expressed. Simply put, we do not have the final say in our own lives, and only God has the authority to end a life.

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