Physician Assisted Suicide Research Paper

Physician-Assisted Suicide Legalization The debate on physician-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 option to die with the assistance of a physician. There are valid arguments both for and against it, although based on research, the cons outweigh the pros. Physician-assisted suicide not only changes the culture in which medicine is practiced, it violates a doctor’s morals and doctor-patient relationships. This weight should not be laid on the shoulders of medical personnel. Physician-assisted suicide should not be legalized in all fifty states. What is this physician-assisted suicide that causes so much controversy? Physician-assisted

It changes the entire culture in which medicine is practiced. It threatens to essentially damage doctor-patient relationships because it reduces the patient’s trust of doctors and the doctor’s unflagging commitment to the life and health of their patients. “By allowing a person to take their own life when they feel hopeless, it might give of the wrong impression to the public that when life becomes hard it is acceptable to quit” (Ku 28). This is not the mindset doctors should have, as their careers are based on helping the sick, even those who are barely holding on. According to “What Does a Doctor Do?” at sokanu.com, “A doctor is someone who maintains or restores human life through the practice of medicine. He or she will diagnose and treat human disease, ailments, injuries, pain or other conditions. Nowhere in that definition does it reference the act of assisting patients in death. The use of physician-assisted suicide contradicts everything a doctor stands for and throws away their respect for

Some of these reasons include liberty interest, dignity in death, cost benefit analysis and proper legislation. Terminal conditions have the ability to take individuals from strong, self sufficient people to people who depend on others for food, personal hygiene and in other ways that make the ill feel helpless and dehumanized. “Terminally ill people should have the right to end their lives on their own terms. If someone knows they are going to be in pain for the rest of their life, I believe they should be allowed to end it while they are still physically able” (Asbury). Terminally ill patients face a huge predicament in how to live their last days. While many allow nature to take its course, others would prefer a faster and less painful death. Allowing individuals to make the best choice for themselves has its