Physicians' Perspectives on Legalizing Assisted Suicide

827 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Debates over physician assisted suicide

Physicians’ Point of View In order to appropriately comprehend the argument between these benefits and disadvantages of legalizing PAS it is essential to explore the opinions of those who would be administering and counseling patients. More recently physicians are releasing their point of view on the debate as they are increasingly pressured by society to defend a side. In 2006, a study was conducted by the University of Vermont medical students in association with university-affiliated physicians as well as other professors and staff members. The survey was designed to “assess whether clearly defined variables – gender, specialty, location of practice, whether the physician is currently practicing, whether the patients are cared for through the end of life and whether the physician has experience with patient requests of PAS – were predictive of physician support of the proposed PAS legislation…” (Craig et al. 400). The results of this study concluded that of the 1052 participants (with a 48% response rate), 15.7% were undecided, 16.0% believed it should be prohibited, 26.0% believed it should not be legislated and 38.2% believed PAS should be legislated. Furthermore, 50.1% responses back said they would participate in PAS under a law (Craig et al. …show more content…

To federally allow PAS in every state, would increase rate of participation of physicians. Granted, research of the opinions of physicians should increasingly take place annually to validate the previous results as well as gauge the future perspectives. Ultimately, the physicians’ point of view is imperative in the implementation of federally legalizing PAS in the United States and should be considered because they are the ones prescribing such doses and without their support the bill would never be

Show More
Related

  • The Ethical Dilemma of Assisted Suicide

    2261 Words  | 5 Pages

    When a patient is given PAS as an option it is ultimately their decision. However, Professor Raphael Cohen- Almagor of Hull University, said: “The decision as to which life is no longer ‘worth living’ is not in the hands of the patient but in the hands of the doctor.”(SPUC) Moreover, in Belgium, where euthanasia is legal, in 2013 the deaths of 1.7 people in every 100 people were hastened without the explicit request of the patient. National Right to Live News says, “vulnerable people feel pressured to choose death” and “saying to elderly, vulnerable people: ‘would you like us to help you die now?’ immediately makes them feel that their life has no worth.” In addition, some people feel vulnerable and obligated to continue with PAS. Daniel Callahan, a bioethicist says, “A lot of seriously ill people already feel they’re a burden because they’re costing their families money.”(Humphry) It is often said the decision is the patient’s, but it’s difficult to deny that often times they’re persuaded in some

    Read More

  • Assisted Suicide Euthanasia Essay

    785 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Ethical Issues With Physician Assisted Suicide

    824 Words  | 2 Pages

    The 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

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Physician Assisted Suicide

    1385 Words  | 3 Pages

    With all the defects of the PAS movement exposed, it is safe to say that PAS should be illegal everywhere. It causes destruction of our health system by violating the Hippocratic Oath, letting innocent people die a preventable death, and the struggles with new diseases and outbreaks. PAS should not even be in debate; it should just be banned. There should be more thought and debate for more research and cures for these diseases. Kill the disease not the patient.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Physician Assisted Suicide

    1112 Words  | 3 Pages

    If my solution (legalization of PAS) should become the law countrywide, this would be the best solution in the long run. There would not be a patient’s suffering and desperate to end their life, there would be a way out. A way to end their life with dignity and to give their families some piece of mind. There are many situations and scenarios in our lives where decisions are taken out of our hands, one way or another. I feel that the right to die should be a decision that each individual person should make (and be able to make) for themselves.

    Read More

  • Physician Assisted Suicide: The Right to Choose

    2039 Words  | 5 Pages

    Did you know, about 57% of physicians today have received a request for physician assisted suicide due to suffering from a terminally ill patient. Suffering has always been a part of human existence, and these requests have been occurring since medicine has been around. Moreover, there are two principles that all organized medicine agree upon. The first one is physicians have a responsibility to relieve pain and suffering of dying patients in their care. The second one is physicians must respect patients’ competent decisions to decline life-sustaining treatment. Basically, these principles state the patients over the age of 18 that are mentally stable have the right to choose to end their life if they are suffering from pain. As of right now, Oregon, Washington, and Vermont have legalized physician assisted suicide through legislation. Montana has legalized it via court ruling. The first Death with Dignity Act (DWDA) became effective in Oregon in 1997. Washington and Vermont later passed this act in 2009, and Montana passed the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act in 2008. One concern with physician assisted suicide is confusion of the patient’s wishes. To get rid of any confusion and provide evidence in case someone becomes terminally ill, people should make an advanced care plan. The two main lethal drugs that are used during physician assisted suicide are secobarbital and pentobarbital. Appropriate reporting is necessary when distributing these drugs and performing the suicide in order to publish an analysis. Studies found a large number of people accepted this procedure under certain circumstances; therefore, physician assisted suicide should be legal in the United States because terminally ill patients over the age of 18 that are...

    Read More

  • The Death With Dignity Act

    1734 Words  | 4 Pages

    In closing, despite all of the different opinions that people have on PAS, there are many good outcomes that come with the decision. Having the right to make a “choice” is what PAS comes down to. Many argue that it is inhumane, while many will argue that it is a choice. If choosing PAS as a last dying right, then one should respect that choice. It is a choice and only the patient should have the right to choose.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Physician Assisted Suicide

    1224 Words  | 3 Pages

    Physicians Assisted Suicide An Argumentative Essay 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. PAS falls underneath the umbrella of euthanasia. ?

    Read More

  • Physician Assisted Euthanasia

    1328 Words  | 3 Pages

    What is a physician's duty to a patient? Are doctors ever justified in ending a life entrusted to their care, even at the request of the patient or his family? These questions are being asked in today's society as part of the growing debate surrounding physician-assisted euthanasia (PAS). Several well-publicized cases in the past few decades have only fueled the fire, inspiring equally convicted individuals and organizations to rise up on both sides. Pro-life advocates argue the immorality of assisted suicide, and are, except for a few instances, supported by the law. Pro-choice supporters not only cite ethical justification, but argue the practical benefits and recent legislation legalizing of some instances of euthanasia in limited areas of the world. Despite certain economic benefits and legal support, it is never justifiable for a doctor to facilitate the death of any patient.

    Read More

  • The Right to Physician Assisted Suicide

    1874 Words  | 4 Pages

    The right to 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 right to die with the assistance of a physician. Some are against it because of religious and moral reasons. Others are for it because of their compassion and respect for the dying. Physicians are also divided on the issue. They differ where they place the line that separates relief from dying--and killing. For many the main concern with assisted suicide lies with the competence of the terminally ill. Many terminally ill patients who are in the final stages of their lives have requested doctors to aid them in exercising active euthanasia. It is sad to realize that these people are in great agony and that to them the only hope of bringing that agony to a halt is through assisted suicide.When people see the word euthanasia, they see the meaning of the word in two different lights. Euthanasia for some carries a negative connotation; it is the same as murder. For others, however, euthanasia is the act of putting someone to death painlessly, or allowing a person suffering from an incurable and painful disease or condition to die by withholding extreme medical measures. But after studying both sides of the issue, a compassionate individual must conclude that competent terminal patients should be given the right to assisted suicide in order to end their suffering, reduce the damaging financial effects of hospital care on their families, and preserve the individual right of people to determine their own fate.

    Read More

  • Pros & Cons of Legalization of Marijuana

    1651 Words  | 4 Pages

    Introduction The legalization of marijuana is considered a controversial issue, something that can benefit people for medical purposes, but what about recreationally? Marijuana has been illegal since 1937, but there’s never been a bigger push for legalization. There are several reasons why it is illegal, because of government propaganda and big industry not wanting to lose money, but this will be discussed later. The purpose of this paper is to educate, theorize, and discuss various aspects of marijuana, such as its history, development, and the advantages and disadvantages of marijuana legalization. Finally, my personal reflection on legalization and marijuana in general will be discussed.

    Read More

  • Pros and Cons of Drug Legalization

    1474 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Pros and Cons of Drug Legalization Should drugs be legalized? Drugs are resources that are capable of affecting the American economy in many ways—both positively and negatively. Drugs often have a bad name, even though they help us everyday in medical cases. and the drugs with the worst reputations are not the most abused drugs. One may benefit from the legalization of drugs in many ways, while others would suffer greatly.

    Read More

  • Pros and Cons of the Legalization of Prostitution

    1628 Words  | 4 Pages

    Is prostitution wrong? Is it possible to stop prostitution entirely? The debate on whether prostitution should be legalized in the United Sates is not a new one. On the topic of prostitution different ideas such as morality and freedom of choice come to play. The differing of opinions on whether prostitution should be legalized in the United States vary greatly, but generally they fall into three categories: anti-prostitution, decriminalization, and pro-legalization.

    Read More

  • Legalize Euthanasia

    690 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...Prevention. "Physician-Assisted Suicide Should Not Be Legalized." Opposing Viewpoints: Problems of Death. Ed. James D. Torr and Laura K. Egendorf. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2000. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Harford Technical High School - MD. 15 Mar. 2010 .

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Euthanasia

    1374 Words  | 3 Pages

    Should a patient have the right to ask for a physician’s help to end his or her life? This question has raised great controversy for many years. The legalization of physician assisted suicide or active euthanasia is a complex issue and both sides have strong arguments. Supporters of active euthanasia often argue that active euthanasia is a good death, painless, quick, and ultimately is the patient’s choice. While it is understandable, though heart-rending, why a patient that is in severe pain and suffering that is incurable would choose euthanasia, it still does not outweigh the potential negative effects that the legalization of euthanasia may have. Active euthanasia should not be legalized because

    Read More

More about Physicians' Perspectives on Legalizing Assisted Suicide

Open Document