Assisted Suicide

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Recommended: What is the ethical dilemma with voluntary euthanasia

A large percent of terminally ill patients ponder their impending death, no matter the diagnosis. Mental illness or degenerative disabilities are the majority of the cases involved in ‘assisted-suicide,’ which is the process of ending their life with help from another person. Assisted suicide, despite the chronic or degenerative illness, has caused great controversy. The debate arises when the question about whether or not the practice should be legalized is asked. Some say that every person has a God given right to do what they want with their bodies, when they want to do it. Others say that palliative staffs should be focusing on studying better ways to eliminate pain and make the process of passing on easier and more endurable. Palliative care for these terminally ill patients ensures comfort as an alternative to assisted suicide. Death is a rather difficult topic to discuss, especially because most people would not like to think about all of the different issues that could arise in the last couple of years of their life. Mercy-killing should not be legalized of many reasons, including the fact that legalizing voluntary euthanasia means legalizing involuntary euthanasia, because on occasion medical staffs do not provide thorough or sufficient care for patients, and because it would cause the idea to become meaningless and lackluster.
Allowing voluntary euthanasia means allowing involuntary euthanasia. Individuals who are not mentally or physically adept can make the decision to die by physician assisted suicide, but the question that remains regards whether or not they are making rational, thought-out decisions. A new law that is being passed proposes that people who are ‘not mentally adept’ should not be lavished with the ch...

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... York Times 4 Oct. 2013: A31 (L). Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 8 Nov. 2013.
"Dying With Dignity." Australian Nursing Journal 21.2 (2013): 3. Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 Nov. 2013.
Lachman, Vicki. "Physician-Assisted Suicide: Compassionate Liberation Or Murder?." MEDSURG Nursing 19.2 (2010): 121-125. Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 Nov. 2013.
Bumsted, Brad. "Lawyers ask Schuylkill judge to dismiss 'assisted suicide' case." Pittsburgh Tribune-Review [Pittsburgh, PA] 10 Oct. 2013. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 8 Nov. 2013.
Mullock, Alexandra. "Compromising On Assisted Suicide: Is 'Turning a Blind Eye' Ethical?." Clinical Ethics 7.1 (2012): 17-23. Academic Search Complete. Web. 30 Oct. 2013
Sullivan, Stephen. "The Right to Die: A Discussion of 'Rational Suicide'." Mental Health Practice 14.6 (2011): 32-34. Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 Nov. 2013.

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