Argumentative Essay: The Right To Assisted Suicide

Physician assisted suicide is requested by the terminally ill, typically when the pain from the illness is too much to handle and is not manageable through treatments or other medications. Assisted suicide is more of a broad term for helping someone die a good death, physician assisted suicide is where a medical doctor provides information and medication and the patient then administers the medications themselves. Euthanasia is also another term that is commonly heard, this refers to a medical doctor that voluntarily administers the lethal dose of medication to the patient when the patient requests it, due to not physically being able to do it themselves (Humphry, 2006). There pros and cons with this topic throughout the world, but is one of the biggest debated things here in the United States of America and to this day there are only five states that have legalized physician-assisted suicide (ProCon.org, 2015). The government should allow patients that are terminally ill the right to choose physician assisted suicide, why should they have to suffer when there is a way out.

Performing a physician assisted suicide is an act of great kindness, not murder as those against it would have one believe. It is compassionate to end people's suffering, especially when they have nothing to live for. When a patient is untreatable and in agony, then the only options is to treat the symptoms and make the patient more comfortable.

Everyone will eventually die. Some people are living their lives sick, and hoping to die because they can’t stand the pain of living. But, choosing to die peacefully is an option with Assisted Suicide. For instance, most patients want to end their life peacefully, and with the choice of Assisted Suicide they can. Many patients who are ill want to die peacefully, so if they have the choice they could choose Assisted Suicide. Assisted Suicide is when people are severely sick and want to die in a calm matter, so physicians assist them with prescribing them a certain drug to end their life. People have diverse opinions on Assisted Suicide and if it should be legalized or not. Numerous people view this as “murder” and don’t want it, but others don’t.

Assisted suicide is a topic that has ignited a severe debate due to the controversy that surrounds its implementation. Assisted suicide occurs when a patients expresses their intention to die and request a physician to assist them in the process. Some countries like Oregon, Canada, and Belgium have legalized the process terming it as an alternative to prolonged suffering for patients who are bound to die. Unlike euthanasia where a physician administers the process, assisted suicide requires that the patient voluntarily initiates and executes the process. Although there exists concession such a process is important to assist patients die without much suffering, there has emerged criticism on its risk of abuse and as an expression of medical

You’re visiting the hospice for the twenty-third day in a row; the soft squeaking of the linoleum and the gentle buzz of the fluorescents in the waiting room greet you as you walk in. You’re visiting your Grandmother, whose lung cancer has entered metastasis, and has been slowly spreading throughout her body; she has already lost movement in her arms. She is a hollow shell of the woman she once was; her once bright eyes have been fading steadily every day, and her bubbly demeanor has become crushed and gravelly, and every day before you leave, she will only say, “Kill me.” What would you do in this situation? Would you break the law in order to respect your elder’s wishes? It is a cruel reality we live in when ability to choose the time

On January 2014, Brittany Maynard married to Dan Diaz, was only 29 years old when she was diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer and was told she had 6 months to live. Brittany decided to relocate to Oregon from California as she intended to end her own life by physician assisted suicide. Oregon is one of the 3 states in the United States which have specific laws that allow for legal assisted suicide. Oregon allows residents with terminal illnesses to end their own lives with lethal drugs provided by physician and it’s legal since 1994, it is termed as Oregon’s Death with Dignity Law. Brittany Maynard’s decision to end her own life has reignited the right-to-die and assisted suicide debate. After the controversial case of Maynard, California

On March 31, 2005 Terri Schiavo died by means of euthanasia. Terri Schiavo was a 26 year old woman living in Florida when she collapsed in her home and lost oxygen to her brain for several minutes placing her in a coma (Lynn). When she came out of her coma, she was still unconscious. Terri’s feeding tube was removed causing her to get a lack of foods and fluids. Some people say that giving her fluids and food only artificially prolonged her life and might have been causing her pain and suffering (“Euthanasia Expert”). But this only occurs when a human’s body is shutting down because their body can’t benefit from the fluids and foods (“Euthanasia Expert”). Terri’s husband Michael Schiavo used her disability to gain millions of dollars for what

To begin with, in my own opinion, yes I do believe suicide is justifiable if the person is dealing with a horrible debilitating illness that there is no hope of recovery and that they suffer horribly on a daily even hourly basis from. I believe assisted suicide for these same types of illness at the right time should be allowed as well. I’ve watched close relatives and am watching one now, die slowly from cancer with excruciating pain, nausea, weigh lose to nothing but skin and bones, lesions, sores, etc… I love & loved these people and never want to lose them but when there is no way back, and it is medically proven, why can they not have a peaceful ending to the agony? I honestly would want it assisted so it is painless yet if the law, here in Tennessee and most states, stops medical physicians and hospice from assisting, then yes if the victim can find a safe, for sure method, why not. We can put our animals down that are in pain and suffering but not our realities, even if they want this themselves, the law stops this and it should not. Keep in mind this is my opinion, from my observations only. With this said, I would want to point out that assisted suicide is legal, with the strictest of guidelines medically, in the states of Oregon and Washington (Humphrey & Schmalleger, 2012).

What if you were terminally ill, had no hope of getting better, and only had months, maybe even weeks, to live? Would you want the option to end your life early? This is the option of assisted suicide. Assisted Suicide is “suicide of a patient suffering from an incurable disease, affected by the taking of lethal drugs provided by a doctor for this purpose” (Dictionary.com). Assisted suicide should be legal in the United States. If you are terminally ill and have no chance of recovery you should have the option to end your life earlier. No one wants to suffer, it’s an awful and unbearable thing. Giving people that option will help take away some of the suffering and help them die with dignity. The people opposed to assisted suicide say it is unethical to kill a person though wouldn't making someone suffer be much worse.

Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS) is a measure taken to end the suffering of terminally ill patients. It should be a right granted to all citizens who are suffering from a degenerative, painful, or fatal condition that would cause them to be unable to enjoy their lives as healthy people do. There are multiple definitions within both the medical and legal communities about assisted suicide, but in general, the utmost debate is when a suicide is assisted by a physician contrary to a private citizen or family member. Even though the benefits of assisted suicide for the terminally individual are incredibly significant, the debate is not free from questions about the responsibilities of the medical community as well as

In the fourth century B.C. doctors followed the Hippocratic Oath, which was an oath that said the rules of the medical industry and the doctor’s policy. Those who took the oath were mostly incoming doctors or people who were in the medical industry. The Hippocratic Oath states “I will apply dietetic measures for the benefit of the sick according to my ability and judgment; I will keep them from harm and injustice. I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect.” (End of Life: Ethical Considerations paragraph 32) This directly states that the doctors back then were not allowed to perform assisted suicide at any cost. Although, in modern times the Hippocratic Oath now states “Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be

Assisted suicide, a huge political controversial topic in our American society today. Assisted suicide is an illegal practice for doctors to partake in. It is illegal in most of the United States and I believe it should stay that way.

Imagine being tied down to a bed with tubes, respirators and IVs not being able to do anything. Imagine being permanently stuck in a vegetative state, not being able to communicate with anyone, or perform any simple task. Would you like to live like this? Assisted suicide is defined by Merriam-Webster as, “Suicide by a patient facilitated by means (as a drug prescription) or by information (as an indication of a lethal dosage) provided by a physician aware of the patient's intent” (Merriam-Webster). In certain states, when patients are experiencing extreme pain or suffering, they have a choice- life or death. Assisted suicide should be legal in all states because a terminally ill patient can be saved from terrible pain and suffering, a person should be able to

Assisted suicide has been an argument over time; if people should be allowed to have the option. This was the question that was discussed by the supreme court in the cases of Washington v. Glucksberg on January 8, 1997. This case consisted of Dr. Harold Glucksberg, who is a physician. With four other physicians and three terminally-ill patients. Also helping them was a non-profit organization Compassion in Dying. They all challenged Washington State’s ban on assisted suicide. They argued that assisted suicide and the right to die was a liberty interest protected by the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment. I believe that any person who is in extreme pain and has a terminal illness should have the option of assisted suicide.

John Berger once stated, “Without ethics, man has no future. This is to say, mankind without them cannot be itself. Ethics determine choices and actions and suggest difficult priorities.” The term ethics leads to many questionable opinions and contradistinctive ideals. Accordingly, learners wonder “Do societies’ ethical views and judgments on scientific experimentation, research, and artistic expression affect the practice, legality, and controversial nature of certain scientific explorations and art forms?” In the context of the aforementioned question, ethics pertains to dealing with morals or what you deem to be right or wrong. Subsequently, the term judgment leads to the decision making and forming process, which entails a wise conclusion