Arguments Against Physician Assisted Suicide

In homes across the world, millions of victims are suffering from fatal and terminal illnesses.With death knocking on their door, should these people have to endure pain and misery knowing what is to come? The answers to these questions are very controversial. Furthermore, there is a greater question to be answered—should these people have the right and option to end the relentless pain and agony through physician assisted death? Physician-Assisted Suicide PAS is highly contentious because it induces conflict of several moral and ethical questions such as who is the true director of our lives. Is suicide an individual choice and should the highest priority to humans be alleviating pain or do we suffer for a purpose? Is suicide a purely

Who gets to make the choice whether someone lives or dies? If a person has the right to live, they certainly should be able to make the choice to end their own life. The law protects each and everyone’s right to live, but when a person tries to kill themselves more than likely they will end up in a Psychiatric unit. Today we hear more and more about the debate of Physician assisted suicide and where this topic stands morally and ethically. Webster 's dictionary defines Physician assisted suicide 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 who is aware of the patient 's intent (Webster, 1977).

When we are brought into this world that choice is made by someone else. Is it not only fair that, if the situation calls for it, we should have the choice to end our life? This brings up the big question, I know most of you thought of. Should physician assisted suicide be legalized? Some people argue that it shouldn’t and other people argue that it should. In the United States, committing suicide or attempting to commit suicide is not illegal; however, helping another person commit suicide is considered a criminal act. Physician assisted suicide occurs when a physician facilitates a patient’s death by providing the necessary means and information to enable the patient to perform the life-ending act. Physician assisted suicide occurs when a

The United States is a nation founded on freedoms and liberties, giving each citizen the ability to make their own life decisions. This freedom includes all aspects of one’s life, including medical care. With freedom comes responsibility, and this is true in terms of physician-assisted suicide. The ongoing struggle between those in favor and those opposed to this subject has ravaged the medical field, bringing into question what is morally and ethically right. The fact of the matter is that physician-assisted suicide is neither morally nor ethically acceptable under any circumstance. Not only is it a direct violation of a doctor’s Hippocratic Oath, but it is not constitutionally binding. Physician-assisted suicide would also lead to

Suicide is obviously something that no one wants to talk about. But what if someone is requesting to kill themselves? What would go through your mind if that question ever came up? We’ve all heard of the death penalty. It’s an extremely large topic that people don’t like to discuss. However, there is a procedure that takes a life with the ‘say so’ of the person, not a jury. Physician-assisted suicide is something that happens on a daily basis, but we are completely oblivious to it. Someone is requesting that a doctor put them in an eternal sleep and with higher approval, the wish will be granted. But what ordinary people don’t understand is to get that dream to come true, so many things need to be in order and discussed before the option is

Another aspect of physician assisted suicide is this procedure devalues the lives of those who are disabled. A family may feel that it would ease their financial burden if their loved one committed suicide and desired to aid them in the process. However, if those are not the true wishes of the individual, how can we put a price on a person's life, the only chance we will ever have to partake in this experience? For a medical doctor, there is a sense of obligation to the individual to ease their suffering. The conflicting problem is that the assisted suicides cannot be effectively and properly regulated; the lines are too fuzzy as to where we can draw the limitations.

With such a controversial topic comes the religious view. The reason most people are against assisted suicide is because it’s against their religion. Some people do believe that even though it’s against their religion, it’s in the best interest for those with terminal illness. According to Religion and Spirituality, the Death With Dignity Act allows the dying to ask themselves the question “What is the meaning of my life?” For most this is a spiritual question and the answer only comes when one is at peace. Not many religions have embraced the Death with Dignity Act as compassion, most are against it because they see it as morally wrong. Baptists have adopted the policy “To advocate within the medical community, for increased emphasis on the

Most people in life have thought about death, those that are terminally ill have these thoughts more so than others. With only six months to live there are many thoughts that must run through any persons mind: Have I lived my life to the fullest? Is my family going to be okay? Am I satisfied with what I have accomplished in my lifetime? Some people are given the heart wrenching news that they only have a few months to live. But what if a loved had to spend these last few months in intolerable pain? This has brought up the controversial topic of physician-assisted suicide. In some states physician-assisted suicide has already legalized. One state that legalized physician-assisted suicide was Vermont, “In May 2013,

Assisted suicide should be allowed in severe cases because there are often many cases of being severely ill. People should have the right to choose whether they want to continue with their lives or have it ended although others can argue otherwise. Patients would rather end their own lives rather than continue living in pain. It would be best if they were to get help and get it done in a place which the family will know rather than finding the body elsewhere. Many deaths occur daily regardless of assisted suicide or not and many debates going on about whether or not assisted suicide should even be an option. There is a place that separates relief from dying and killing so patients should not be considered killed with assisted suicide. Instead, they are relieved from the pain they were in. Patients do not want to suffer, they are the ones feeling all the pain in their systems, not anyone else. Assisted suicide should be an option because people choose whether they want to live or not, suicides are attempted regardless, and the bodies from suicides would

Unfortunately life as we know is expendable and it is even more unfortunate that many persons are forced to spend the last lap of their life in an agonizingly painful and hopeless state. If given the option many would choose to depart this life with dignity and no longer be a burden for their loved ones. Therefore against this premise, Senator Nelson, I propose the revision and amendment of the Florida statute 782.08 to permit euthanasia. According to flsenate.gov, this statute stipulates that “every person deliberately assisting another in the commission of self-murder shall be guilty of manslaughter, a felony of the second degree.” Though it doesn’t directly refer to euthanasia, it classes all acts of assisted suicide together and objectively

When justifying medical procedures, it is important to acknowledge the difference between moral permissibility and legal permissibility. This difference is evident in the three medical procedures that end patient’s lives: physician-assisted suicide (PAS), voluntary active euthanasia (VAE) and passive euthanasia. PAS is when a physician intentionally and knowingly prescribes lethal drugs to a patient intending to commit suicide. VAE is when a physician administers a lethal injection to kill a voluntary, informed patient upon request. Passive euthanasia is when a physician withholds treatment and leaves the patient to die. It is commonly thought for passive euthanasia to be ethically permissible, but not for PAS and VAE. This is because it is never permissible for a physician to take direct action to kill the patient. Although in both PAS and VAE, physicians play an active role in bringing about the death of a patient, the patient ultimately kills himself in PAS and the physician ultimately kills the patient in VAE. Regarding moral permissibility, I find that humaneness of treatment and compatibility with physicians’ moral obligations provide convincing arguments for accepting PAS and VAE as moral medical practices. However, the difference in patient’s self-determination makes PAS a more morally justifiable medical practice. Furthermore, the difference in the ultimate causal agent of death creates legal complications and greater possibility for abuse for VAE. Thus, I also

The subject of euthanasia is a highly debated topic in today’s world, with many believing it is the moral equivalent to suicide, and to make the decision to take one’s own life, or have it taken from you, is not to be taken lightly; however, euthanasia is not a viable option because people should just wait until it is their time, because euthanasia is murder, Only God can take your life, not someone else, and Euthanasia sends a message that life is not worth living.

Assisted suicide places an insurmountable amount of pressure not only on the patient but their loved ones as well. Patients who are considering euthanasia as means to an end, unconsciously and selfishly involve innocent bystanders- their family. While my opposition concludes that due to pain and suffering, the patient’s choice to end their life alleviates the pressure of seeing their loved one suffer, we strongly believe the exact opposite. What my disagreement fails to mention is that euthanasia in this case becomes an unethical life sentence for the family. Euthanasia is suicide. In fact, any means of suicide will result in the same moral and ethical dilemma, thus ultimately having the same burdensome affect on their innocent loved ones. Every patient who uses euthanasia as a means to an end, are willingly and knowingly sentencing their loved ones to life by their choice of death. Death should be a natural, not man- made or forced. Life and death is a process that all human beings will endure; however, by a person choosing to commit suicide in any manner, they are interrupting this natural order of life. Suicide is simply taking precious life into their own hands, defying the natural process of life and death. Some would additionally argue this individual is attempting to “play as God.”

Fitzhenry (1987) posits, “It is not the years in your life but the life in your years that counts”, (p. 212). Are you satisfied with your existence? This question become increasingly difficult when an individual is faced with a terminal illness, as the life that they might have hoped for is nonexistent. Life is no longer sacred and precious as pain and suffering has eaten away the remaining fighting cells. Nevertheless, physician assisted suicide and euthanasia with a glimmer of hope offering an alternative to rid one of their burdensome life. Physician assisted suicide is the means by which physicians provide medications or medical assistance to a patient with the understanding that the patient intends to use them to commit suicide (Kopelman

Assisted suicide, or physician assisted death, has been one of the most, if not the most, controversial topic(s) over the past 10-15 years. Debates and arguments have been ongoing about the right do die with the help of a physician or any other medically certified doctor capable of helping with the death of one. Should a person die because pain was given for a reason, or should one be able to medically end that pain and die if they choose? Ethically and morally, some people are against the idea of assisted death strictly because of religious conflictions. Physicians are torn between this topic. “Physicians differ where they place the line that separates relief from dying—and killing” (Lonestar: The Right to Assisted Suicide). The purpose of this paper will be to explain the reasons for why assisted suicide should ultimately be the person’s choice.