Assisted Dying Ethical Issues

Now that I’ve demonstrated that my ethical theory can be used to make educated decisions in situations that we can potentially face daily, how does my ethical theory fit with issues of life or death? My ethical theory focuses more on issues that an individual will face in their everyday life. It does not directly deal with issues of life and death; however you can still go through the core concepts to make a decision. For instance, let's take a look at assisted suicide.

By using this article, it will provide reasons why a patient seeks assisted suicide when facing a terminal diagnosis, with 6 months or less to live. It offers the physician perspective on assisting terminal patients at the end of their life span. An explanation of the Death with Dignity Act provides an example of legislature in the United States addressing this controversial subject.

The purpose of this paper is to define the issue and legalities of assisted death and the key ethical arguments, including the social values and norms, encompassing this topic. Also included in this paper on voluntary/assisted suicide is the connection with nursing practice and the theories and/or principles that guide the foundation and fundamentals of the profession in this particular area. Assisted death is a term that encompasses both assisted suicide and also active

There are several ethical and legal issues that are raised by the majority concerning the legalization of physician assisted suicide and the role of nurses in the process. Assisted suicide is a legal act of assisting those who are suffering from a deadly illness in ending their lives by providing them the means to do it (Griffith, 2014). Netherland was the first country to legalize physician assisted suicide. In 1994, Oregon became the first state to legalize physician assisted suicide by passing a bill called “death with dignity” followed by Washington and Montana. The law states that in order to be eligible for gaining access to assisted suicide, the patient must be left with 6 months to live, signed by two physicians and mentally stable enough to make decisions. Euthanasia is an alternative term used to describe the act of putting an end to a life in order to spare the individual’s suffering from an incurable or a painful disease process. It is classified to passive, active, involuntary and voluntary euthanasia. Active euthanasia is an act that is actively done to terminate life, while passive is when treatment is stopped in order to shorten the patient’s life. Involuntary euthanasia refers to a decision that is made by the health care providers without the patient knowledge and voluntary refers to patients that knowingly request to end their lives (Levy et al, 2013).

In our country the premise of physician assisted death conjures images of suicidal madmen, hell bent on death and mayhem. The reality is, that could not be farther from the truth. So why is there a stigma on assisting patients with taking their own life? Others look at this as a dignified means to those suffering a terrible fate. There are many issues that weight heavy on the difference between physician assisted and vs. natural death. Is it cruel to let a terminal ill patient who will suffer horrendously until nature take its course? Would it be more humane to allow a patient to pass peacefully without the suffering or enduring painful end? This report will examine physician assisted death

According to data from Washington and Oregon in 2012, there were 160 physician-assisted suicides and 90 percent of these deaths were of patients in hospices care. This poses a unique issue for hospice caregivers because on one hand they are not looking to prolong life, but on the other hand they are also not looking to hasten the process. There will always be a debate in hospices on whether or not physicians should assist in suicide of patients (Campbell & Cox, 26). Because a vast majority of the patients who opt for physician-assisted suicide are in hospice care, Hospice physicians are often referred to when a patient is considering physician assisted suicide. Even with the laws in Oregon allowing physician assisted suicide, many hospices refuse to condone it and many hospices will not perform physician assisted suicide. They refuse to perform assisted death because they seek to remain faithful to the historically formative values of hospice care. These include the philosophy that “death is a natural continuation of the human lifespan, that the dignity of each dying patient should be affirmed, that the quality of a patients remaining life should be promoted through the highest level of caring commitment, and that hospices should evince a distinctive devotion to symptom and pain management.” (Campbell and cox 27). Another reason certain hospices do not allow physician assisted suicide is because they are religiously affiliated. They are restricted from administering physician-assisted suicide because it is against their religion to do

Assisted suicide is a significant topic that worries individuals everywhere throughout the United States. Some are against it on account of religious and other reasons. Others are for it because of their compassion and respect for the dying. For many the main concern with assisted suicide lies with the competence of the terminally ill. When people see the word euthanasia, they see the meaning of the word in two different lights. Euthanasia for some conveys a negative connotation; similar to that of murder. 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

They provide the opinions of nurses nationwide and analyze suggestions from a large number of nurses to improve the care provided to patients at the end of their life. Since there are many suggestions as to how end-of-life care can be improved from not only a specific area of the United States but from nurses representing the nation as a whole, this proves that the care provided to these patients had become an issue. The authors have expertise in the nursing profession and have all acquired their PhD, proving that this is a reliable source. I will use this in my research paper to explore different ways of improving end-of-life care to help patients feel comfortable and how improving the system can cause physician-assisted suicide to no longer be

Even though organizations such as hospice which minimize pain are made aware to patients with terminal illnesses, it begs the question why do people still want to partake in physician assisted suicide? The issue of wanting to commit suicide is not so much an issue of physical health but more so an issue of mental and spiritual health. In her paper, Foley refers to a study which says “depressed patients with cancer said they would view positively those physicians who acknowledged their willingness to assist in suicide. In contrast, patients with cancer who were suffering from pain would be suspicious of such physicians”(121). In other words, the majority of a patient 's suffering actually comes from their mental state. As we all know, there

Joni at age 17 had mishap that let in a state of quadriplegic and paralyzed from her shoulder down. To her she had no purpose of life anymore. Her situation causes her to feel that she will be an inconvenience to people, because of her disabilities. Joni had to tolerate suffering and hardship, to her there was no point of living this way and wishes to be euthanized. Her wishes for assisted suicide brings an ethical dilemma in a Christians worldview. The dilemma is that suicide is consider a sin and to assist Joni with her request goes against my beliefs. There is a decision that I have to make I can assist her in her request against my beliefs or I can choose not to do it and explain to Joni why is it important not to commit this sin

“Physician Aid in Dying Gains Acceptance in the U.S.”, written by Paula Span, was published on January 16, 2017 for The New York Times. This article focuses on the views of patients and doctors who have experienced aid in dying and expresses the many obstacles that stand in the way of the entire process. It was written to inform many people about physician aid in dying and shed light on the strings attached to the validation of the fatal substance. The author intended the audience to be the general public so that everyone will be able to learn more about assisted suicide so that it could potentially lessen the difficulty of going through aid in dying. Span claims that physician aid in dying comes with numerous hurdles throughout the overall

In the article “Attitudes of Terminally Ill Patients Toward Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide,” seventy terminally ill patients were interviewed on three different topics: the patient’s general attitude on legalizing euthanasia, the patient’s personal circumstances, and the patient’s personal situation.

Thesis: Physician assisted suicide and euthanasia ethical issues from the prospective of health care professionals and ethicists on both sides of the debate holding implications for the practices of critical care.

As recent as last year, national headlines followed Brittany Maynard and her desire to die with dignity after being diagnosed with untreatable grade 2 astrocytoma brain cancer. Maynard made the conscience decision with her physician and family to have the ability to choose when she wished to end her own life via assisted suicide in Oregon as her home state of California does not recognize one's right to die with dignity. Maynard worked closely with the advocacy group, “Compassion and Choices” to bring awareness to the need of all states to recognize medical accessibility for every person to have the choice to end their own life (Compassion&Choices, 2015, p. 1). This initiative supports those who wish to die on their own terms. For those who

There are many ethical issues that the medical field faces daily. One major issue that is a common debate recently is death and dying and the ethical dilemmas associated with this stage in life. There are many different routes a patient can take when they are diagnosed with a terminal illness, two routes that are often up for debate are palliative care and physician assisted suicide. Many ethical concepts are brought up in the debate of these routes of care, sometimes even conflicting one another. Since medicine has advanced over many years we are experiencing a growing population of elders. With this increase in the elderly population, the debate of death and dying has become an important topic to