Essay On Physician Assisted Death

The Declaration of Independence stated, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” This shows that all Americans are secured with indisputable rights which must include the right to live life as well as end it if need be. Even though Physician Assisted Death is not listed in the Constitution, the Tenth Amendment states that “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” However, in forty-four states, terminally-ill patients do not have the right to die. Physician Assisted Death is when a terminally-ill patient undergoes counseling before a trusted doctor can prescribe a lethal dose of drugs for the patient to terminate his life peacefully. Having Physician Assisted Death available as an option to terminally-ill will allow patients to exercise their inalienable right to the pursuit of happiness, relieve them from unbearable pain, and lessen the agony of the patient’s family.

According to a poll in 2015, 68% of United States residents believe that physician assisted suicide should be legal (“In”). Physician assisted suicide (PAS) gives terminally ill patients a way to end their lives peacefully before they die from whatever terminal illness they have. If physician assisted suicide became legal, many people would be saved from pain and anguish. On top of that, ill people could retain some power and control over their life. And though bringing money into the discussion might be crude, assisted suicide can save millions. Physician assisted suicide should be legal in order to ensure a dignified death for terminally ill patients.

In fact there aren’t any valid reasons for physician assisted suicide to be legal. “There Is No Justification for Legalizing Euthanasia,” by Peter Glover, directly discusses why physician assisted suicide is wrong and gives statistics. Two of the main reasons people are promoting physician assisted suicide is because of the pain people who request physician assisted suicide may have and because it is believed it can give others a chance to die with dignity. Both of these issues are addressed in this source. Pain is tolerable now because of the pain medication hospice and doctors can provide. It states that 95% of pain is controllable and the other 5% can be reduced so it is at least manageable. Therefore, that argument is no longer valid. Furthermore, is the

Could you imagine being diagnosed with a terminal illness and not having the option of physician assisted suicide? Hearing the physician inform you that you have no other options than to let your illness decide when and how you will die. Physician assisted suicide is the voluntary termination of one’s own life by administration of a lethal substance with the assistance of a physician. Physician assisted suicide should be legalized in all states throughout the United States. When a patient is suffering from a terminal illness they should have the option to be in control of their death, end their suffering and avoid the high medical expenses.

Although a majority of Americans consider suicide morally wrong, the public shows a broad support for the idea of physician assisted suicide when considering terminal patients. However, even though it is the same concept, the term "physician assisted suicide" is a somewhat negative implication for a substantial amount of Americans, which is why the public is divided when asked about its moral acceptance. Physician-assisted suicide is thought by many to be a form of euthanasia, however, it is not. Euthanasia is when a doctor injects a patient with a lethal dosage of medication accelerating the death process. During this process, the physician only prescribes a lethal dose of medication to a patient. According to Dr. Brian Pollard,

The topic of physician assisted suicide provokes a significant amount of discussion and controversy. Patients with terminal diseases, such as cancer, that can often lead to a prolonged painful death should have the option to end their lives in a way that will relieve themselves and their families from long term suffering. Patients with degenerative and progressive diseases such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), should also be allowed the option to choose physician assisted suicide before the disease deprives them of their mental and physical capacity. By failing to offer patients the alternative of physician assisted suicide society is essentially showing a lack of compassion and humanity. Several countries and states have passed legislation over the last few years that

Euthanasia is a painless, quick, and peaceful death that can be medically provided to patients by doctors to help end the suffering that comes with a terminal disease. This option is currently illegal in the United States. All over the country, there are patients lying in uncomfortable hospital beds, often unable to move or even speak due to the excruciating pain that comes with their illness. Families and friends are all able to witness the pain and suffering of their loved ones, but doctors can only do so much. Pain medication won’t relieve the pain, and it certainly won’t cure the diseases.

Generally people do not seem to realize the variety of problems that occurs when the abolition of Euthanasia is upheld. Terminally ill patients who request to die formally in ways like the painless lethal injection are practicing to the act of Euthanasia. When living with an intolerable condition each and every day the feeling of death will cross your mind numerous of times. When facing the fact that the incurable condition will only lead to one’s death is heartbreaking. Many patients are diagnosed in conditions where they only have a certain amount of time to life than the condition will overcome their life. That is when these victims revert to the most logical solution at hand by ending the suffering under their own terms. Avoiding the sudden and unpredictable outcome to their diagnosis since the end come occur at any point. Even the doctors of these patients dispise setting the reality in these diagnosis knowing they have no way out but to suffer. Euthanasia has become the saving grace for these patients who realize Euthanasia is best for themselves and their families in their conscious mindset. Under permission and consent from the patient and their families doctors should be allowed to prescribe painless pills that will take their lives at their own terms. The right-to-die, family matters, harmlessness  and financial deficiency is just some of the many reasons why Euthanasia should not be prohibited in the US.

Everybody dies; it’s a natural cycle of life. Some deaths can be good while others are bad, but everyone wants to die a peaceful and painless death. For some of those dying of a terminal illness, a peaceful death isn’t an option. These dying people should get to decide how they want to end their life; it should not get chosen for them. They are the only ones living their life and experiencing their accomplishments and downfalls. To have someone choose how they should die can make their life seem pointless. If they have a decision on the matter of their life, they should get to choose how it ends. For the terminally ill, euthanasia should be an option in the United States.

The practice of medicine stands through time as the early civilizations tried have comprehend how the natural body is able to heal itself and grow. Not only is it human nature to survive and prosper, it is also instinct to be frightened of death and suffering. Euthanasia has been a topic of debate ever since the Roman and Greek physicians have started to poison terminally ill patients with their consent. Today’s definition of euthanasia is “the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals (as persons or domestic animals) in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy” (Webster-Merriam Dictionary), also known as physician-assisted suicide, mercy killing, or dignified death. While a few states have legalized this practice many still have laws against physician-assisted suicide. Those states have the alternatives of palliative care, hospice, pain management, or the option to not be treated or cared for at all. Bodily integrity and body autonomy, or the option to chose what one does with their own body, is a human right. Having physician-assisted suicide stay illegal does not only violate freedom of body autonomy but significantly increases suicide rates within those who are suffering from a terminal illness. Therefore, euthanasia should become a legal medical practice for those who want to have the freedom to do so to be able to progress as a society.

Physician-assisted suicide is a highly debated topic and there are lots of people for it, here is why. People generally are for it because they believe in the sufferers right to choose when and how they want to die. Physician-assisted suicide is beneficial for people suffering from terminal illnesses who choose that they no longer want to suffer. They want an easy death that is painless, and find comfort knowing they can have a peaceful death that they planned (The Ethics 7). It is a basic human right to die and we should not take that right away. The supreme court ruled that states can ban physician suicide, but it is up to them (Marzilli Introduction). Since then only 5 states have legalized it.

Euthanasia is defined as “the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy” (Snyder 49). The key word in that definition is mercy; it is a person’s own decision to die due to extreme conditions. Another phrase to describe voluntary euthanasia is physician assisted-suicide. The opinion that people should be allowed to choose when to die is not the opinion of a select few. “Public-opinion polls have consistently shown that approximately sixty percent of the American public favors legal reform allowing physician-assisted death as a last resort to end the suffering of competent patients” (Miller 125). Doctors should be allowed to permit the death of terminally ill individuals because it is people’s right to refuse treatment; safeguards should be in place to ensure everyone involved is protected, and the pain and suffering associated with terminal illness would be greatly reduced.

Imagine lying in bed, unable to move and screaming from excruciating pain, due to stage IV cancer. There is no longer anything that doctors can do to help you. The effects of terminal illnesses are intolerable and incurable. Once they reach a certain stage, patients should not be forced to continue suffering when everyone, including themselves as well as physicians know that death is near. Euthanasia should be a legal alternative for terminally ill patients in all states, because it ends their suffering and financial worries and also helps put family members at peace.

Albert Einstein once said, “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.” Allowing a person to suffer is unnecessary, especially when the individual wants to succumb. Dying is not a crime, and it should not be considered one. A person’s destiny should be determined by the sufferer themselves, not the government. Sue Rodriguez, a Canadian advocate, stated, “If I cannot give consent to my own death, whose body is this? Who owns my life?” Each human owns their body. Therefore, people deserve to have a voice about their future. Euthanasia should be legalized in the United States, because patients with terminal illnesses deserve the right to decide their own fate.

Physician assisted suicide is a topic that is very controversial in the United States, as well as in the world at this point in time. There are advocates for the act, and there are people that disagree completely with the idea of dying with dignity. Physician assisted suicide, otherwise known as euthanasia, is an act where a person with a terminal illness decides to take their own life with the help of a doctor. The patient must meet several requirements in order to be granted the ability to take their life. Although it is not legal in many places now, physician assisted suicide should be made legal in all fifty states here in the United States. There are many reasons for the legalization of euthanasia, one of which being people have the right to be free, so if their choice is to take their life, there should be no one who can stop them, as the right of freedom applies to everyone and can not be taken away. Also, people suffering with terminal illnesses have no other hopes in term of medicine or doctors. There is physically nothing that can be done for them, so in the long run they will just end up in pain with no chance of ever healing or getting better. Assisted suicide would serve as a way to end the pain and suffering before it becomes too unbearable for the person to handle. A final reason for the legalization of physician assisted suicide is that people with a terminal illness lose all sense of autonomy as their illness progresses and becomes worse. As the patient