Euthanasia - Assisted Suicide And Euthanasia

Euthanasia is the practice of ending the life of an individual for the purposes of relieving pain and suffering. Over the years, there has been a big debate about its merits and demerits, and the debate is not about to end anytime soon. However, no matter what side of the debate one supports, it is important to consider a few facts. One, the prolonged stay in hospital is bound to raise medical costs. Two, some medical complications bring suffering and pain to the patient without any possibility of getting back to one 's normal activities of daily living. However, ending the life of a person intentionally may be treated as a serious crime in some jurisdictions. Given these facts, it is evident that making a decision about euthanasia is bound to be a challenging task. Although not everyone might agree, euthanasia is a necessary procedure that relieves the pain and suffering of the patient and rids the family and the government of expensive medical costs that would not necessary improve the life of the patient.

In the “Catholic Teaching on Euthanasia and Care of the Dying” doctument it states that as a new medical student have finished they’re course of learning in the department of medicine and caring for patients, they must take the Hippocratic Oath. In this oath it incorpurates that as the medical students graduate into becoming a staffed doctors or nurse that will do anything to save a patient’s life before exuding any other options on to them. A particular pharse that has stood out in the translated oath is “firstly do no harm” meaning that as a doctor you do everything in you power to save lives and never intencially end them. ”Doctors are trained to promote life… the deliberate act of killing a patient is unethical”. In another document

Physician-assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia is still under scrutiny for a number of reasons. “In spring, 1996, the Ninth and Second Circuits were the first circuit courts in the country to find a constitutional prohibition against laws which make physician-assisted suicide a crime” (Martyn & Bourguignon, 1997). New York was one of the states that followed this prohibition. Eventually, The Ninth and Second Circuit, “allow physician-assisted suicide while attempting to protect individuals from unacceptable harms, such as involuntary euthanasia” (Martyn & Bourguignon, 1997). An assumption can be made, that euthanasia involves a licensed physician to play an active role in this partaking, and it’s where the patient prepares to die at.

Death is a touchy enough subject for people; add in the idea of assisted suicides and there’s an uproar in society. Euthanasia or physician assisted suicide is a very controversial topic in our society today. Physician assisted suicide by definition is “suicide by a patient facilitated by means (as a drug prescription) or information (as an indication of a lethal dosage) provided by a physician aware of the patient’s intent (Merriam-Webster). There are two modes of looking at assisted suicides; either it’s seen as an absurd immoral decision to take away the life of someone or it’s seen as a logical and peaceful release from pain and misery. There’s this idea that asking a healthcare provider to help you end your life is unfair and unnecessary, no matter how much a person is suffering suicide is not justified. People fear patients changing their minds, physicians being severely impacted by this, and families not agreeing with the decision making it hard to cope. On the other side people believe that it’s freedom of choice to choose to be medically assisted with a suicide; this is a right the patient has. Some believe if you’re in pain and dying why should you be forced to stay in a painful state of life. Freedom of choice versus life isn’t ours to take away. If you were in a terminally ill patients position, what would you do?

Physicians Assisted Death, is a death made possible when a physician, provides a terminally ill patient with the appropriate means to terminate their life. In other words, the patient commits the death causing act (Class notes, 10/19). Though Physicians Assisted Death and euthanasia ultimately result in the same ending they are different. euthanasia is a death made possible when a patient who is unable to commit the death causing act by themselves, grants a physician the right to terminate a their life. Thus, the physician administers the lethal drugs. That difference plays a critical role in the legalization of physician assisted death and euthanasia. Currently there are several arguments for and against the legalization of physician assisted death and euthanasia.

Physician-assisted suicide or PAS are deaths caused by a lethal dose of drug, such as barbiturate, that is prescribed by a physician. The physician does not administer the drug; instead, the patient is responsible for getting the prescribed drug in the pharmacy and taking the medication to end his or her life. This alternative option applies to patients who can make informed decision, suffer from an incurable illness, and experience intolerable symptoms (Canadian Virtual Hospice, 2015)).[Extra bracket] Through the years, many activists, particularly those with terminal illness, fought to legalize physician-assisted suicide in Canada. Among these people include: Sue Rodriguez, Gloria Taylor, and Gillian Bennett (CBC News, 2015). [I don’t think this helps your paper to list peoples names, not necessary] Sue Rodriguez, diagnosed with Amyotorphic Lateral Sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s disease, brought the right to die campaign center stage in 1992. Now, twenty-one years after her death, the Supreme Court of Canada made physician-assisted suicide legal by February 6, 2016 (Dying With Dignity Canada, n.d.). Despite the move toward legalization, however, the debate on this issue rages on among many Canadians. Some people are in favor of the change to protect the patient’s constitutional rights and autonomy, save healthcare dollars, and take away the guilt of a dying patient becoming a burden to their family, friends and healthcare professionals. Although these are reasonable arguments,

Physician-assisted death has been a hotly debated subject in the later 20th and early 21st century. The subject of physician-assisted death and euthanasia brings about a multitude of ethical dilemmas and causes people to dig deep into personal morals and self-evaluation. In this paper the different types of euthanasia will be defined, Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act and similar the laws enacted in Washington, Montana, and Vermont will be assessed, and the roles and viewpoints of healthcare professionals will be discussed.

In any discussion of physician-assisted suicide (PAS) it is important to differentiate between euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. Although they may have similar goals, they differ in whether or not the physician participates in the action that finally ends life. In physician-assisted suicide the physician provides the necessary means or information and the patient performs the act (e.g. the physician provides sleeping pills and information about the lethal dose, while aware that the patient may commit suicide). However, in euthanasia the physician performs the intervention themselves. Currently, just four states (Oregon, Washington, Vermont and Montana) allow physician-assisted suicide.

There is one common thread that links every single person on Earth. Eventually, everyone will face their own death. It is inevitable, unnegotiable, and will happen to everyone regardless of how invincible they feel they may be. People that are terminally ill receive their death sentence in a much more upfront way than others. Terminally ill patients are defined as those who have health ailments that doctors are unable to cure, but are able to alleviate symptoms of their ailment for a limited amount of time before death takes its course. Some people that are terminally ill may develop the notion that if they are going to die anyways, there cannot be any harm in accelerating their deaths. As a result, debates over the morality and ethics

Life and death is a controversial topic. To most, death is negative. Within life you laugh, smile, communicate and create new experiences both good and bad. It is a human right to be alive. Although, if people have a right to live they also have the right to die. Tragic things happen everyday because life has a very dark sense of humor. After certain experiences life becomes more like a continuous cycle of suffering than anything else. The laughs become riddled with pain and life becomes dull in the best moments. With strict restrictions, physician assisted suicide (also known as Physician Aid-in-Dying) will offer a more dignified and comfortable way for terminally-ill patients to end their suffering.

1. Euthanasia is controversial because it involves people killing themselves, and having doctors help them do it.

In many countries, including the United States, active euthanasia, or physician-assisted suicide, raises public controversy with issues concerning morality, ethics and legality. Regardless of whether or not a person is in favor of, or opposed to active euthanasia, all people would agree that they would want a dignified death for themselves and their loved ones. The problem then starts when people cannot agree to the definition of “dignity”.

Imagine someone who is very sick and is doomed to a slow painful death. They are putting immense stress on their family who wants nothing but for them to no longer be in pain. Their family is spending a huge amount of money on care for them and all he wants is for his life to end. Should we legalize euthanasia or physician assisted suicide if these are a person’s circumstances? Euthanasia and assisted suicide is legal in California, Vermont, Montana, Oregon, New Mexico, and Washington. It is legal in seven countries. The first sign of euthanasia was in the 5th century B.C. The first sign of wanting to ban euthanasia was in New York in 1828. It is said that euthanasia is against the Bible. It has been a widely debated issue for years. Others

Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia are very similar but they are not the same exact thing euthanasia is a practice that will give a peaceful and painless death from the doctor directly to a suffering patient and who is in ample agony and is going through a disease, sickness or fighting cancer. Assisted suicide is when the doctor gives the lethal overdose to the patient for them to stab and inject it into their own blood with their own free will. Over the years Euthanasia has developed a negative feedback from the media portraying them to be inhumane and a dangerous practice to the public but they have not talked about why people take euthanasia and its benefits and contribution to the society.

Since June 2016, euthanasia of humans is legal in the Netherlands, Belgium, Colombia, and Luxembourg and Medical Assistance in Dying is legal in Switzerland, Germany, Japan, Canada, and in the US states of Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Vermont, Montana, Washington DC, and California. In Canada a bill was passed on June 17, 2016, to activate regulated assisted dying. This means suicide of a person afflicted by an incurable disease, using a lethal dose of drugs provided by a doctor. To be eligible medical suicide you must meet all of the conditions. There are different types of Assisted Suicide and many regulations on the matter to ensure no life is taken for no reason. Bill C-14 has helped