Euthanasia - Assisted Suicide Or Assisted Dying

The purpose of documents such as the constitution and the bill of rights were created to provide people with freedom and rights. In the United States for example, we are granted certain freedoms such as free speech and the right to bear arms. Legalizing Physician's Assisted Suicide is just another right that people should have so that they may have the freedom to make their own choice when facing death. While I feel that no one should be pressured into assisted dying, I also feel that no one should be categorically denied that right. The right to die should be a fundamental freedom for every person, as The 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states, “No state shall make or encore any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities

A newlywed diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, Brittany Maynard, lived in California. California is one of the many states in the United States that prohibits euthanasia and assisted suicide— euthanasia is the act of assisting in the death of a person suffering from an incurable disease (Macionis 402-403); however, assisted suicide and euthanasia are not the same thing. The law denying euthanasia and assisted suicide brought conflicts because Brittany wanted to pass peacefully. In order to fulfill her wish, Brittany and her husband moved to Oregon, a state that allows euthanasia and assisted suicide with the “Death With Dignity Act.” Brittany joined a non-profit organization named “Compassion & Choices” to make a video on her choice and to become an advocate for the “Death With Dignity Act.” Millions have watched the video, and since her death, four states have introduced end-of-life bills (Sanburn). The controversy over the legalization and the requirements of euthanasia and/or assisted suicide has been debated for many years. To understand the issues, one must know the ethical point of views in both religious and in the workplace, the laws and requirements currently in place.

Euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide is an extremely controversial concept that is strongly related to HPS concepts. Physician-assisted suicide is patient suicide facilitated by a doctor under patient’s consent. There is a large gray area surrounding this concept and there are many different arguments surrounding euthanasia. Due to the fact that the patient choses whether or not physician-assisted suicide is the correct choice, it should be considered as a legal treatment in more countries.

Physician assisted suicide (PAS) is a heavily debated topic; people have very strong opinions about whether or not people should have to right to die. People taking their own lives is something quite frowned upon in our society, usually those who commit suicide are depressed and need to seek help; people see this a simply being weak, taking the “coward’s way out.” Those who would benefit from PAS would be people with terminal illnesses who have no hope of getting better.

Euthanasia, is the act of killing a person painlessly for reasons of mercy. It is known worldwide by many people, in many countries. It is illegal in the United States, but Physician Assisted Suicide is legal in 6 states. Physician Assisted Suicide is the voluntary ending of one's own life by administration of a lethal substance with direct or indirect assistance of a physician. The debate on if Euthanasia should be legal has been going on for hundreds of years, really becoming prominent in the 1920’s then dying down. But today this topic is as strong as it was almost a hundred years ago. In the book Taking Sides by Stephen Satris, however has two opposing views by two different people. Both are philosophers, and these are their sides.

Opposing viewpoints argue that human euthanasia is inhumane and unethical to patients and the doctors responsible. Many doctors feel that physician assisted suicide stands against everything they stand for. Physicians feel that they have a responsibility to treat patients not murder them. This viewpoint is concerned incorrect to those whom support the Right to Die movement because a doctor's first responsibility to a patient is not only to heal but as quoted in the Hippocratic Oath is to,"First do no harm” which includes allowing an individual to suffering in longing

While many define euthanasia as physician-assisted suicide with “informed and voluntary consent” or “a gentle and easy death,” (80) others view it in a more demeaning light, but with reasonable concerns. From its beginning rooted in the fifteenth century to the recent efforts for its legalization, the practice of euthanasia has become a very controversial issue. In J Donald Boudreau’s commentary, “Physician-Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia,” he argues against legalizing euthanasia because it would challenge the traditional medical values, ideals, and instruction of healing.

Suicide is a very hard issue to deal with in this world. Just thinking about any individual case raises so many questions. What causes these people to deem their lives useless? Do they really have no one? Are their day-to-day lives that miserable? And of course, is the act of suicide ever justifiable? The last question is probably the toughest to answer, and has been debated for a long time. Is it selfish to take your own life? Some would believe that everyone in this world has a special place in it. Others believe that we’re all disposable. After all, life goes on. There is no law in America that punishes a person for trying to commit suicide. That person may be taken to therapy, or talked to by his/her loved ones, but at the end of the day, it’s his/her choice to continue living or not. Suicide is rarely an easy choice, but it’s even harder to find a way to do it comfortably. Few people have ever held a real gun, let alone used it. It must be terrifying to end life through such forceful means. The fear of self-inflicted pain is only natural and of our basic human behavior. There are of course many ways to commit suicide. The trouble is finding the right one. Probably the most painless tool for doing so is euthanasia.

According to Rachels (248), a proponent of euthanasia, states the act is justified if death is the only way out of one’s awful pain. On the other hand, Gay Williams (353), an opponent of euthanasia, views it as immoral to take someone’s life before his or her own natural death time reaches. Medically, euthanasia can be acceptable for those patients that are extremely suffering and their doctors have no idea on what to do to help a patient whose condition is only worsening. Often, it is administered on consultation with the family members of the patient in question. However, health practitioners are held within the bounds of professionalism where they are made to understand sanctity of life. Doctors are not supposed to decide the future of

Euthanasia and/or physician-assisted suicide has been widely talked about. While there are many pros and cons to the issue, I think it’s best to look at it as a subjective relativist. Every case is different and should be treated as such. What might work for some won’t necessarily work for others. I generally believe that the option should be open with some exceptions. I will be using both terms interchangeably, however it is important to note that Euthanasia is when a doctor directly kills the patient, while physician-assisted suicide is when the doctor prescribes drugs that the patient chooses to take on their own. I find both morally equivalent.

Another, for prescribing physicians make a deciding factor of the disease, Once a patient is approved by physician- a patient can finally have the authority and independence, an option whether he or she want to be euthanized. Weir claims some patients continously and persistently cannot alleviate all the pain and dying patients that are suffering. would have to process think rationally to request to die. Furthermore, due to moral differences on public and legal policy should permit one but not the other? As opposed to supporters of assisted suicide, some argue that a patient must meet the final act resulting the death . In this case may be true, but there are greater certainty than when a patient “performs that act” (Weir,87) All things considered,

Physician assisted suicide or euthanasia 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. The right to die with dignity is a fundamental issue that is debated in the spiritual side of everyone. Some of us may have known someone close to them who has seen or gone through an ordeal as watching someone take their last breath. No one should suffer in pain or have their dignity taken from them, when they should be celebrating the life they have left in them. Personally, after experiencing my mother and sister take their last breath, it was heart wrenching. Their lives were filled with pain medication, breathing difficulties, and last visits from old friends and relatives. Only the patient can ask, “How do I die?” They valiantly will themselves to stay, because of the love of family and friends. The end is inevitable. We all know this. When given the diagnosis of an incurable disease or debilitating news of no cure, we should have the right to die with dignity. The fourteenth amendment of the constitution of the United States states, "No State shall... deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” This clause, known as the "Due Process Clause," has been used by the Supreme Court to protect the right of individuals to make decisions about "...the most intimate and personal choices a person may make in a

Some would argue that euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide is a perfectly good process in life. Most people feel comfortable at the fact that it is done in a professional health care facility when the death occurs. People also having the right to choose for themselves if they want to participate in the euthanasia. Feeling like a person has to suffer the mental and physical pain is not good for the person’s health in addition to the other occurring problems. While this option can be abused, some laws are set in place so it cannot be abused. A written, witnessed request is provided as long as the patient is mentally competent. If the patient repeatedly request the death, two doctors have to agree that the death is appropriate for the patient

Assisted suicide, known more recently as euthanasia is the painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma which came into contact in the 17th century by Francis Bacon, an English philosopher, who wanted patients to have an “easy, happy and painless death”. The word euthanasia comes from the Greek words Eu, meaning good and Thanatosis, meaning death, therefore good death. However assisted suicide and euthanasia is not the same thing, although they are very similar. Euthanasia is the deliberate act of someone, normally a Doctor ending a patient’s life to relieve and end their suffering whereas assisted suicide is the act of being deliberately assisted or encouraged

Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are actions that hit at the core of what it means to be human - the moral and ethical actions that make us who we are, or who we ought to be. Euthanasia, a subject that is so well known in the twenty-first century, is subject to many discussions about ethical permissibility which date back to as far as ancient Greece and Rome , where euthanasia was practiced rather frequently. It was not until the Hippocratic School removed it from medical practice. Euthanasia in itself raises many ethical dilemmas – such as, is it ethical for a doctor to assist a terminally ill patient in ending his life? Under what circumstances, if any, is euthanasia considered ethically appropriate? More so, euthanasia raises