Exemplification Essay: Doctor Assisted Suicide Epidemic

"More people in the general population die from suicide than homicide in North America. There are almost 11 suicide deaths each year for every 100,000 people living in the United States, and for every suicide, there are between 8 and 25 attempts" (Brent 4203). Based on this research, the great effect of suicide is displayed. According to dictionary.com, suicide can be defined as "the intentional taking of one's own life." Suicide is a major issue for all people, but it most obviously affects those ranging from ten to twenty-four. People need to understand the tremendous ramifications caused from suicide everyday; when people take their lives, others lose their loved ones. Suicide, one of the leading causes of death of numerous people each day, has reached a crisis point for adolescents and young adults, and it needs to be prevented.

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has published a fact sheet of statistics on suicide in the United States. In 2007, it is reported that suicide was the tenth leading cause of death. Furthermore, for every suicide committed, eleven were attempted. A total of 34,598 deaths occurred from suicide with an overall rate of 11.3 suicide deaths per 100,000 people. (NIMH, 2010). Risk factors were also noted on this report and listed “depression and other mental disorders, or a substance abuse disorder (often in combination with other mental disorders). More than ninety percent of people who die by suicide have these risk factors (NIMH, 2010).”

In a Netherlands report it tells, “Many physicians who had practiced euthanasia [form of assisted suicide] mentioned that they would be most reluctant to do so again” (Stevens 189). Everyday these physicians are faced with decisions of how to best save their patient. Now they also, have to determine if they can come to terms with ending their lives. The impact on these physicians is tremendous. Kenneth R. Stevens the Vice President of Physicians for Compassionate Care concludes, “Doctors who have participated in euthanasia and/or PAS [Physician-Assisted Suicide] are adversely affected emotionally and psychologically by their experiences” (187). Physicians, who have made the decision to help, face the consequences of their actions. They have helped someone take a life, even if it their own. Death always leaves an impression. Imagine what it must be like to be directly involved with a death. Those men and women in time will have to come to terms with their participation in Physician-Assisted Suicide.

Physician assisted suicide/dying (PAD) is it good or bad? PAD is referred to when physician provides patients who are terminally ill with prescriptions of a lethal dose of medication, upon the patient’s request, which the patient intends to use to end their own life (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2011); another option that is close to physician assisted suicide is Euthanasia. 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 (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2011).

1. A request for assisted Suicide is typically a cry for help. It is in reality a call for counseling, assistance, and positive alternatives as solutions for very real problems.

2. State Info: (characteristics, size, culture, political culture, industries, features, etc. to explain state support of policy)

“Let me die”, are the words Jennifer Cowart, age thirty-two, mother of two young children, mumbled to rescue personnel as she lay on the asphalt alert, but in unimaginable pain. Her body covered in 3rd to 4th degree burns that she sustained from a go-kart accident. The go-kart she was driving hit a guardrail causing it to catch fire and burst into flames. She was buckled in and trapped until the fire burned through her seat-belt allowing her to fall to the ground. There was no medical way to assist with her pain without complete sedation, however, permanent sedation would ultimately cause death. With her children in mind, permanent

People deserve to decide how they die if they are to face the miserable fact that they will meet a premature and terrible demise. PAS affords patients with terminal illnesses the option to choose a peaceful, stress-free death with the aid of a medical professional (Acker, 2015).

“Suicide affects us all. Every year, millions of Americans are directly affected by more than 37,000 suicides and hundreds of thousands of suicide attempts made by friends or loved ones. Yet, suicide is preventable” (Prevention Lifeline). “Suicide results in an estimated $34.6 billion in combined medical and work loss costs” (Suicide, 2012). In 2010, suicide was at the top of the list for the cause of death in the United States. In a 2010 survey, “12.8% of students reported that they made a plan about how they would attempt suicide during the 12 months preceding the survey; 7.8% of students reported that they had attempted suicide one or more times during the 12 months preceding the survey; and 2.4% of students reported that they had made a suicide attempt that resulted in an injury, poisoning, or an overdose that required medical attention. As for gender disparities, suicide among males is four times higher than among females and represents 79% of all U.S. suicides. Females are more likely than males to have had suicidal thoughts. Firearms are the most commonly used method of

According to AFSP.org; on average 44,193 Americans die from suicide each year and for every suicide there are 25 attempts and is also the 10th leading cause of death each year in the United States; with firearm more likely to be the cause of death in a suicide than any other form of suicide. These are the rates of every person who has

In Canada, physician assisted suicide was deemed to be legal quite recently. However, many Canadian physicians are weary about the new practice. This is due to the fact that many physicians believe it is “their moral duty” to heal patients rather than end the lives of patients. Contrastingly in Belgium, mental health patients reserve the right to end their lives whenever they choose. In an article by Margaret Wente, the reader is introduced to a patient with the alias “Eva.” Eva chose to end her life because she was “too depressed to live (Should doctors

From 1999 to 2005, the overall suicide rate increased by 0.7% in the general population and significantly rose in the African American population (Bridge, Goldstein & Brent, 2006). Studies have shown that suicide rates quadrupled in adolescents who lived in a home with firearms. There is an approximation of ten to twenty-five attempted suicides for every completed suicide and that estimation rises for adolescents and young adults to one hundred to two hundred attempts for every completed suicide (Maris 2002). From 2000 to 2010, the rate of suicide increased to 12.3 from 10.4 completed suicides per 100,000 people. The prevalence of suicide in 2012 was 12.6 per 100,000 people (CDC, 2012).

According to American Association of Suicidology - AAS website, there were approximately 1.3 million suicide attempts in 2013. That is one every 24 seconds. Suicide ranked 10th as a cause of death; Homicide ranked 16th.

almost 3000 people commit suicide everyday between the years of 1952 and 1995 the suicide rates almost tripled and 90% of those have some sort of mental disorder or substance abuse problem and 15% of those who took their own life were clinically depressed and at one point did reach out for

-In 2000, approximately one million people died of suicide – 16 per 100,000 or one in every 40 seconds.