How To Be Required To Die

If there was absolutely no possibility of recovery, and the patient was suffering nearly everyday, the avenue of assisted suicide should be presented and given merit. With no possible way to avoid problems, issues arise for every possible situation, as assisted suicide is sometimes viewed as the easy way out. Large amounts of planning, assisted suicide by no means is easy though the drugs are roughly one hundred dollars (ProCon). The patient must come to terms with what will happen if they do not take this path, and also assess what will happen if they go this way. Pain and suffering could follow them around until they die or they could leave their family on a good note. Through assisted suicide, they could spend time with their family

Imagine laying in a hospital bed living everyday in extreme pain with no hope of getting better. This scenario explains what many people go through everyday, which is a living with a terminal illness. M. Lee, a science historian, and Alexander Stingl a sociologist, define terminal illness as “an illness from which the patient is not expected to recover even with treatment. As the illness progresses death is inevitable” (1). There are not many options for the terminally ill besides dying a slow and painful death, but assisted suicide could be best option for these patients. Assisted suicide is “any case in which a doctor gives a patient (usually someone with a terminal illness) the means to carry out their own suicide by using a lethal dose of medication” (Lee and Stingl 1). Some feel that assisted suicide is unnecessary because it is too great of a controversy and will only cause problems in society. However, assisted suicide should be legal in the United States as long as there are strict regulations to accompany it.

Imagine suffering day to day with consistent hospital visits, numerous medications, and unbearable pain for the next six months of your life, then being told that dying peacefully is not a granted privilege. Then imagine not being able to die in a controlled and dignified process like you prefer to. How would that affect the way you feel about death and the rest of your life you have left? Millions of people suffering from terminal illnesses consider physician-assisted suicide, but their wishes are rejected due to state and government beliefs. In fact, only five states out of fifty have a law permitting citizens the right to participate in physician-assisted suicide. That leaves just only 10% of the United States entitling critically ill patients to die with nobility. However, many citizens are commencing to lean toward physician-assisted suicides once they ascertain they hold a terminal illness.

Physician-assisted suicide is a controversial subject all around the world. Although it is legal in some countries and states, such as the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Oregon, Montana, Washington, and Vermont it is not yet legal in most (Finlay, 2011). People travel from all around the world to these locations to receive information. Physician-assisted suicide is when terminally ill and mentally capable patients perform the final act themselves after being provided with the required means and information. The elemental causes found for physician-assisted suicide include: terminal cancer, mental and behavioral disorders, diseases of the nervous system, disease of the circulatory system, and diseases of the musculoskeletal system

People base euthanasia and physician assisted suicide on a moral and legal stand point. A health care physicians obligation is to provide support to their patients and to the families throughout treatment and death. Autonomous individuals should be free to decide their own fate when an important life choice concerns a private matter, and when the individual making that choice is near death and suffering without relief, then the state should not interfere unless it can prove that interference is necessary to protect vulnerable third parties (Schafer). People should have the right to request that their life be terminated through medical methods.

Thesis: Terminally ill patients suffering from unresolved palliative care requests physician assisted suicide in a quickened death, refusing to help patients from suffering may cause an extreme amount of unbearable pain.

People who die of a prolonged illness or had a predictable steady decline due to a condition like heart disease, diabetes, or Alzheimer’s disease account for ninety percent of deaths each year (Girsh 45). Most of the people who died suffered greatly because of their disease. However, if euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide was legal, the suffering could have been severely lessened. People who oppose both options have many reasons why euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide should not be legal. The Hippocratic Oath, the fear they could be abused by the poor, Nazi-styled teachings might return, or people may feel coerced, and the right to die is not an actual right are a few examples of what the people who oppose euthanasia or physician-assisted

Terminal illnesses are terrible diseases that will ultimately end in death. What many people do not understand is that many terminal illnesses can cause an inability to function. Which is challenging for patients that have lived independently. The frustration of them not being able to function at the level they are used to would consume them. Although there are many reasons to ask for a life-ending medication, in 2014, Oregon reported that the inability to partake in events, the loss of independence, and the loss of dignity were among the top reasons why patients requested the medication (Goodale, Grossman, and Grundy 16). In addition to the patient's feelings, it can be as tough for the family of the patient. As humans, one of the most difficult things to do is to watch someone we love struggle. Physician assisted suicide would end the

Those in support of Physician Assisted Suicide could as well point out that death is a critical state of human life and certain conditions are indicators of its timing. It would be useless to spend heavily on medication when everyone is aware that the patient has no life to live. Forcing one to lead a traumatizing life by keeping him or her on oxygen is immoral because it is disturbing to the entire society more than it is to the patient. It puts the society in a state of tension which prevents them from focusing on issues which would benefit their destinies. “Advocates of voluntary euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide find it difficult enough to persuade legislators or the public to change the law to allow doctors to help people who are

Voluntary Euthanasia has been considered a controversial topic for many decades. The idea of committing an act that involves the taking of human life is not one that many people would care to discuss openly. The main argument is that a person who has been diagnosed with an incurable illness and is in extreme pain and their ability to move has been limited, while that person still has control over their destiney should they be allowed take their own life (Bowie, R.2001). The worldwide debate weather one should be allowed to end a life is still one of the biggest ethical issues. The attempt to providing the rights of the individual is in conflict with the moral values of society. Voluntary Euthanasia has been highly rejected by many religious and pro-life institutions.

I learned that the United States, the Netherlands, and Germany had different culture, values and ethical morals when it comes to the euthanasia and assistant suicide. I discovered that my beliefs are adjacent to the Netherlands. The United States only has six states that allows euthanasia and assistant suicide. The Netherlands legalized the use euthanasia and assistant suicide. Germany’s culture is against the euthanasia, but approves assistant suicide. It is also necessary to understand that euthanasia and PAS it should be use only when there is no other way to diminish the pain, or the terminal ill cannot prolong the life of a person. The person who requested should be mental stable.

To determine the criteria for PAS and to justify its use, oncologist E.J. Emanuel conducted a research on the attitudes and experiences of patients, oncologists, and the public on physician-assisted suicide. His research found two thirds of oncology patients and the public found PAS acceptable for patients with unremitting pain. However, it was not acceptable when the reason for assisted suicide was “ burden on the family” and “life viewed as meaningless.” His results set a borderline of when PAS is ethically permissible to the majority in the United States and creates criteria for the eligibility of PAS. Additionally, his findings show patients with depression and psychological distress were more likely to consider assisted suicide. Thus, he proposed for the evaluation of patients who request for PAS and, where appropriate, to treat them for depression before PAS can be an option (Emanuel, 1805-810). In essence, the sole reason for PAS is to end unremitting pain for terminally ill patients. Countries should conduct evaluations to ensure those who are requesting PAS is competent and are not suffering from depression or psychological distress. With this in mind, the global policy should take into account the 4 conditions developed by the District Court in Yokahama, Japan, regarding PAS. First, the patient is suffering unbearable physical pain; second, death is

As patients come closer to the end of their lives, certain organs stop performing as well as they use to. People are unable to do simple tasks like putting on clothes, going to the restroom without assistance, eat on our own, and sometimes even breathe without the help of a machine. Needing to depend on someone for everything suddenly brings feelings of helplessness much like an infant feels. It is easy to see why some patients with terminal illnesses would seek any type of relief from this hardship, even if that relief is suicide. Euthanasia or assisted suicide is where a physician would give a patient an aid in dying. “Assisted suicide is a controversial medical and ethical issue based on the question of whether, in certain situations,

In his handbook, Epictetus asserts that the gods created a perfectly just universe. Humans must align their beliefs with the wills of the gods and acquiesce to whatever happens in the world. In order to live a life of equanimity, Epictetus believes that people must understand that life is a fragile and temporary gift from the gods and that death must be recognized as inevitable. In the Iliad, Hector and Achilles’ attitudes to death

Today we are face with death in a different setting then our ancestors, instead of dying at a younger age and dying in our home with our families, people are now dying at a hospital or in a medical setting. We are living longer because of the advances in medicine, this is causing us to develop diseases that our ancestors never had to face. Our ancestors did not live long enough to develop some of the diseases we face today. As Jones (2011) provides, “we don’t just die of different diseases then our ancestors, we also die in different circumstances” (p. 302). The changes in circumstances have caused us to reevaluate what is believed to be ethical when faced with dying. There are many medical options a terminal ill or elderly patient that is dying can choose from, however there is great debate whether some of these options are ethical.