In Conclusion, Much Of The Data Agrees, Religiosity Should

Public support for physician assisted suicide was confined to the limited situation where a terminally ill patient would ask a doctor for help to commit suicide. Fifty four percent thought that doctors should

To legalize it; Or to let people suffer? In the year of 2015, sixty-eight percent of people said that they deemed it to be morally acceptable, while thirty-two percent of people were against it. This has increased in ten points from 2014, and the support came from eighteen to thirty-four year olds. The most important thing that plays a large part in these people's decisions to support or reject, is religion. It was shown that those who have attended church on a regular basis are seventy-four percent less likely to support euthanasia. Another factor, is what it is called. The person taking the poll asked about the subject in two different ways; Physician assisted suicide or Euthanasia? Fifty-eight percent of Americans favored this idea when it was referred to without using the word suicide. Currently, Only five states have had this idea legalized and put into action in their hospitals and health centers. Oregon ,Washington, Montana, California, and Vermont. These states fought for it to become legal, due to the amounts of people suffering in their

Physician assisted suicide has been a subject of much controversy in the field of healthcare. A physician’s decision to provide life ending drugs relies on whether or not this practice is legal in their state of residence, the patient’s competence, and whether or not they are suffering from a terminal illness. In a study conducted by Zenz, Tryba, and Zenz (2015), it was found that healthcare providers (physicians and nurses) would rather perform euthanasia on terminal patients over physician assisted suicide. Interestingly enough, this study also found that there is a more general acceptance of this practice than a willingness to perform

According to data from Washington and Oregon in 2012, there were 160 physician-assisted suicides and 90 percent of these deaths were of patients in hospices care. This poses a unique issue for hospice caregivers because on one hand they are not looking to prolong life, but on the other hand they are also not looking to hasten the process. There will always be a debate in hospices on whether or not physicians should assist in suicide of patients (Campbell & Cox, 26). Because a vast majority of the patients who opt for physician-assisted suicide are in hospice care, Hospice physicians are often referred to when a patient is considering physician assisted suicide. Even with the laws in Oregon allowing physician assisted suicide, many hospices refuse to condone it and many hospices will not perform physician assisted suicide. They refuse to perform assisted death because they seek to remain faithful to the historically formative values of hospice care. These include the philosophy that “death is a natural continuation of the human lifespan, that the dignity of each dying patient should be affirmed, that the quality of a patients remaining life should be promoted through the highest level of caring commitment, and that hospices should evince a distinctive devotion to symptom and pain management.” (Campbell and cox 27). Another reason certain hospices do not allow physician assisted suicide is because they are religiously affiliated. They are restricted from administering physician-assisted suicide because it is against their religion to do

1. Most the population does not know the day nor the hour when death will come upon them. 2. Some go in their sleep, disease or illnesses consume some, and some go by tragic happenings. 3. With legal assisted suicide, what would the value of human life degrade to? 4. How would it affect the development of cures for illnesses? 5. This procedure terminates all chances for God to provide miracles and the execution of his divine plan for an individual. 6. Death should be natural, the creator's plan not man’s. 7. The nation's largest and most influential medical organizations, the American Medical Association, and the American College of Physicians, as well as many smaller physicians' groups, are on

Physician assisted suicide is not something new to the United States. Although practiced illegally in many states; Oregon, Washington and Montana have legalized the procedure. The question that is asked by many individuals is why is physician-assisted suicide so controversial? Although there are many reasons a person could promote or dismiss physician-assisted suicide, this report will only discuss three legal, ethical and spiritual. As stated previous currently only three states condone physician-assisted suicide (PAS) in the United States. One would surmise that because the three have passed such laws their constituents believe in the right to die. Polling was conducted by the fifty states regarding whether individuals would support PAS,

Nonetheless, no more than 2 percent of physicians would help in partaking in administering euthanasia, while 15.6 would perform physician-assisted suicide for their patients. Unfortunately, voluntary euthanasia appears to have a negative stance by physicians, society, and the law. On the other hand, according to the, “Attitudes and Practices of U.S Oncologists regarding Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide,” the requests for voluntary euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide is expected to decrease as training in end-of-life care improves and the ability of physicians to provide care to their patients is enhanced. The research shows that all U.S physicians are more likely to approve assisted suicide for male patients, but not for female patients. The male percentage ranged from 60 to 80 percent, while women ranged from 13 to 33 percent. Surgical oncologists showed the highest approval for assisted suicide, but is that because of their type of profession? Pediatric oncologists showed the lowest approval for assisted suicide, but this may be because pediatric oncologists work primarily with children. Other religions, not including Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish, had the lowest percentage of assisted

Dying on your own terms is a very controversial topic. It seems that both sides of the argument feel very strongly about their position. In this paper, I will argue that physician assisted suicide should be an available and accessible option for patients that are opting to end their lives on their own terms. Choosing to utilize physician assisted suicide can decrease pain and suffering, allow a person to die with dignity and independence by not feeling that they are becoming a burden on their family, and prevent a person from dying alone. Some of the reasons people are against physician assisted suicide include their personal religious beliefs and the fear that it may get out of hand and target certain people in society, including being used on people with disabilities or certain races.

Evidence of physician-assisted suicide can be traced back to ancient times, especially to ancient Greece or Rome . In fact, the term “euthanasia” comes from the Greek term “a good death” . This controversy has carried over into the modern era, and much of the world is still fragmented over this specific issue; particularly, the United States proves to be split nearly 50-50 on the topic. A poll taken in the United States in 2011 shows that Americans skew slightly toward thinking that physician-assisted suicide is morally wrong, with 48% of Americans thinking it is morally wrong and 45% of Americans thinking it is morally acceptable . However, by changing the phrasing of the question and asking if an individual has a right to end his or her own

Again, in the words of Girsh; “It should be as much of a crime to make someone live who with justification does not wish to continue as it is to take life without consent” (Girsh). In response to this argument, and perhaps the best reason for Catholics to support the church, is the fact that physician assisted suicide is a slippery slope to legalized murder — that the intent to kill is of utmost importance in the matter, and the moral repercussions of killing someone are irreversible (Harriss). In other words, physician assisted suicide inevitably leads to a culture of death. This claim is supported by the current state of healthcare in the Netherlands, where “Studies show that hospice-style palliative care 'is virtually unknown’” (Smith). Additionally, as a final note, it may be important to note that one of the problem with physician assisted suicide for Catholics is one of control; people want to end their own lives to be in control, but in reality, that control is supposed to be left to

A second chart is presented that specifies the arguments in favor of and against physician assisted suicide. Arguments in favor of euthanasia include: the right to self-determination, the fact that it relieves suffering, the idea that assistance in dying is logical and reasonable, and the fact that physicians no longer have to accept patients’ request to limit interventions. Arguments against physician assisted suicide include: the fact that taking a human life is inherently wrong, the belief that respect for human life must be balanced by other views, the idea that it is different from other managements aimed at alleviating suffering, the fact that the domino effect is bound to happen, and the idea that it goes against the doctor-patient relationship and the role of the physician as a

An individual’s ideology has a large impact on their attitude (Bulmer, et al. 2017, Choi 2013, Gielen, van den Branden, and Broeckaert 2009, and Jacoby 2010). Individuals who are liberal tend to have a different attitude towards physician-assisted suicide compared to individual who are conservative (Bulmer, et al. 2017, Choi 2013, Gielen, van den Branden, and Broeckaert 2009, and Jacoby 2010). This is due their attitude that government should take action in order for all citizens to achieve national uniformity (MacLean, 2006). This belief can be applied to legislation surrounding physician-assisted suicide. Liberals may have a more positive attitude regarding physician-assisted suicide due their belief in government intervention. If the

Religion plays an important role in the issue of physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia. Most of the major world religions are against suicide in all forms, even in the cases of pain and suffering. The Bible says, "Thou shall not kill." This was meant for everyone, not just for specific people. Doctors have the power to save people who are sick and at the end of their lives. They work hard to help people, not kill people. If physicians tell a family there is absolutely no chance for a patient to survive, the family will most likely believe them.

Hemlock's newsletter commented that "the younger the person, the more likely he or she is to favor this legislation." The newsletter added that "this is somewhat at odds with how Hemlock views its membership," since it sees itself as defending the interests of elderly citizens. (Humphry; Poll 9) A study of cancer patients found that terminally ill patients experiencing significant pain are more opposed to physician-assisted suicide than other terminally ill patients or the general public. The patients who did tend to favor assisted suicide were those who had been diagnosed with clinical depression. The researchers commented: "Patients with pain do not seem to view euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide as the appropriate response to poor pain management. Indeed, oncology patients in pain may be suspicious that if euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide are legalized, the medical care system may not focus sufficient resources on provision of pain relief and palliative care" (Emanuel 1809)

Voluntary euthanasia, or physician-assisted suicide, has been a controversial issue for many years. It usually involves ending a patient’s life early to relieve their illness. Most of the controversy stemmed from personal values like ethics or religion. The euthanasia debate puts a huge emphasis on what doctors should do for their patients and how much a person’s life is worth. Supporters of euthanasia primarily focus on cost and pain alleviation. Opponents of euthanasia tend to focus on morality. Whether euthanasia is legal or not could significantly affect future generations’ attitudes about death. Euthanasia should be legalized nationally because it helps patients that could be in unimaginable pain, offers more options for more people, and it is relatively inexpensive compared to the alternatives.