Is Physician Assisted Suicide A Good Idea?

possible choice that a person who is suffering from an incurable disease might have to make.

Rarely any physician intends to harm patients when he or she provides treatment to them. Patients see physicians and specialists in full faith that they will get help with a condition. What complicates the patient-doctor relationship is that the outcome of each patient’s treatment is different because of individual health conditions and the course of treatment chosen by the doctor. Problems arise when a patient is not satisfied with care provided by the doctor or in extreme cases when a patient dies. Since most of the time it is hard to clearly determine whether the outcome was solely a result of the course of treatment chosen by the doctor or whether other factors played a role too, quite often patients take their

Similar to Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act, I do believe there should be a policy with relevant criteria that best describes how to respond to patients needs and to protect vulnerable people in regards to PAS. To respect others’ autonomy or right to self-determination is to treat them as individuals having the abilities required to be rational decision makers, capable of identifying their own interests and making their own reflective choices. At the end of the day, patients should have the right to autonomous decision-making to determine for themselves what will be done to their bodies.

Significance for this audience: There are so many terminal illnesses in the world, that there is a significant chance that you will at some point know someone, if you do not already, who is

I must be aware, as the patient’s advocate, of the choice of each individual patient regarding his or her medical management or, as in this case, the withholding of treatment.

When it comes to the topic of, should physician-assisted suicide be legal in every state, most of us will readily agree that it should be up to a terminally ill person to make that decision. Whereas some are convinced that it is inhumane, others maintain that it is a person’s decision to end their own life. I agree that physician-assisted suicide should be legal in every state because in most cases, people that are terminally ill should have the right to end their own life with the assistance of a physician.

Physician-assisted suicide is one of the most controversial subjects in the medical field. Whether the debate is, “Should a doctor be allowed to assist in someone’s suicide?” or, “Is it the right thing to do for a dying patient?” Seeing a loved one in pain can possibly be one of the hardest things to do. But what if they were given the option to the stop the suffering? Knowing that death may be months, weeks, or days away comes along with a lot of time at hospitals, pain, and suffering. Giving terminally ill patients an option of physician-assisted suicide allows the patient to be in charge of ending all their pain and suffering they will go through as well as passing at the comfort of their family at home and not in a hospital bed.

Assisted suicide is a controversial topic, with surprisingly realistic and convincing arguments from each side. The opposing side of the argument inflicts moral responsibility in anyone researching the topic. The supporters of assisted suicide impose a common argument, “my body, my choice.”.

In terms of the intensity and duration, the disease is life-long and is accompanied by increasing emotional and physical pain. Most of this pain is derived from slowly loosing major bodily functions like walking, speaking, eating, blinking, and even breathing (Canadian medical journal: http://www.cmaj.ca) The extent of those affected include himself and his family members who are most likely suffering emotionally as well. The degree of pain and the extent to which this pain affects others is greater than the pleasure that could be derived from allowing the disease to progress further in answering no to Rob’s request. Thus, under utilitarian principles, the doctor should uphold Rob’s request for physician-assisted death.

Individuals with a terminal illness will typically go through the seven emotional stages of while coming to terms with their condition; shock, denial, bargaining, guilt, anger, depression, and acceptance. Acceptance varies by the individual and has many different meanings. Some individuals try to make the time they have left last as long as possible while others focus on completing goals previously set in their life time. Some will seek forgiveness whether it be from their god(s) or from family and friends. But for a select few, acceptance means that they will try to take control of when they will pass away. To take control of something so trivial, they may look to family, friends, or even their physician. The act of voluntary termination of one’s life with the assistance of a medical care personal is referred to as physician assisted suicide, physician assisted death, or euthanasia. Physician assisted suicide allows patients to take control of what happens before and after death. It allows the patient to enjoy the dwindling life they have left and can be regulated by the government.

Traditionally, the physician was expected to use all of their talents and training in an effort to save the life of their patient, no matter the odds. More recently, the physician’s role has been redefined to preserve the autonomy of the patient. Now physicians must give life saving care only in so far and to the degree desirous of the competent patient.

Terminally ill. Two heartbreaking words that everyone wishes didn’t exist but unfortunately 42 percent of Americans have had a friend or relative suffer from a terminal illness. A terminal illness is an illness that results in death. As of now, assisted suicide is only legal in eight jurisdictions. Yet in a poll in 2013, 51 percent of Americans supported physician assisted suicide. The advocacy group Compassion and Choices is contacted by around 3,000 patients a year from every state for information on how to reduce end-of-life suffering or hurry their deaths. Be clear about how assisted suicide

There is a very controversial ethical dilemma in the realm of medicine. It is the ethical rock bottom to some, while for others it marks an escape from their doomed state. This controversial topic is called “Physician-Assisted Death”, also sometimes referred to as “Assisted Suicide”. This issue is often an emotionally charged one, as many patients who request this type of service are terminally ill and wish to die peacefully, without pain, and with their dignity intact. Assisted death is not however legal for anyone who is not terminal, “if someone has a chronic illness that is not terminal, that individual is not eligible for assisted suicide under any proposal in the U.S., nor under the Oregon Death with Dignity Act.” (Golden, 2014) Many requests for assisted suicide are usually for one of the following reasons: “Being afraid of what the future may hold, experiencing burnout from unrelenting disease, having the wish and need for control, experiencing depression, or experiencing extremes of suffering, including refractory pain and other symptoms.” (Pereira, 2011)

My life, my death, my choice is a powerful statement that describes the feelings of terminally ill patients when discussing assisted dying. Physician assisted suicide is viewed as murder, but it helps the patient terminate the pain. The doctors would still heal others they would use the treatment of physician-assisted suicide. Terminating the pain, discussing the morality of the treatment and deciding if it really corrupts medicine practices are considerations in determining people’s perspective of physician-assisted suicide.

End of life decisions are often not thought about until a serious illness or life event occurs. Specific treatment during the dying process may encompass simple to extremely complex decisions involving physical, legal, medical, spiritual, or psychosocial needs. Research shows that more than 75% of Americans have thought about their end of life wishes, but had not put those decisions in writing or designated someone on an advanced directive who would make decisions on