Legalization Of Assisted Suicide

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.

Support for the participation of physicians in the suicides of terminally ill patients is increasing. Much of the controversy surrounding physician-assisted suicide however focuses on the debate over whether the practice should be legalized. A woman suffering from cancer became the first person known to die under the law of physician-assisted suicide in March of 1998. In 1994, voters in Oregon approved a referendum called the Death with Dignity Act, which was enacted in 1997. This law allows patients who have been given six months or less to live that wish to hasten their deaths to obtain lethal doses of medication prescribed by two doctors. Between 1998 and 2000, ninety-six lethal prescriptions were written, and seventy patients took the

Currently, physician-assisted suicide or death is illegal in all states except Oregon, Vermont, Montana and Washington. Present law in other states express that suicide is not a crime, but assisting in suicide is. Supporters of legislation legalizing assisted suicide claim that the moral right to life should encompass the right to voluntary death. Opponents of assisted suicide claim that society has a moral and civic duty to preserve the lives of innocent persons. There is a slippery slope involving the legalizing assisted suicide. Concern that assisted suicide allowed on the basis of mercy or compassion, can and will lead to the urging of the death for morally unjustifiable reasons is

Physician Assisted Suicide (PAS) has grown into quite a contentious topic over the years. According to Breitbart and Rosenfeld (1), physician-assisted suicide can be defined as “a physician providing medications or advice to enable the patient to end his or her own life.” One may find many articles that are written by physicians, pharmacists, patients, and family of patients who receive PAS; from there, it is possible to gain a better understanding of what PAS is and how it has become a rising issue in the United States. For readers who have not heard about PAS and what it entails, it is important to understand that this is a debatable topic that should be approached lightly and non-aggressively in the United States when factors such as offering terminally ill patients the right to end their suffering, the likelihood of overall healthcare cost to decrease, and the comparison of palliative care to physician-assisted suicide are examined.

There are several ethical and legal issues that are raised by the majority concerning the legalization of physician assisted suicide and the role of nurses in the process. Assisted suicide is a legal act of assisting those who are suffering from a deadly illness in ending their lives by providing them the means to do it (Griffith, 2014). Netherland was the first country to legalize physician assisted suicide. In 1994, Oregon became the first state to legalize physician assisted suicide by passing a bill called “death with dignity” followed by Washington and Montana. The law states that in order to be eligible for gaining access to assisted suicide, the patient must be left with 6 months to live, signed by two physicians and mentally stable enough to make decisions. Euthanasia is an alternative term used to describe the act of putting an end to a life in order to spare the individual’s suffering from an incurable or a painful disease process. It is classified to passive, active, involuntary and voluntary euthanasia. Active euthanasia is an act that is actively done to terminate life, while passive is when treatment is stopped in order to shorten the patient’s life. Involuntary euthanasia refers to a decision that is made by the health care providers without the patient knowledge and voluntary refers to patients that knowingly request to end their lives (Levy et al, 2013).

The legalization of physician assisted suicide (PAS) in Oregon in 1994 changed the face of the argument between those who believe in death with dignity and those who believe in letting nature take its course. It was a major victory for PAS advocates as the first state in America had legalized PAS in the country’s history. In 2008, the neighboring state of Washington followed suit with a similar law and legalized PAS by a 58-42 margin. Vermont legalized it in 2013. PAS has also been decriminalized in the state of Montana. The assisted suicide of a 29-year-old Oregon woman with terminal brain cancer named Brittany Maynard in late 2014 brought light to the debate again.

Physician assisted suicide is an issue that has been debated for many years. Many people argue that people have the right to die by any means possible while others argue that human life should be precious and should be protected at all cost. While that is true that doesn't mean you can force someone to stay alive. Do you believe that physician assisted suicide should be legal for the terminally ill?

Imagine laying in a hospital bed with a terminal illness, attached to many machines that are keeping you alive, family members and friends taking turns visiting, doctors constantly doing their routine check up, having no desire to eat or drink and being fed through tubes. The doctors have gave you the word that there is no chance of survival, it could be months, weeks, days, or even hours before you say your goodbyes. Would you not want all the suffering to stop and want your life to be over as soon as possible? In Canada as well as many other countries physician assisted suicide also known, as euthanasia is illegal. However, as some would like to call it mercy killing is legal in countries such as Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg under certain regulations such as the patient must be under an unbearable condition that is alleviated. Physician assisted suicide should be legalized in Canada as well for many reasons. People that are under constant suffering whether it is at the hospital or at home can die with dignity. One of the most important reasons physician assisted suicide should be legal in Canada is that it is a humane way for terminally ill patients to end their lives without suffering any longer. Patients that cannot enjoy their last days on earth due to suffering should have a choice, if they know that there illness is incurable then he or she is looking forward to dying since there is no chance of life. Additionally, the patients as well as family members and

In 1776, our forefathers signed the Declaration of Independence, guaranteeing life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This brings up the question, if you have the right to life, do you have the right to death? After all, it is your life and no one else’s, right? This is the question at the very center of the controversial debate on the legalization of physician assisted suicide in the United States. Anti-physician assisted suicide groups often argue that no individual truly wants to end their life. However, that statement does not ring true to those who would actually utilize physician assisted suicide- terminally ill patients. Imagine being diagnosed with a terminal disease, followed by months and sometimes years of treatment that brings insufferable side effects due to countless medicines, drugs and surgeries only to be told that you have a minimal chance of survival and will have to undergo treatment for the rest of your life. This is the bleak reality for many who are terminally ill. A compassionate individual would conclude that it is not fair for patients to be forced to live this kind of life or lack thereof, if they do not wish to do so. Physician assisted suicide should be a legal option to competent, terminally ill patients in the United States in order to end their suffering, reduce the damaging financial effects of hospital costs on their loved ones and families and to preserve the individual right of people to determine their

In February 6, 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada made a momentous decision that would legalize physician-assisted death within a year. Physician-assisted suicide (PAS), in simple words, means doctors prescribe a lethal dose of medication that patients take themselves. The question that whether the Criminal Code provisions should prohibit physician-assisted suicide has been discussed in public for several decades. Actually, decriminalizing PAS may cause some sorts of abuses, but not decriminalizing it would make more patients dying with excruciating pain.

"My life My death My choice" this is so empowering because they are the only ones who can choose how they go. People can think it is murder and that it is wrong, but they also put war and self-defense in a separate category for murder. So why can't the government and everyone let physician assisted suicide fall under the war category. Physician assisted suicide would not be used in a way that the doctors are not healing others. This practice has different elements that people look at when deciding their opinion on physician assisted suicide. The elements are helping to relieve the pain, the morality, and whether it is corrupting medicine practice.

In addition, at a medical perspective, the responsibility of physicians is to save people in all circumstances under the Hippocratic Oath – the oldest binding document in human history. That was another reason for those who believe Assisted Suicide is immoral with physicians, but is this Oath fair when applied to incurable patients? To be honest, death is a natural law that every living creature on the Earth will face one day and it is just a matter of time. In most cases, we usually see the death of our loved ones as an unfortunate occurrence or a painful loss rather than a solution to end the pain, especially with terminally ill patients. Based on a recent PEW Research Center study, the author Gary Stein stated that, "62 percent say suicide is morally acceptable for

been available in parts of Switzerland since 1942 (Darr, 2007), however assisted suicide was not

Assisted suicide laws, otherwise known as Death with Dignity and right to die laws, are both controversial and largely discussed in state legislatures across the United States. These laws permit patients with a terminal illness to either commit or have assistance in committing suicide through a medical process. Due to the influence of changing public opinion, the increase in the passage of state laws, and the advocacy of prominent public figures, support for assisted suicide laws has increased in the United States since Oregon set the precedent with the passage of its state law in 1997.

With an advancing medical field, new technology allows doctors to do almost the impossible. Automatic genetic analysis, restoration of eyesight, and robotic limbs remain as some of the most cutting edge innovative technology in the medical field. Society witnesses the creation of even more medical breakthroughs, however, the application of new found research enhances and prolongs the quality of life for humans. A growing elderly population prompts the progression of superior palliative care and hospice care. While end of life care attempts to make the last months of a person’s life as comfortable as possible, ultimately palliative and hospice care become ineffective in helping with the excruciating pain. Thus, the legalization of physician assisted suicide provides a compassionate death while preserving the concept of patient autonomy.