Physician-Assisted Suicide Benefits

According to the American Medical Association (1996), physician-assisted suicide (PAS) occurs when a physician facilitates a patient’s death by providing either the means or the information necessary to aid in the patient performing the life-ending act. PAS has had a long and controversial history dating back to the ancient Greeks and Romans. They believed that there was no reason to prolong life if continued pain and suffering was the only prognosis. The term euthanasia, in fact, stems from the Greek meaning "a good death". It was not until Hippocrates and his Hippocratic Oath, cautioning against deadly medicine towards patients, that a different view was seen.

The history of euthanasia can be traced back to the classical antiquity times when many Greek and Roman philosophers considered suicide a “good death” and an appropriate response to a variety of circumstances (Dowbiggin 7). During that period, people would kill themselves through various means such as fasting, drinking poison, and hanging themselves. Unexplained pain due to certain diagnosis caused a spike in suicide which allowed the given

Physician-assisted suicide or PAS for short is one of the most controversial subjects we as a society discuss. Not only is it a controversial subject, but an ethical dilemma faced by patient and physicians alike. There are two types of terms associated with this type of death, physician-assisted suicide, and euthanasia. PAS is a term to describe a death where a physician prescribes a medication that is administered to the patient to assist in ending one’s life. As for

One of the most controversial end-of-life decisions is “physician-assisted suicide” (PAS). This method of suicide involves a physician providing a patient, at his or her own request, with a lethal dose of medication, which the patient self-administers. The ethical acceptability and the desirability of legalization of this practice both continue to cause controversy (Raus, Sterckx, Mortier 1). Vaco v. Quill and Washington v. Glucksberg were landmark decisions on the issue of physician-assisted suicide and a supposed Constitutional right to commit suicide with another's assistance. In Washingotn v. Glucksberg, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the state of Washington's ban on physician-assisted suicide was not unconstitutional.

Physician assisted suicide or PAS is a topic that has long been debated throughout history dating back as far as the ancient Greeks and Romans. During that time, physician assisted suicide was an accepted and tolerated practice by giving patients poison to help them die rather than have them suffer a long and painful death. Even though it went against the Hippocratic Oath which in part states “I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect” (Medicinenet.com, 2015), very few ancient Roman and Greek physicians followed the Hippocratic Oath faithfully. (ProCon.org, 2013).

Physician-assisted suicide is defined as a physician providing either equipment or medication, or to inform the patient of the most available means, for the purpose of assisting the patient to end his or her own life. The people’s opinion support PAS according to a poll given in 1998. The majority 33% of people agreed that Physician assisted suicide should be made legal in a variety

1. (problem – PAS): In today’s society, Physician Assisted Suicide is one of the most questionable and debatable issues. Many people feel that it is wrong for people to ask their doctor to help them end their life; while others feel it is their right to choose between the right to life and the right to death. “Suffering has always been a part of human existence.” (PAS) “Physicians have no similar duty to provide actions, such as assistance in suicide, simply because they have been requested by patients. In deciding how to respond to patients ' requests, physicians should use their judgment about the medical appropriateness of the request.” (Bernat, JL) Physician Assisted Suicide differs from withholding or discontinuing medical treatment, it consists of doctors providing a competent patient with a prescription for medication to aid in the use to end their life.

Physician-assisted suicide devalues human life. First, PAS is against the laws of something called nature. Second, PAS debate is not new today. It had been debated long time ago in the world before World War Two. According to 30 Logical Reasons Against Assisted Suicide: “The first Nazi victims were terminally ill people.” They were called “useless eaters” (Clair). Those who are terminally ill are looked down upon and considered as a great burden on society, therefore there was no reason for them to live. It is also not right with the long-term illness wishes to terminate their life as soon as possible. Not long ago, near where I lived there was with a man serious cancer. After six months of treatment in hospital, the doctors said patients will

Physicians assisted suicide (PAS) refers to interventions by a doctor that either intentionally assist a patient to die (as in giving the patient the lethal means to end their own life at their explicit request), or directly ends a patient’s life (as in a lethal medication administered by a doctor at the explicit request of the patient – euthanasia). In recent years the debate over a patient’s possible right to the aid of a physician in committing suicide has become one of the most discussed issues in medical ethics. The argument for and against PAS is not something unique to this century. It has been going on since the time of the ancient Greeks. The Hippocratic Oath has been called the most widely known of Greek medical texts. It

Physician-assisted suicide is “the voluntary termination of one's own life by administration of a lethal substance with the direct or indirect assistance of a physician. Physician-assisted suicide is the practice of providing a competent patient with a prescription for medication for the patient to use with the primary intention of ending his or her own life” (MedicineNet.com, 2004). Many times this ethical issue arises when a terminally-ill patient with and incurable illness, whom is given little time to live, usually less than six-months, has requested a physician’s assistance in terminating one’s life. This practice with the terminally ill is known as euthanasia. Physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia is a controversial topic

Thesis: When it comes to the topic of physician-assisted suicide (PAS), some experts believe that an individual should have the option of ending their life in the event that they have been given six months to live with a terminal illness or when the quality of their life has been vastly changed. Where this argument usually ends, however, is on the question whether physician-assisted suicide is medically ethical, would be overly abused to the point where doctors might start killing patients without their consent. Whereas some experts are convinced that just improving palliative care would decrease the need for someone to want to end their life before it happened naturally.

In today’s society, suicide, and more controversially, physician assisted suicide, is a hotly debated topic amongst both every day citizens and members of the medical community. The controversial nature of the subject opens up the conversation to scrutinizing the ethics involved. Who can draw the line between morality and immorality on such a delicate subject, between lessening the suffering of a loved one and murder? Is there a moral dissimilarity between letting someone die under your care and killing them? Assuming that PAS suicide is legal under certain circumstances, how stringent need be these circumstances? The patient must be terminally ill to qualify for voluntary physician-assisted suicide, but in the eyes of the non-terminal patients with no physical means to end their life, the ending of their pain through PAS may be worth their death; at what point is the medical staff disregarding a patient’s autonomy? Due to the variability of answers to these questions, the debate over physician-assisted suicide is far from over. However, real life occurrences happen every day outside the realm of debate and rhetoric, and decisions need to be made.

Michele M. Mathes presents the topic of physician-assisted suicide in health care and expands on the views of professional health organizations and the opposing views of others. Health organizations such as the American Nurses Association have a specific code for nurses which goes against assisting in the suicide of a patient while other qualified individuals believe assisted suicide should be practiced but with a few modifications to the process currently in place. Though there are opposing views, a single nurse has the ability to decide whether or not they are willing to participate in assisted suicide if they find themselves in that situation. The author of this source is qualified both in her degree and in advocacy, and the article was

The definition of dying, as written by the Merriam-Webster dictionary is to “stop living: to end life in a specified state or condition”. As Americans, we like to think that we are free to choose whatever we want, but did you know that having the right to end our own lives is currently only legal in five states? Before I start talking about the benefits of assisted suicide I want to explain what it is. Physician assisted suicide is when someone voluntarily decides to terminate their own life and is given a prescription by a doctor to do it. The doctor could either help the patient deliver the lethal dose of medicine to themselves or they could write the prescription but they would still be a part of the action whether they are physically

Although many people are familiar with the term “physician-assisted suicide,” very few however, actually know what is meant by the term. The term “physician-assisted suicide” is one that has been commonly used among the