Physician Assisted Suicide Case Study

According to Paul J. van der Wal et al. in ¨Euthanasia, Physician-Assisted Suicide, and Other Medical Practices Involving the End of Life in the Netherlands, 1990–1995¨, he addresses that assisted suicide should be legal and regulated. The authors’ purpose of writing this journal article is to make reliable estimates of euthanasia; to describe patients and physicians, and to evaluate changes between 1990 and 1995. Even though assisted suicide is a growing taboo, it is being practiced more each and every day. Paul J. van der Wal et al. chose to conduct two studies to answer their hypotheses.

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.

This is a case study that will be examined and evaluating a 68-year-old male, husband that killed his wife per her request. Allowing someone to die has always been a sociological concern. Will take into consideration the ethical values as well as providing proposed solutions on how this can benefit the husband and wife as well as the family, even though they have moved away. During this process, will look at possible treatments, suggestions that will result in a better outcome.

Should physician-assisted suicide be legal? Physician-assisted suicide should be legalized. People should finally have the choice if they wanted to. It could relieve suffering and help whoever wants to die peacefully. It could help a lot of people in the world. 79% of people say that physician-assisted suicide be legal. However it should not be legalized.

According to the Oxford Dictionary, assisted suicide is “...suicide effected with the assistance of another person, especially the taking of lethal drugs provided by a doctor for the purpose by a patient suffering from a terminal illness or incurable condition.” Assisted suicide for the terminally ill should be legalized in all fifty states, considering it gives the person control over their life, ends their family’s suffering and assures that the patient will have access over their unalienable rights.

A. There is no fundamental liberty that promotes the idea of a legal right to die.

The Canadian justice system is supposed to be neutral, fair, objective, and impartial. However, we can see that this is not the reality but rather often times it can be oppressive, constraining, and enforces discriminatory legislation or policies that directly or indirectly works to target certain groups of people. This is especially evident when we look at the criminal laws which criminalize non-able-bodied and terminally ill individuals, who seek out assistance in dying because they feel that their life is no longer worth living, and as a result takes away their dignity and right to autonomy. The decriminalization of physician-assisted suicide is fundamental in order to achieve and maintain the equality, autonomy, and dignity of all individuals.

People who reach the requirements of the death with dignity laws, should have the right to end their own life quickly. Right now, only six states have legalized PAS (Physician-Assisted Suicide). The other 44 states are holding back the right for people with terminal illness, or people suffering from pain to die peacefully. Not giving a legal pathway for people to die, can lead to patients into committing suicide which is a more stressful way for their family. People should have the right to end their lives if they are in pain.

The World Medical Association (WMA) works to establish the highest standards for physicians´ ethical and professional behavior. WMA recognizes physician assisted suicide (PAS) as “knowingly and intentionally providing a person with the knowledge or means or both required to commit suicide¨. This concept includes advising individuals of lethal doses, prescribing and supplying the drugs. Originating from Oregon's death with dignity act, the death with dignity national center serves to promote options for terminally ill individuals. In the US, only four states: California, Oregon, Vermont and Washington have a Death with Dignity law. According to the New York Times, most of those who requested an assisted suicide "feared a loss of autonomy, dignity

Why are adults suffering from a terminal illness not allowed to choose to end their life on their terms? From debates arising since the early 1900s to today in modern society, only a total of six states have legalized death with dignity including Oregon, Colorado, Washington, Vermont, California, and Montana where it is only legalized through a Supreme Court ruling. The controversy of allowing the process or not arises from various perspectives; people against legalizing death with dignity argue that the process is against their morals and religious beliefs whereas people who want the process legalized argue that everyone should have the right to end their life on their own terms. By allowing physician-assisted suicide terminally ill patients

Physician-assisted suicide first became legalized in Australia’s Northern Territory on 1 July 1996 (Walker 21). It was later legalized in Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Quebec, Oregon, Montana, Washington and Vermont (Gulu 1). In Michigan, throughout the 1990s, Dr. Jack Kevorkian petitioned to legalize assisted suicide and help over one hundred and thirty people commit suicided in and eight year period (Schneider 1). Dr. Kevorkian was in prison for eight years for second degree murder (Schneider 1). According to Jack Lessenberry, “Jack Kevorkian, faults and all, was a major force for good in this society. He forced us to pay attention to one of the biggest elephants in society’s living room: the fact that today vast numbers of people are alive who would rather be dead, who have lives not worth living”(Schneider 2). Due to Dr. Kevorkian’s assistance in an Oregon schoolteachers death, Oregon passed its Death With Dignity Act (Schneider 2). On the 1 November 2014, Brittany Maynard took advantage of Oregon’s legality of physician-assisted suicide.

Living Proof, Miss Evers Boys, and You Don’t Know Jack are all movies based off of true events. These three movies all faced ethical and unethical events. Living Proof has to do with a compassionate research doctor that is trying to get a drug for breast cancer called Herceptin approved through the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This Film has some unethical and ethical events take place like favoritism, the funding, and of course the process to get FDA approval. Miss Evers Boys had several unethical events occur during the Tuskegee study. This study was to see if black men had the same symptoms to syphilis as the white men did. In this film the providers lied to their patients, broke confidentiality, and misrepresented theirself. You Don’t Know Jack is a film about physician assisted suicide. Is it ethical to be able to end your life at any given point and time that you want? Should be allowed to legalized physician assisted suicide Jack is the physician in this movie that believes very strong in people being able to have the assistants of a physician to end their own life.

According to this article, in order for caregivers to provide a ‘good death’ to their love ones, they need the support of health care professionals. The health professional will help guide the experience, there are many factors that weigh in on this; the patient’s home might not be accessible for some cumbersome equipment that might be needed. They also need financial support because in some cases the machinery has to be rented. The comfort of the patient in most cases take precedent over all. The will of the patient wanting to do die at home in their bed provides an incentive to the caretaker to try their best to abide by the patient wishes.

Personally, I see physician assisted suicide as a possibility for people who are terminally ill, or have an incurable disease to have the right to choose the time and the means of their own death. However, what role should mental health professionals assume in end-of-life decisions?

Imagine lying in a bed with the cold air hitting your fragile skin knowing you’re not able to take care of yourself. Your bones are aching and you feel your body slowly shutting down. That ulcer in your back is getting more painful and larger as you lay in bed in a vegetative state. You are terminally ill and have been giving a few more months to live as long as you continue taking 20 bottles worth of medications. Terminally ill patients should have the right to choose to opt for the assistance of medical professionals to end their lives with dignity if they chose to. Being in pain physically and/or emotionally yet coherent and sane, that option should be given. According to medinecine.net P.A.D is defined as “voluntary termination of one’s own life by administration of a lethal substance with the direct or indirect assistance