Physician Assisted Suicide Case Study

In the first place, Paul J. van der Wal conducted two studies, one in 1990 and the other in 1995. They decided to make both studies strikingly familiar. Making the studies unique would have had an improved outcome due to the physicians not knowing what the study contained. In 1990, 486 cases of euthanasia were reported, while in 1995, 1466 were reported. The study concluded of two subparts, one was the interview study while the other was a death certificate study. The interview study was

In the United States today, only several states legally recognize physician-assisted suicide as an option for families and terminally ill patients hoping to embrace a death with dignity. Although there is a growing movement to promote access to physician-assisted suicide, the topic is still widely regarded as taboo. As of 2016, the states of Washington, Oregon, Vermont, Colorado, New Jersey, and California are the only states to allow full and legal access to physician-assisted suicide. Alongside those states are Montana and New Mexico, which legally offer “aid in dying,” meaning the state allows for physicians to assist in alleviating the longevity of the dying process.

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.

I believe physician assisted suicide should be legal because it is your right and better to do it with a doctor than by yourself at home.

The federal legalization of physician-assisted suicide is a conflict of ethics. This is one reason the problem has yet to be resolved. There are multiple sides to this argument. Some people want the government to mandate the legalization of physician-assisted suicide while others believe the practice to be morally unacceptable. Then there are those who do not have enough knowledge on the issue to have an opinion at all. This issue that needs to be brought to Americans’ attention sooner rather than later, because more Americans are being given the opportunity to vote on the topic.

The thing that kept Steven going was the thought that Jeffrey having cancer was going to be a mistake. During Jeffrey’s stay at the Philadelphia Children's hospital Steven was kept unnotified of how Jeffrey was doing. Apart of that he was getting no attention whatsoever from either of his parents. Steven felt forgotten and this brought anger. Through journals from Miss Palma’s class he wrote about how nobody had thought about how he was feeling about this situation. However when Jeffrey and his mother returned from Philadelphia Steven learned that the thoughts he had was wrong.

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.

Just imagine…the invitation arriving in the mail, it was no ordinary invite. The days of physical misery and suffering that lead up to this final celebration of life were unbearable to watch. Having a terminally ill family member is hard because you know the days, weeks and months are numbered. Quality of life, what is that anyway? Each passing hour has the quality of life diminishing to unimaginable physical pain and anguish. Watching someone you love slip away and turn into a shell of who they once were is unbearable. This invitation is special. This special day and every precious hour will give the loved ones a time to say goodbye just before they die with dignity in physician assisted suicide. Terminally ill patients have the right to end their own lives using physician assisted suicide (PAS) without repercussions of laws and people with opposing opinions.

In conclusion, the article discussed several other themes of the interview such as the problems of ending their lives and the discussion of assisted suicide with physicians. Some of the carers provide information about why they would not consider using assisted suicide as a solution to dementia even as the patient themselves. One carer claimed "The idea that he was not worth anything anymore made me sad. He was still my dad" (4). Some carers then claimed that it helped to talk to a professional about the situation that they were experiencing. Others claimed it would

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.

According Fink (1992), in 1939, the former London Asylum opened a Metrazol clinic. Metrazol was first used in clinical experiments by Hungarian physician, Ladislaus von Meduna in 1933 (Fink, 1992). The Hungarian physician explained that inducing epileptic convulsions with insulin may "cure" schizophrenia. His results came from his observations of individuals who had both schizophrenia and epilepsy. Meduna examined patients who had epileptic seizures that would experience a remission of their symptoms of both diseases (Fink, 1992). Metrazol is one of many drugs that can induce seizures artificially. The Asylum began to phase out its use in 1943, turning instead to electroconvulsive therapy (Fink, 1992).

I will be discussing the criteria needed to legalize physician-assisted suicide by applying different moral theories. My main argument is supported by care ethics, but I will also be using Utilitarian, Kantian and Disability ethics to support legalization. Provided that the patients are competent and fully informed, physician-assisted suicide should be legalized in strict circumstances where life-ending treatments are the only or best way to care for a person.

Overall, the article was very educational in regarding the meaning and factors why a person wishes to die. Some of the meanings and factors of the wish to die statements are to spare others from the burden of oneself, to preserve self-determination, to let death put an end to severe suffering, and allow a life-ending process to take its course. However, I would have like the study to explored more individuals with other terminally illnesses such as Alzheimer Disease, Parkinson Disease, or maybe AIDS. This article has influenced me to prepare a living will so my medical requests are carried out. Also, I would use this article as a reference point to help me empathize with terminal ill patients when I become a social

The study was approved by a local NHS research ethics committee, this is necessary to maintain ethical standards in order to protect participants (Bell 2008). Several good points were recognised in the article being; consent was gained prior to the commencement of the interview, therefore participants were protected having an idea of what will happen during the interview, which complies with ethical standards. The researchers also coded the questionnaires using numbers, this was to conceal the participant’s identity, and provide confidentiality. Semi structured interviews were used to collect data from twenty two people who had a diagnosis of dementia, or Alzheimer’s, and were selected through the National Health Service Consultant Psychiatrists of old age . Half male, and half were female, which ruled out gender bias, but it was not