Pros And Cons Of Assisted Suicide: An Ethical And Moral Dilemma

Physician-assisted suicide is arguably one of the most controversial subjects to discuss or read about within our society. This paper will examine both sides of this discussion, from the aspect of the patient choosing to end their own life based on the quality of their remaining life. Also, the religious factors of the medical staff involved and the moral and ethical duty of the doctors to preserve the life of the patient if there are still means available.

Assisted suicide is when you give someone else permission like a physician, to kill you. Assisted suicide is legal in at least six states (Tolle, 1996) and there is lots of people who wanted to die because the disease they might have at the moment is just too much for them. If a patient that wanted to die the they would either talk to a physician or their doctor and give the doctor permission to just kill the patient. Assisted suicide can only happen when your medication is not working and the pain from the sickness you have is just abdominale. There was a case that was about how a man who was going through chemotherapy he didn't want to go through it so he talked to his doctor about assisted suicide. They decided to

Now that I’ve demonstrated that my ethical theory can be used to make educated decisions in situations that we can potentially face daily, how does my ethical theory fit with issues of life or death? My ethical theory focuses more on issues that an individual will face in their everyday life. It does not directly deal with issues of life and death; however you can still go through the core concepts to make a decision. For instance, let's take a look at assisted suicide.

According to a poll in 2015, 68% of United States residents believe that physician assisted suicide should be legal (“In”). Physician assisted suicide (PAS) gives terminally ill patients a way to end their lives peacefully before they die from whatever terminal illness they have. If physician assisted suicide became legal, many people would be saved from pain and anguish. On top of that, ill people could retain some power and control over their life. And though bringing money into the discussion might be crude, assisted suicide can save millions. Physician assisted suicide should be legal in order to ensure a dignified death for terminally ill patients.

Assisted suicide is the suicide of a terminally- ill patient, achieved by using a prescribed drug from a doctor for that specific purpose. It is legal in only six states in the United States of America including: Oregon, Montana, Washington, Colorado, Vermont, and California. Countries such as Germany, Japan, and Switzerland have legalized assisted suicide in past years. It has been disputed for many years and continues to be a controversial issue whether physicians should be authorized to end an individual’s life with their prescription and if this should be done legally.

Many people in the world are suffering from illness that cannot be cured. They live their last days in pain and suffering wondering when and why it happened to them. Instead of suffering, many people dream of suicide to take their pain away but they know no one would understand. In very few states, it is legal for people to get assistance to put them out of their pain and suffering. It is called assisted suicide. Assisted suicide is the help from a physician to end their patients’ lives with their permission. The patient must have a terminal illness with less than six months to live to qualify. Many people are against assisted suicide because they believe that it is just a cover for murder. People should be thought of as dying with dignity

Physician assisted suicide becoming legal will not make tons of people go out and use it. Haider Javed Warraich, a clinical researcher, defends this. His article “On Assisted Suicide, Going Beyond ‘Do No Harm’” argues how assisted suicide can be a solution for terminally ill patients who continue to lose control over their lives. Warraich analyzes how barely 35 percent of those who request the medication actually follow through with it.

There has been much debate on the morality of physician-assisted suicide. Physician-assisted suicide is a controversial and complicated matter. I argue that physician-assisted suicide, where a doctor prescribes a lethal dose of medication to a patient per request so they may end their life voluntarily, is moral and should be legalized.

The topic of physician-assisted suicide has become very controversial because of the ethical questions. The physical state of health of the patient, the patient’s personal life, and even the financial pressure of the patient are all factors to consider when contemplating whether or not to legalize this controversial cause of death. Physician-assisted suicide regarding medical ethics states that a physician cannot legally give any patient a lethal injection to end their life, but they can take the patient off of life support in order to increase the process of death. Physician-assisted suicide should be legalized at a federal level and should be morally acceptable for patients who are terminally ill and can no longer be treated to improve their medical situation.

Physician-assisted suicides (PAS) successful legalization in multiple locations, including four U.S. states, proves that opponents’ predictions of PAS leading to medical misconduct are inaccurate. Jacob Appel, a doctor in New York City, is quoted explaining, “ Despite predictions that legalization would lead to abuse or to decrease in palliative care, jurisdictions that have sanctioned the process, like the Netherlands and Oregon, have shown that a system of assisted suicide can be implemented responsibly” (qtd. in “The Right to Die: Do terminally ill patients have a right to die with the assistance of a physician?”). Appel’s claim is corroborated by Lewis Cohen who says,

Those who oppose Physician Assisted Suicide use a slippery slope argument that Assisted Suicide would inevitably lead to more morally questionable or unacceptable practices. Likewise, financial concerns may be a factor in requests for legal interventions as well as in requests for Assisted Suicide. For example, they argue that making Assisted Suicide legal greatly increases the possibility that some patients would feel compelled or forced into requesting aid in dying. Opponents of Physician Assisted Suicide also fear that for reason of convenience or cost, patients may be urged to accept Assisted Suicide, because it’s easier and less costly than providing aggressive palliative care. A study of Oregon's first year of legalized Assisted Suicide

Physician-assisted suicide is suicide by a patient facilitated by means or information (as a drug prescription or indication of the lethal dosage) provided by a physician who is aware of how the patient intends to use such means or information (“Physician-assisted suicide”). Physician-assisted suicide should be accessible to the incurably ill patient. Allowing a patient to have this freedom could, for one, bypass tremendous pain and suffering. Also, the right to die should be a fundamental of each person, and this would give him or her that power. Another reason why it should be permitted is without physician assistance, people may commit suicide in a messy, horrifying, and traumatic

Most people have seen at least one person in their life suffering in unbearable pain up to their death, and it’s never something people find joy in. There is nothing pleasing about being in pain or watching someone be in pain. For those people whose pain does not respond to methods of modern medicine, there should be the option of physician-assisted suicide. “Physician-assisted suicide refers to the practice of a physician prescribing or regulating, upon a patient’s informed request, a lethal dose of medication for the purpose of ending that patient’s life” (Lerner). The lethal drugs that are given to the patient by the doctor are administered by the patient themself, not by the doctor, so

Physician-Assisted Suicide which is also known as PAS has been a topic that has been highly debated for years, it gives patients in critical medical conditions the right to end their lives. Many people think that PAS and euthanasia are the same, while both actions include medications in lethal doses, Physician Assisted Suicide is when a doctor makes a patient’s death less difficult by providing him or her with a lethal dose of medication such as barbiturates or a combination of medications to allow the life ending act or to refrain the patient from receiving treatments that are used to prolong a terminally ill patients life. The physician lends the knowledge but the person does the act. While, euthanasia is when someone actually administers

Would you rather: be alive, but in so much pain that you cannot function, or die and put an end to all your suffering? Jeffrey Weiss believes that death is the better option, arguing that although human life is valuable, no one deserves to suffer through prolonged pain when no cure is available. He argues in favor of assisted suicide, attempting to convince the readers of USA Today, both liberals and conservatives, that people suffering from chronic illnesses should have the right to die. He strengthens his claim by using religious appeals, a personal anecdote, and cited facts, creating an overall logical tone.