Research Paper On Physician Assisted Suicide

Physician Assisted Suicide, the practice of allowing a physician to aid their patient in committing suicide, is ethically wrong. It is stated clearly in the Hippocratic Oath that doctors take: “I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect.” This part of the Hippocratic Oath proves that doctors should not aid their patients in suicide because that would have a negative effect on the patient’s health. Rather, they should do whatever is in their power to find another solution to their patient’s problem. In this oath, the doctor swears to attempt to cure their patients of their medical problems, this does not include ending their patient’s life to solve the problem. Breaking an oath

Physician-assisted suicide should be legal nationwide. As a former hospital employee, I know first-hand that some diseases can cause so much disability and pain that patients want to end their lives because they have had enough. Something dear to me is personal autonomy, a right of all people. If the patient is competent and wants to end their life, and a health care provider is willing to humanely help end that patient's life, then physician-assisted suicide should be legal and be performed, per the individual's wishes.

Abstract: This paper discusses the medical ethics of Physician Assisted Suicide (PAS). Focusing on the ideas of legal vs illegal, the different views of PAS will both be addressed. While active euthanasia is illegal, passive euthanasia, or allowing natural death, is completely legal everywhere. PAS will help patients end suffering for themselves at the end of their lives, as well as the family's. The price of the drug may be expensive but the price of medical treatments continues to rise. The Hippocratic Oath does not support the aid in ending a life, however it has been changed in the past. Many citizens are afraid that is PAS was considered legal, it would grow into something even more illegal being debated. Also, the religious aspect of the end of life had conflicting views as some believe PAS is ending suffering, a good deed, and other believe PAS is not respecting a human life. PAS is only legal in seven states but has gained the attention of many others and other places around the world.

Suicide is one person’s personal decision; physician-assisted suicide is a patient who is not capable of carrying the task out themselves asking a physician for access to lethal medication. What people may fail to see however is that the physician is not the only healthcare personnel involved; it may include, but is not limited to, a physician, nurse, and pharmacist. This may conflict with the healthcare worker’s own morals and there are cases in which the patient suffers from depression, or the patient is not receiving proper palliative care. Allowing physician-assisted suicide causes the physician to become entangled in an ethical and moral discrepancy and has too many other issues surrounding it for it to be legal.

What is physician-assisted suicide? “Suicide is the act of taking one's own life. In assisted suicide, the means to end a patient’s life is provided to the patient (i.e. medication or a weapon) with knowledge of the patient's intention” (American Nurses Association). Physician-assisted suicide is known by many names such as death with dignity, right to die, and of course, euthanasia. Euthanasia is a much more in-depth term concerning the patient and the type of suicide.

Finley, Ilora. “Personal View – Ilora Finley.” The Economist. 22 June 2015. Web. 21 Nov 2016.

In this chapter we get to see how Lia's fate has really taken a toll on her parents. We also see that the Lee's no longer feel like they can rely on the American medical system after what happened to Lia and instead they would use their own at home methods. Lia's pediatric neurologist also believed that the Lee's might have been right about Lia being affected from too much medication. After hearing this and looking at Lia's records, Neil and Peggy came to the realization that there should have treated her differently. This chapter really demonstrates the importance of culture and the need for doctors to be more accepting and understand of them. Unfortunately, there are doctors who are just not willing to comply. It is sad to see how much the Lee's had to suffer in order for people to open their eyes and it is even sadder that even with cases like this, there are doctors who still refuse to believe in anything outside their medical abilities.

According to Joe Messerli, “Assisting in suicides would be a violation of that oath, and it would lead to a weakening of doctor-patient trust” (3). If doctors violate the oath, especially the above stated portions, patients may be inclined to question what other standards of medicine are being breached. Assisted suicides contravene medical ethics, as evidenced by the multiple violations of the Hippocratic Oath.

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.

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.

Physician assisted suicide/dying (PAD) is it good or bad? PAD is referred to when physician provides patients who are terminally ill with prescriptions of a lethal dose of medication, upon the patient’s request, which the patient intends to use to end their own life (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2011); another option that is close to physician assisted suicide is Euthanasia. Euthanasia is the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals (as persons or domestic animals) in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2011).

Alma Moctezuma Western Governors University WGU Student ID # 000429008 Thesis statement: Research suggests the legalization of assisted suicide is necessary throughout all states in the U.S. because it will give a human being the moral right to choose freely, provide them with an opportunity for death with dignity, and allow for the option of timely organ donation. Annotated Bibliography CNN U.S. Edition.

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.

Do you think physician-assisted suicide is necessary? In most states physician-assisted suicide is legal but other states want it to be illegal. In the 5 states that is legal, want their patients to have the right to die the way they choose. But in the other states don’t like physician assisted suicide because is cheaper and it harm the patines even more. While some people believe it’s a harm and a sin, physician-assisted suicide should be legalized because it’s economic, patines rights and it’s a calm way to die.

Recent decriminalization of Physician-Assisted Suicide has brought the subject back to the fore front of many professional nurses practice. There is little research involving the professional nurse and how often they are asked to be a resource to patients seeking this specific end of life care. The current standards of practice in states where Physician-Assisted Suicide leaves many questions in the professional nurses mind of what their role is in this type of care. There is a gap in the current education and resources available for the professional nurse to navigate this sensitive topic with confidence. The need to fill this gap in education