Terminally Ill Patients Have The Right To Die

The Right to assisted suicide is a major topic worldwide. Different people have different feeling toward the matter in fact it boils down to say that the patients have the right to die with assistance of a doctor, this is said because of aspects such as a person’s values, morals and general ethics (Esther B. De La Torre).

Secondly, the patient should be capable of making and communicating health care decisions for him or herself. Thirdly, the patient must be diagnosed with a terminal illness that will lead to death within six months.  Interested patients must also provide the request for termination in writing to the physician. In addition, physicians are expected to inform patients to alternative means of care including hospice care and other medications. Only after precautions evaluation, the laws then permit patients to make the ultimate life ending decision.

2. generally right to decide treatment: Patients generally have the right to decide their treatment however; others measures of treatment should be discussed with the patients. Patients should be competent when deciding to refuse treatment and understand what their options are, however; this should not include physician assisted suicide. Patients do not have to suffer or be in pain, there are many medical options to help the patient through palliative care that will keep them comfortable.

There has been an increase in the interest of euthanasia and assisted suicide for the terminally ill in recent years (Williams 1997). The most obvious reason for someone wanting to end their life is to end the suffering they are going through once the illness goes beyond being bearable.

If a patient can come to a decision when it is time to stop treatment for their terminal illness, then they should also be allowed to choose when to bring death. End of life care has become just as important of an issue to physicians as well as the patients. If physician-assisted deaths were permitted in all 50 states, physicians could openly discuss end of life wishes with their patients. The term “Terminally ill”, Is a terminal condition that is a disease or process that will result eventually in a patient's death, no matter what treatment is given. Of course, this could

By giving a terminally ill patient the right to end their misery, it can be beneficial to the lives of others. A patient who ends their life by a physician-assisted death can save their remaining organs and the lives of others who are in need of a transplant. By doing this, the patient is given the opportunity to determine how they would like their organs to be donated and the warmth of knowing they are saving the lives of others. Even though their life may be ending, their life will be honored by the ones they saved.

The Declaration of Independence stated, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” This shows that all Americans are secured with indisputable rights which must include the right to live life as well as end it if need be. Even though Physician Assisted Death is not listed in the Constitution, the Tenth Amendment states that “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” However, in forty-four states, terminally-ill patients do not have the right to die. Physician Assisted Death is when a terminally-ill patient undergoes counseling before a trusted doctor can prescribe a lethal dose of drugs for the patient to terminate his life peacefully. Having Physician Assisted Death available as an option to terminally-ill will allow patients to exercise their inalienable right to the pursuit of happiness, relieve them from unbearable pain, and lessen the agony of the patient’s family.

A person who is dying of a terminal illness is faced with only one certainty; they will die from this disease. A doctor can say roughly the amount of time that a patient has, but they exact date and level of pain is hard to determine. Many may look to a physician for the answer on if they should/shouldn’t choose PAS, however, the only role a physician plays is giving the medical diagnosis and working with the patient to get what the patient feels is the best option. Therefore, the decision the patient makes doesn’t make the physician a moral guide, but rather a person doing their job. The last big decision people who are terminally ill have is when/how to die and it has to be their own and it has to be respected.

A patients suffering cant be relieved all the time despite flawless palliative care, continuing to live causes misery that can only end with death.

If someone wants to end their life peacefully instead of dying painfully at the hands of a deadly disease they should be allowed to do that. Every year thousands of people suffer and die at the crippling hands of extremely painful, deadly diseases. Terminally ill patients should have the right to die with the assistance of a doctor.

Should a person have the right to die when facing a terminal illness? Imagine that a loved one has just been diagnosed with a terminal illness. What is the first thing people think of? How much time do they have left and is there any way to extend that time? That is a normal reaction because we want as much time with our loved ones as possible. Now, put yourself in that same situation is that what you would want if it were you facing a terminal illness? A person should have the right to refuse treatment and or receive life ending chemical assistance when facing a terminal illness, because some terminal illness can greatly reduce quality of life, second a person has the right to choose their own health care and finally a person should have the right

As a matter of fact, the right to die is being able to make the choice of continuing your life or ending it if the individual has a terminal illness. For example, Muscular dystrophies which according to Health Care Business and Technology is defined as “inherited disorders that contribute to muscle loss and weakness over time”( Marketing, 2012). In other words, if one has a terminal illness the doctor can give them a drug overdose if the patient asked for it. In fact, no one will know about it since everything discussed between patient and a doctor is confidential. Therefore, the doctor would not be imprisoned because they were following the decision of their client.

Critically ill patients should be allowed to end their life because they have freedom to choose how to end their life.

The article of THE RIGHT TO DIE STILL SEEMS MORE THEORY THAN PRACTICE takes a pro side of the right to die. Due to the problems of protecting the patient from abuse (from ones who might want the patient dead or prolonging life for ulterior motives), and the decisions and views of ethics are being made from a professional who may or may not know the patient or their family. These decisions such as quality of life are being defined and made by society. It seems as though that the theory is the battle over the patients’ rights, and the practice is the battle to enforce them. This battle is catapulted from the fear of liability (civil and criminal), from the institutes and the doctors. These situations usually leave the patient powerless.

Everyone individual has the right to receive good palliative care as they approach end of life. These individuals are entitled to have a say in the treatments they receive at any stage of their lives. Patients are given amble treatment options such as electing to arrange legally binding advance decisions, electing do no attempt CPR or do not resuscitate, electing palliative sedation, or electing withdrawing life-sustaining treatments. By law, all adults have the right to refuse treatment as long as they have the ability to use and understand information to make a decision. 7 When patients refuse treatments physicians are required to not perform certain procedures or treatments against their wishes. Many have argued that these end-of-life care are no better than physician-assisted suicide. For instance, do not attempt CPR is essentially a form of passive euthanasia where the person is denied treatment that could save his or her life. Palliative sedation, where medication is used to make patients unconscious and unaware of pain bares the risk of shortening patients’ lifespan and can be considered a form of euthanasia.