The Argumentative Essay: The Option Of Assisted Suicide

"You have stage IV lung cancer that has metastasized to your lymph nodes and bones. Your prognosis is poor; you may have another 18 months left [to live]." The oncologist’s words marked the beginning of my ex-husband’s physical and emotional suffering until his untimely death in January 2017. Witnessing his unrelenting pain and watching him suffer from lung cancer and the horrible side effects of chemotherapy, I wondered why the doctors did not offer him any other alternatives other than living in progressive pain. Why would they let him suffer for the next 18 months with ineffective pain management treatment when his prognosis was so poor? This option should have been available to him, but due to state laws and

How does one know when a practice is morally sound or not? Is it the information that follows it? Is it the ethics involved in the situation? Is it the persons involved happiness or their autonomy? Constantly this question is being asked about every single medical decision out there. One of the most debated topics right now is physician assisted suicide. This is the idea that a doctor can prescribe medication to patients so they can pass away on their own terms. In the rest of the essay one will find what physician assisted suicide or death is and how it came to be. One will be able to learn a real life example of how it works in America right now and why it should be implemented all over the rest of the country. One will also

Too feeble to stand up himself, a grown man sits in the arms of hospice care day in and day out, just waiting to be picked up out of bed, given a little relief. All that crosses his mind is the thought of death. This man suffers through the pain of his condition everyday, until he sluggishly deteriorates. His body hangs on longer than his mind, until he dies exactly the opposite of how he wanted to, not of a sound mind. Death with Dignity states that 70% of people in the U.S. have joined the fight to legalize a practice in which people can chose to die at the end of their life in specific conditions. Voluntary assisted suicide should be legalized in Wisconsin because there are strict laws that will make sure that this process is done correctly,

Brittany Maynard, a woman known for her advocacy in the controversial topic of assisted suicide, officially ended her life this fall after learning of her fatal brain tumor. After complaining of horrible headaches, she decided to see a doctor where they gave her this traumatic news. She had two corrective surgeries to try and stop the growth of her large tumor, but they were unsuccessful. Her doctor then suggested full brain radiation, but after months of researching this option, along with many other, she knew her quality of what short life she had left would quickly deteriorate. With the help of her family, friends, and newly-wed husband, she made the decision to move with her loved ones from her California home to Oregon, where death with

Physician Assisted Suicide is not just an easy way out; but a dignified way to end their suffering. It is within the patient’s rights to decide if they want to live or die and how they follow through with this act. In 2006, Attorney General John Ashcroft went to court against the state of Oregon saying that the Death with Dignity Act violated the Controlled Substance Act because it is not a “legitimate reason” for medication (Yeh, 2006). Aschcroft wanted to revoke all licenses for doctors who participate in PAS and those who grant immunity to physicians participating. The court ruled against Ashcroft 6-3, reporting allowing physicians to prescribe a lethal dose (Wisconsin Right to Life, n.d.). Jack Kevorkian, also known as Dr. Death, is a

Physician assisted suicide, or the so-called right-to-die, is a highly controversial issue that has appeared before many state and federal legislators but, has failed to pass in many states due to the huge opposition from groups such as the Catholic Church and disabled-rights organizations. However, physician assisted suicide is when a life ending medication is prescribed by a doctor for the patient, most commonly with a terminal illness, to take on their own. This medication merely accelerates the rate at which the person dies; therefore, it can not be considered suicide because they are only accelerating the rate at which the patient dies (Drum 29-31). In order for a patient to qualify

In the fourth century B.C. doctors followed the Hippocratic Oath, which was an oath that said the rules of the medical industry and the doctor’s policy. Those who took the oath were mostly incoming doctors or people who were in the medical industry. The Hippocratic Oath states “I will apply dietetic measures for the benefit of the sick according to my ability and judgment; I will keep them from harm and injustice. I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect.” (End of Life: Ethical Considerations paragraph 32) This directly states that the doctors back then were not allowed to perform assisted suicide at any cost. Although, in modern times the Hippocratic Oath now states “Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be

Everyone will eventually die. Some people are living their lives sick, and hoping to die because they can’t stand the pain of living. But, choosing to die peacefully is an option with Assisted Suicide. For instance, most patients want to end their life peacefully, and with the choice of Assisted Suicide they can. Many patients who are ill want to die peacefully, so if they have the choice they could choose Assisted Suicide. Assisted Suicide is when people are severely sick and want to die in a calm matter, so physicians assist them with prescribing them a certain drug to end their life. People have diverse opinions on Assisted Suicide and if it should be legalized or not. Numerous people view this as “murder” and don’t want it, but others don’t.

In certain places such as of the U.S. it is legal to prescribe a lethal dosage of pentobarbital or secobarbital to allow those who are terminally ill to die with dignity. Patients are released from an endless painful death and put to rest with their dignity in their hands leaving them in some kind of control of their illness. The medical records behind assisted suicide show that

As George Santayana says, “Our dignity is not what we do, but what we understand.” Terminally ill patients should have the choice to end their life with dignity, rather than to suffer. Not only do the patients suffer, but so does the family as well. Patients diagnosed with terminal illness have a lot of pain, doctors understand what they go through, and it is the patient's right to choose.

Is life worth living when death is upon a human being? Assisted suicide allows a patient to answer that question for themselves but only in five states. The legality of the assisted suicide is so rare because of the undermining of human dignity. The controversy has been going on for years and will continue to be on going.

It is the twenty-third visit to the hospital. White walls, white floors, and the smell of bleach follows you when you go to visit your dying relative. They do not have much time, you know it, and so do they. And so they plead for you to let them end their suffering, and with the help of assisted suicide, they can do that. One of the most controversial topics that is being debated today, both morally and legally, is assisted suicide, sometimes known as active euthanasia. Assisted suicide is the act of directly intervening in order to end the life of a terminally ill patient. Arguments against assisted suicide say that the patients are not in their best mental state, that it gives the doctor too much power, and that it goes against different

To begin with, in my own opinion, yes I do believe suicide is justifiable if the person is dealing with a horrible debilitating illness that there is no hope of recovery and that they suffer horribly on a daily even hourly basis from. I believe assisted suicide for these same types of illness at the right time should be allowed as well. I’ve watched close relatives and am watching one now, die slowly from cancer with excruciating pain, nausea, weigh lose to nothing but skin and bones, lesions, sores, etc… I love & loved these people and never want to lose them but when there is no way back, and it is medically proven, why can they not have a peaceful ending to the agony? I honestly would want it assisted so it is painless yet if the law, here in Tennessee and most states, stops medical physicians and hospice from assisting, then yes if the victim can find a safe, for sure method, why not. We can put our animals down that are in pain and suffering but not our realities, even if they want this themselves, the law stops this and it should not. Keep in mind this is my opinion, from my observations only. With this said, I would want to point out that assisted suicide is legal, with the strictest of guidelines medically, in the states of Oregon and Washington (Humphrey & Schmalleger, 2012).

First of all, many support assisted suicide because they believe that it is a humane, free choice that every patient desire. A person have the right to end their life allows them death with dignity. It’s a free will because no patients should have the righteous to suffer dying without lethal dose from seeking freedom and authority. Let’s assume a person is being placed on life support, he or she feels have a unconscious mind. Which an individual cannot say or do anything and disabled if they’re in a vegetative state. In a way that it allows physician to grant medication whether he or she want to be euthanized. This statement insists that assisted suicide is a way of life, not a threat:

“Dogs do not have many advantages over people, but one of them is extremely important: euthanasia is not forbidden by law in their case; animals have the right to a merciful death.”