The Choice Must Be Ours

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.

biotic. In these cases that can't be cured, assisted suicide or euthanasia are the only options.

Physician assisted suicide is a controversial moral issue that I feel should be allowed in all states not just a few. Right now there are only five states that have some type of death with dignity law; one which has some extra steps that need to be taken to be able to use the law. Over the last year there has been more media coverage on this topic because of a young woman named Brittany Maynard, who decided to tell her story with needing this option. The real question though should be do we have the right to tell someone that they do not deserve to have this choice?

Did you know, about 57% of physicians today have received a request for physician assisted suicide due to suffering from a terminally ill patient. Suffering has always been a part of human existence, and these requests have been occurring since medicine has been around. Moreover, there are two principles that all organized medicine agree upon. The first one is physicians have a responsibility to relieve pain and suffering of dying patients in their care. The second one is physicians must respect patients’ competent decisions to decline life-sustaining treatment. Basically, these principles state the patients over the age of 18 that are mentally stable have the right to choose to end their life if they are suffering from pain. As of right

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.

Additionally, the term “euthanasia” does not mean the same thing as assisted suicide. Often people confuse these processes when they differ immensely. Despite this, they remain similar in their resulting death of a human life through the help of a physician. Euthanasia is the direct killing of a patient by a physician by means of lethal injection and it is completely controlled by the doctor. On the other hand, patients in assisted suicide have full control over the process that leads to their death. For this reason, procedures of these sorts must be eliminated as medical treatments and should not be authorized. Consequently, physician assisted suicide has been proven to lead to euthanasia in some cases. Assisted suicide should become illegal in all fifty states of the United States of America because it raises religious concern, endorses legalized murder, puts vulnerable people at risk of abuse, and

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.

Have you ever thought about how you are going to die? It might be from a heart attack fast and relatively painless or maybe it’ll be suffering slowly from cancer in a hospital bed. Physician-assisted suicide should be legal across America because it is a basic right of all American’s.

According to research, 66% of adults here in the United States believe that a doctor should allow a patient to die under certain circumstances. Physician assisted death is currently legal in Oregon, Washington, and Montana. Other states such as Connecticut, Hawaii, Kansas, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania are considering legislation to allow physician assisted deaths for people with terminal illnesses. (Gordon, Serena). Physician assisted death needs to be legal because of how much it has evolved over time; it has many advantages, and the obligations that doctors are responsible

Physician-assisted suicide (PAS) occurs when a physician facilitates a patient’s death by providing the necessary means and/or information to enable the patient to perform the life-ending act (e.g. the physician provides sleeping pills and information about the lethal dose, while aware that the patient may commit suicide). [Carter, 2015]. According to Death with Dignity.org, Oregon, New Mexico, Vermont, Washington and California along with Montana who administrated the Death with Dignity act determining legality through the decision from the court. These following states are currently considering on accepting the Death with Dignity act: Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, District of Columbia, Hawaii Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin. Physician- assisted suicide is a very controversial act, and the determination of legality depends or ethics, laws, safety, and much more. The principles of autonomy merits the consideration of the person believing that people should get the respect making their own decisions. Should Physician Assisted Suicide be legalized with the support of the principles of autonomy?

Physician-assisted suicide has caused major controversy throughout history in America. There are many opinions about the positives and negatives of this option becoming legal. Right now there are only five states in America where this is legal. The five states are Washington, Oregon, California, Montana, and Vermont. Should doctors be allowed to assist terminally ill patients end their lives?

Today, most states do not honor the wills of their terminally ill citizens wishing to end their suffering with dignity and compassion. Even with accurate identification of terminal illness prompting legality of some end-of-life directives, most terminal patients must adhere to conventional symptomatic treatments imposing slow physical and mental deterioration without regard to other feasible options. Information garnered from the experience of Oregon’s legalization of physician assisted suicide illuminates the feasibility of this end-of-life option. Physician assisted suicide is beneficial for terminal patients choosing to circumvent imminent mental and physical indignities; therefore this end-of-life option should be legally executable devoid of prosecution.

Physician-assisted suicide (PAS) has fueled a lot of debate ever since it was first legalized in Oregon in 1997. PAS is when a doctor prescribes a medication that the patient can use to end their life. Washington legalized PAS in March of 2009, but only saw 255 individuals in 2012 who acquired the medication necessary to end their life from their doctor, resulting in only 24 of those patients using the prescription (McBride 45). It is debatable whether or not PAS should be seen as the equivalent to the suicide that we have labeled as immoral and have tried to prevent while others also question whether PAS is a reasonable solution to the suffering that terminally ill patients are inevitably being put through. I believe PAS should not be legalized in any other state and should, therefore, become illegal in the four states which now allow it and instead train their doctors to provide better palliative care for their patients.

Grief, while a deep sorrow that tends to stem from the loss of a person or thing, is also the most common symptom of terminal illnesses.This is because after one is diagnosed, they tend to find themselves stuck

Legalizing euthanasia provides a way to relieve extreme pain. Modern medicine has brought great benefits to humanity such as prolonging life, but by prolonging life it is also