The Issue Over Euthanasia And Assisted Suicide

id you know, from “1998 to 2003, 171 patients died using AS” according to The Oregon Department of Human Services (Ersek, 50). AS stands for Assisted Suicide and Physician Assisted Suicide is the practice of providing a terminally ill patient with a prescription for medication to use with the main intention of ending his or her own life. “These actions included delivering the prescription for a lethal drug dose to the patient’s home, helping the patient take the lethal dose by crushing a medication and adding it to ice cream or pudding, placing the medication in the patient’s mouth, or instilling the medication into an enteric tube” (Ersek 51). The right to assisted suicide is an important topic that alarms people all over the US. The controversies

Some terminally ill patients are left with no choice but to suffer through their illness until their body eventually succumbs to the illness, whatever it may be. In these cases, an organization called Death with Dignity will try to step in and help the patient in need if they are legally allotted to. Death with Dignity is an organization that administers lethal injections, commonly referred to as physician assisted suicide to patients that ask for this.

Assisted suicide was legalized throughout Canada as a part of Bill C-14. This bill permits that physician-assisted suicide with certain criteria that needs to be met; including a reasonably foreseeable death, a reflection period, a written and signed letter stating that they understand what they are about to do and two medical/nurse practitioners provide a written opinion confirming that person's eligibility for assisted suicide. The option to have an assisted suicide brings up many topics of debate over how beneficial assisted suicide really is.

Over the last thirty years the fight over assisted suicide has earned a spot in the national spotlight, for both positive and negative reasons depending on your stance on the issue. There have been challenges made based off the constitution, the right to privacy and moral reasons for both sides. While there have been many notable persons of interest during this time some have helped the cause as others have hindered progress.

Death with dignity, is not only a legislation in some states that allow physician-assisted suicide, but it is also a term in how many want to pass into the next life. Patients who suffer with terminal illness, generally, die an ugly state. For example, when a patient become terminal, their system starts to shut down. This causes bodily functions to stop work, such as bowel excrement or uncontrolled urination. As a human, not being able to do daily tasks, such as using the toilet, can become humiliating. Additionally, if a patient has unbearable pain, the physician may increase their medication and put the patient in a sedated, unclear state. Death with dignity allows terminally ill patients to leave this Earth in an unaltered perception of who they really are. The patient’s family have to watch their family member suffer, and that alone, can be heartbreaking, as there is nothing they can do in terms of relieving their symptoms. With physician-assisted suicide, the family can have some relief in that their family member is not suffering any

Assisted Suicide, Euthanasia, Aid in Dying or Dying with Dignity are all terms found on various web site that are related to intentionally providing a person with the knowledge or access to commit suicide. In the United States, Oregon, Washington and Vermont have Assisted Suicide laws for the terminally ill. There are strict guidelines to apply for the right to die with dignity. Under the law, requests are made by the patient to the doctor

If assisted suicide was legal terminally-ill patients or ones in long term pain, they could end their lives with dignity. Many people liv the end of their lives out in a hospital or hospice were they die “bedridden, ulcerated, in a puddle of waste, gasping for breath, loopy on morphine, hopelessly demented in s sterile hospital room” (Source 4, P.4). This

Physician-assisted suicide (PAS) is a suicide made possible by a physician who provides a patient with a means of killing themselves. PAS and euthanasia, the mercy killing of an individual by another, are extremely controversial topics. Even countries that share a philosophical and moral foundation like the United States and much of Western Europe have extremely different legislation in this area. In the United States, just 5 states have legislation in favor of PAS, whereas in Switzerland euthanasia has been legal everywhere since 1942. The reason behind the reluctance in passing legislation for PAS or euthanasia is rooted in religion, the disabled movement, and the slippery slope theory

Mosby’s Medical Dictionary defines death with dignity as “the philosophical concept that a terminally ill client should be allowed to die naturally and comfortably, rather than experience a comatose, vegetative life prolonged by mechanical support systems” (Elsevier). So we must ask ourselves; why does death with dignity remain such a philosophical idea? Why must a person’s right to their own life be haltered and prohibited by the law?

Suicide attempts usually stem from setbacks, access to guns makes the equation much more fatal because those choose a gun over pills, cutting and hanging themselves to end their life. Experts are debating on whether on to stricter gun control to avoid the dead of people that have suicidal thoughts, but they agree that family and friends can protect their love ones by keeping guns from whom having suicidal thoughts.

“An assisted dying law would not result in more people dying, but less people suffering.” Death with Dignity states that mentally competent adult patients with a terminal illness and a prognosis of six months or less to live with the ability to request and receive a prescription medication to bring about their death. Patients should have an opportunity to die with dignity, without fear that they will lose their physical or mental capacities.

This paper discusses the different views on death and dying and include an overview on the concepts of death. Additionally, this paper will discuss reasons and ideas on why death and dying is discussed so little in our culture and how other cultures attitudes reflect their moral, religious and individual values. This discussion of death brings into light how one might prepare for death and how the controversial topic of assisted suicide may play a role in decision making.

At the basic level, suicide is the act intentionally and voluntarily killing one self. The word suicide is composed of two Latin words, sui meaning “self” and caedere meaning “to kill.” Though the definition and act of suicide may appear to be quite simple, the circumstances, the causes, and the aftermath make the subject matter much more complicated than it is (Stewart, 1998). Though everyone’s situation may be different, those who commit suicide tend to have an overwhelming feeling of hopeless, helplessness, and emotional pain, and therefore see suicide as an escape (Stewart, 1998).

Proponents of anti-euthanasia argue that the desire to die is caused by depression, and as such is fully treatable. While it is true that debilitating illnesses and terminal conditions cause depression...it is not only common but expected. However, no degree of depression treatment can change the circumstances of a patient's condition: terminal is terminal. There is no escape, other than death, that can change these circumstances. Depression medication and counselling are not going to magically return one's self-worth, satisfaction, or ease suffering when presented with the inevitable. This is not an argument that some cases can benefit from euthanasia, but how can those cases be conducted in an ethical, non-abusive

I feel that euthanasia is bad because put it this way if they do it to animals and they don’t get choice than people don’t get to choose either what if the person doesn’t want be killed what if the person just wants to die naturally. I think it ok that they legalized assisted suicide because what if a person does want to die but can’t and if they can’t die naturally they might shoot themselves with a gun and an accident could happen and the person can kill someone else and it's better doing it with assisted suicide because nothing is harmed. Yes euthanasia is the same as release because once they are old they have to be release they don’t have another choice. But assisted suicide is not same because in assisted suicide you choose if you want