Many people in the world are suffering from illness that cannot be cured. They live their last days in pain and suffering wondering when and why it happened to them. Instead of suffering, many people dream of suicide to take their pain away but they know no one would understand. In very few states, it is legal for people to get assistance to put them out of their pain and suffering. It is called assisted suicide. Assisted suicide is the help from a physician to end their patients’ lives with their permission. The patient must have a terminal illness with less than six months to live to qualify. Many people are against assisted suicide because they believe that it is just a cover for murder. People should be thought of as dying with dignity
It is said that helping somebody who wants to die in a peaceful, painless way should be legal. Choosing how we die is a basic human freedom and if an individual's quality of life is deteriorating, due to a terminal disease such as cancer, they should have the right to stop their suffering via physician assisted suicide. It might be the case that the drugs for assisted suicide are far less expensive than the cost of their current medical care. This allows the government to save money as well as the lift the financial burden from the family of patients who are suffering from serious illness. Some people say that physician assisted suicide decreases the value of human life, but this isn't the case as it actually helps those who are terminal retain their dignity and choose their own death.
Assisted suicide is an ethical topic that has sparked up many controversies. Individuals have heated disputes on whether or not patients who are suffering should have the right to die. Some worry that legalizing euthanasia is irrational and would violate some religions, while others argue that it provides a peaceful death towards terminally ill patients who are suffering from pain. Physician-assisted suicide is a contentious matter, in which there are many positive and negative aspects, whether or not it should be committed is a complex decision.
Physician assisted suicide (PAS) has been debated for many years now. Is physician assisted suicide right or is it wrong? Many people have very different views about this issue. Some supporters feel that people should have the moral right to choose freely what they will do with their lives as long as they do not harm others. This right of free choice includes the right to end one's life when they choose. While you have some supporters who oppose any measures of permitting physician assisted suicide argue that physicians have a moral duty to preserve all life. To allow physicians to assist in destroying someone’s life violates the Hippocratic Oath to "do no harm." Opponents of physician-assisted suicide also believe that better pain management
There are many facts or opinions brought up against the physician-assisted suicide. One of the most impactful oppositions is that the law goes against the Hippocratic Oath that states first do no harm. In the oath, the quote “I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody if asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect.” The counter to that statement is that it is more harmful to do nothing for a terminally ill patient and force them to endure endless pain and suffering when their choice is to end their life (Pros & Cons, 2016). Another opinion against physician-assisted suicide is that by having it as an option it puts pressure on ill patients to take it, so that they are not a physical or financial burden to their families. Some religions see that the physician-assisted suicide is morally unethical. The Catholic Church views the law as morally wrong, killing of a human being, even by an act of omission to eliminate suffering, violates divine law, and offends the dignity of the human person (Death with Dignity.org, 2016). The pope has quoted “Freedom to kill is not a true freedom, but a tyranny that reduces the human being into slavery.” Another opposing viewpoint considers the chance for abuse or misuse by family for monetary gain. One of the hypothetical scenarios is that the family may influence or fool a dying patient into thinking that the suicide is the best for everyone so that they may collect on an inheritance or insurance policy
Physician-assisted suicide has been a topic discussed since the beginning of modern medicine. Any topic that involves someone’s life and decisions that they may make about it usually becomes controversial. Physician-assisted suicide is an end of life option where people can voluntarily request medicine to end their life (Death With Dignity). There are many different opinions about the topic, and some people believe that it should be illegal because of the fact that it’s suicide. Also, many people’s religious or spiritual beliefs inhibit them from supporting this idea. Physician-Assisted Suicide should be legal because people should have control over their lives, there are many requirements to meet, and making it illegal has not stopped people from practicing it.
Assisted Suicide has through out history caused controversy among our society. There are two sides to this issue, one that passionately supports it, and those who religiously disagree. I believe that assisted suicide should become legal for several reasons. Assisted suicide gives individuals the right to end their suffering when they personally feel that their time has come to die. Assisted suicide should become legal because if one can decide to put an animal out of its misery, why shouldn’t that person have the same right to put themselves out of their own misery if that hardship came upon them. Though the topic may seem morbid, dying people in grave medical circumstances have rights. It’s important we recognize their right to end their own suffering and respect the very personal decisions these people are forced to make.
Imagine being diagnosed with a life-ending disease and experiencing such excruciating pain that doctors say cannot be healed. Pain is a terrible thing to experience, especially when it is permanent. What can be done to relieve that pain? What if the only option to rid the pain from the patient is death? No one knows how that feels until it happens to them, that is why assisted suicide is used. Assisted suicide is a practice throughout most of the United States that terminates the lives of dying patients. This process is when patients are in agonizing pain that is too overwhelming to bear; therefore they beg physicians to end their lives. Physicians have the ability to end a patient’s life by withholding medication or removing the patient from a life supporting device. Patients have to meet certain requirements before the procedure can be completed. Many people wish that this practice was legal, but there are others that do not believe in it. Legalized physician assisted suicide is not common in all areas throughout the United States. There are many different views about physician assisted suicide, and the subject is a rather touchy one to discuss. There are many details about this issue that many people are not informed about like the past situations dealing with assisted suicide and physicians, areas that allow the procedure to be done, and the rules and regulations that patients have to meet before anything can be done.
Physician Assisted suicide is a widely debated topic, and like any controversial subject, there are many opinions towards it. There are people and groups who strongly believe that Physician Assisted suicide should not be legal and that it is unethical to end one’s life before their time has come. In addition to that, there are people and groups who strongly advocate for Physician Assisted suicide, saying that keeps people’s dignity intact and allows people to die on their own
Not only is assisted suicide considered murder, it also goes against Physicians’ Hippocratic Oath. “Hippocratic Oath: An oath (or promise) all physicians must swear to uphold, regarding the ethical practices of the medical profession” (Lee). By allowing doctors to stray from this oath, it will be easier for them to aid in or carry out assisted suicides when it will never be entirely necessary for them to consider the option. “In 2005, Texas doctors removed two patients from life support without advanced directions and against the wishes of the patient’s family” (Pawlick). By not legalizing assisted suicides, families will be able to decide when their family member is physically unable to continue with the provided treatments, but only when the patient themselves can no longer communicate their wishes and no document stating how they should go about the situation has been left in their families possession.
I do agree that society views this as unethical because suicide is such a touchy subject. However, the alternative to assisted suicide would be the patient refusing care. This is legal and accepted as the patient my die of so called natural cause. These natural causes could be dehydration, lack of oxygen or dying from their illness. Does this seem rational to let someone die a painful way versus letting them die a noble death? I have also experienced this as my grandmother died of brain cancer. She wanted someone to just give her an extra dose of morphine so she could ease away and be with my grandfather that passed away in the 1990’s. However, this was and still is illegal in most states so we had to stand idly by and watch her suffer. I’m
Physician-assisted suicide has been a questionable act for many years. Some people believe that it is ethical for a physician to assist their patient in suicide, if it is the patients choice. Others have argued that it is simply not right for a physician to assist their patient in suicide. There have also been arguments that legalizing physician-assisted suicide can lead to patient abuse. I personally believe that patients should have the right to end their lives by means of physician-assisted suicide.
The topic of assisted suicide is very controversial and is heavily debated upon all around the world. While physician assisted suicide is only legal in the Netherlands, Switzerland, and a few states in the U.S., it is illegally practiced widely by physicians and nurses, such as Dr. Jack Kevorkian. I first heard of physician assisted suicide when the death of Dr. Kevorkian, an assisted suicide advocate and a suicide aid, was on the news in 2011. Kevorkian assisted in the suicide of many patients who could not find any more reasons to live. Many people oppose of his practice, but I believe Kevorkian was trying to help these patients find peace. This topic is important because it can help end the long pain and suffering of patients. Seeing the struggles of the patients Dr. Kevorkian has worked with makes me believe that the legalization of physician assisted suicide it necessary, but not everyone agrees.
In today’s society, assisted-suicide is a highly debatable topic. Due to advancements in medicine and medical technology, that can prolong life and slow down the process of dying, the desire for assisted suicides has increased. Assisted-suicide is when a health care professional provides a patient the knowledge and means to intentionally kill themselves (Harris 2006). An example of assisted-suicide is providing a patient pills to take to end their lives. Patient assisted-suicides are only legal in six states within the United States; Oregon, Washington, Vermont, California, Montana and Colorado (Hudson 2015). In order for an individual to legally qualify the patient must have the capability to effectively communicate their healthcare decision,
Assisted suicide is a very controversial subject in the healthcare world and like most things there are a lot of areas that are not written in black and white. Though assisted suicide is only legal in five states it is still practiced all across the United States. In most cases, little to no information is provided to the families and the terminally ill patients on what assisted suicide truly is and what it not. It all has to do with the intent, but most conversations are reduced to a wink or nod and a type of unspoken understanding that prevents healthcare providers from being prosecuted, but in the process leaving the family members confused and with unanswered questions. If the same practices continue, in the future healthcare providers will have to deal with the challenges of sidestepping questions and leaving the families in the dark during one of the most emotional and intense time of their lives.