Assisted Suicide Essay

Medical ethics and patient care go hand and hand. As health care providers, it is their duty to see that the patient 's needs are met. We are charged to insure comfort and proper recovery. The question here is whether there is a difference for patients who request voluntary euthanasia or assisted suicide. These patients have the same rights to quality care of their bodies as we all do. Although, the United States constitution ensures us the right to life, it doesn 't mean that the right to die is taken away. Five states currently allow physician assisted suicide. In each state there has been controversial and contentious debate as to whether states should follow the lead of states that have allowed PAS.

In the past, people with terminal diagnoses did not have much time to live. This has changed, but not every terminally ill patient is living a life that they consider to be dignified and free from excruciating pain. Physician-assisted suicide, some people argue, gives people a chance to reject long, drawn-out suffering. It is argued that even though we have the ability to feed someone in a persistent vegetative state for thirty years through a feeding tube, this may not be what every person would want. Some people believe it is unfair to force the technology upon someone and essentially punish them for being alive today instead of in the early 1900’s. Another argument in favor of the practice uses the idea of personal autonomy to claim that people have the right to live, and die, according to their own conception of a good life (as long as they are not harming other people). If the practice is illegal, some argue, it prohibits our freedom to make our own choices about our own lives. However, there are a variety of religious arguments that can be made against physician-assisted suicide, which relate to the nature of suicide itself, but since the Bible (or any other religious text) is not a part of this project or revered as a reliable resource, the

Physician-assisted suicide can be defined as suicide by a patient facilitated by means or information (such as a drug prescription or indication of the lethal dosage) provided by a physician who is aware of how the patient intends to use such means or information, but can be categorized as egregious. The ethical controversy of whether the legalization of physician- assisted suicide should take place in America is one to be disposed of. With no regard to religion, the catastrophe of physician-assisted suicide can be demonstrated through the law, The Constitution of the United States, the ethical controversy in regards to the Hippocratic Oath, and the prolonging of suffering. Rejecting God’s gift of life to us, directly defying the word of

prescribe drugs to terminally ill patients who request to end their lives. Attorney General John

Recently there has been a great debate over physician assisted suicide and whether or not it should be legal. Well, first off physican assisted suicide is when a doctor intentionally provides a patient with knowledge or means to commit suicide, including counseling about lethal doses of drugs, prescribing such lethal doses or supplying the drugs. The two perspectives that are typically arise is that it unethical and contrary to that, some believe that it is the patient's right. This topic is especially prevalent due to the fact that in recent years a few states in America have made this practice legal. Although death isn't always the only answer, patients should have the right to decide for themselves regarding physician assisted suicide because it’s their physical, mental and financial pain.

Should physicians be allowed to help patients determine the timing and circumstances of their death? The “right to die” debate is a very sensitive and complex issue in modern culture. While suicide is a legal act in the United States, assisted suicide is not. Opinions on the subject are shaped by countless factors such as ethical issues, social issues, and primarily religious issues. Many people are opposed to the legalization of physician assisted suicide for “moral” reasons, however, legalization ultimately allows terminally ill people to die with dignity, sustains basic human rights, and supports freedom of religion.

Some people believe that terminally ill patients should be able to have assisted suicide as an option rather than having to condone to medical procedures they do not want to be on anymore. “Physician-assisted suicide should be a lawful medical procedure for competent, terminally ill adults, because it is a compassionate response to relieve the suffering of dying patients” (White, Michael H., J.D. "Should Physician-assisted Suicide Be Legalized?" Thirteen.org. N.p., n.d. Web). The support for suicide does not limit itself to just compassion. In many countries suicide was not criminalized and was considered an alternative option to dishonor. “In Japan, Samurai warriors would carry out Seppuku, a ritual suicide by disembowelment, rather than fall into enemy hands” (Holt, Gerry. "When Suicide Was Illegal - BBC News." BBC News. BBC News, 3 Aug. 2011. Web. 06 Mar. 2016). These are only a few of the many reasons why some people support legalizing

Which then puts that uneasy feeling not only on the patient’s family, but the Doctors as well. I also feel that if Doctor assisted suicide was legal patients would be more apt to give up sooner. They may lose their will to survive even quicker because they know there is a way to end it. My train of thought also proceeds to thinking that many insurance companies and the government may put unnecessary pressure on the Doctors to avoid valorous measures and or recommend the Doctor assisted suicide. Which says to me they do not believe human life is worth saving. Money is the motivator in that

A large percent of terminally ill patients ponder their impending death, no matter the diagnosis. Mental illness or degenerative disabilities are the majority of the cases involved in ‘assisted-suicide,’ which is the process of ending their life with help from another person. Assisted suicide, despite the chronic or degenerative illness, has caused great controversy. The debate arises when the question about whether or not the practice should be legalized is asked. Some say that every person has a God given right to do what they want with their bodies, when they want to do it. Others say that palliative staffs should be focusing on studying better ways to eliminate pain and make the process of passing on easier and more endurable.

People who are against legalizing assisted suicide claim that any physician who helps a person to die would be violating the doctor 's Hippocratic oath. They also claim assisted suicide decreases the value of human life, and could lead to non-critical patient to abuse of this method. There are a number of religions that believe that if a person decides to commit suicide, they will end up in hell. This is one of the major reasons why many religious

     Assisted suicide is one of the most controversial topics discussed among people every day. Everyone has his or her own opinion on this topic. This is a socially debated topic that above all else involves someone making a choice, whether it be to continue with life or give up hope and die. This should be a choice that they make themselves. However, In the United States, The land of the free, only one state has legalized assisted suicide. I am for assisted suicide and euthanasia. This paper will support my many feelings on this subject.

Imagine that someone that you love wanted to commit suicide. What would you do? Would you be able to stop them, or would you need to have professional help? Lives are lost everyday. Sometimes people choose to die by suicide while others may die in accidents. Whether people die by choice or by accident, they should know that God does not condone killing. Killing another is not justifiable in situations such as George and Lennie’s story, hunting for trophy, and committed suicide.

A mentally competent patient who is capable of giving informed consent should be allowed to seek assistance in ending his or her life if he or she is not able to do so independently. Physicians should be allowed to help patients without the threat of facing homicide charges. Jack Kevorkian helped many patients who were either dying or greatly suffering to end their lives by providing them with either a carbon monoxide mask or an injection of a lethal dose. Although he was imprisoned due to second-degree murder charges, Kevorkian never ended his fight towards trying to legalize euthanasia and uphold a person’s autonomy. Mair and Schmidt both write about the implications of euthanasia and assistive suicide, and how the principles of autonomy, beneficence, and consequentialism apply to these cases. Physicians are morally correct in helping patients end their lives if this means the physician is helping to end unbearable pain and suffering, and if the patient is mentally competent to give informed

Have you seen a loved one spiraling down into a pit of agony and suffering? Assisted Suicide/Euthanasia is a controversial political and moral topic in the United States. Assisted Suicide/Euthanasia is a practice in which the doctor takes a hopeless patients life with the consent of the patient. Euthanasia is when the doctor pulls the “trigger” but Assisted Suicide is different, Assisted Suicide is when the doctor set the practice up but the patient pulls the “trigger”. Assisted Suicide/Euthanasia is illegal in most states but it is legal in few Euthanasia and Oregon was the first to legalize it in 1994. Assisted Suicide/Euthanasia is a hard subject to pass in politics but every year it comes up but then people ignore it and they push it to the next time they talk about laws. Even though Assisted Suicide does involve the taking of someone's life. It can save money because of the treatment, gives the patient a good death, is ethical, and gives people a choice to hold on a little longer or

ASSISTED SUICIDE or euthanasia On July 26, 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld decisions in New York and Washington State that criminalized assisted suicide. As of April 1999, physicians-assisted suicide is illegal in all but a couple of states. Over thirty states have established laws prohibiting assisted suicide, and of those who don’t have statues, a number of them prohibit it through common law. In Michigan, Jack Kevorkian was initially charged with violating the state statue. He was charged with first-degree murder and delivering a controlled substance without a license. The assisted suicide charge was dropped, however, he was eventually convicted of second-degree murder and delivering a controlled substance without a