Should Physician Assisted Suicide Be Allowed

Physician-assisted suicide is “the voluntary termination of one's own life by administration of a lethal substance with the direct or indirect assistance of a physician. Physician-assisted suicide is the practice of providing a competent patient with a prescription for medication for the patient to use with the primary intention of ending his or her own life” (MedicineNet.com, 2004). Many times this ethical issue arises when a terminally-ill patient with and incurable illness, whom is given little time to live, usually less than six-months, has requested a physician’s assistance in terminating one’s life. This practice with the terminally ill is known as euthanasia. Physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia is a controversial topic

Throughout the twentieth century, major scientific and medical advances have greatly enhanced the life expectancy of the average person. However, there are many instances where doctors can preserve life artificially. When society ponders over the idea of physician-assisted suicide, they most likely feel that the act itself would compare to murdering someone. Who really has the authority to say what is right or wrong when a loved one wants to end their life because of a terminal illness or a severe physical disability? Should Physician-assisted suicide be Legal in California to make it a euthanasia state like Oregon ? In the article titled “Nicest Lawmaker Touts Assisted Suicide,” by Clea Benson published The Bakersfield Californian in 2006, the author presents a Republican lawmaker Patty Berg, who is groom pushing a bill allowing assisted suicide be legal in California. Physician assisted suicide should be allowed to those who are terminally ill with a limited amount of time left to live, and shouldn’t be eligible for people who are young, healthy, or have plenty of time to live.

Physician-assisted suicide is one of the most controversial subjects in the medical field. Whether the debate is, “Should a doctor be allowed to assist in someone’s suicide?” or, “Is it the right thing to do for a dying patient?” Seeing a loved one in pain can possibly be one of the hardest things to do. But what if they were given the option to the stop the suffering? Knowing that death may be months, weeks, or days away comes along with a lot of time at hospitals, pain, and suffering. Giving terminally ill patients an option of physician-assisted suicide allows the patient to be in charge of ending all their pain and suffering they will go through as well as passing at the comfort of their family at home and not in a hospital bed.

Physician-assisted suicide can be described as the act of a terminally ill individual obtaining a lethal prescription in order to exercise their right to die with dignity. Though physician-assisted suicide is highly controversial, it is legally practiced in a small number of states within the United States. Much of the controversy surrounding physician-assisted suicide relates to the social, political, and ethical questions and considerations concerning the practice. Regardless

Assisted suicide is the suicide of a terminally- ill patient, achieved by using a prescribed drug from a doctor for that specific purpose. It is legal in only six states in the United States of America including: Oregon, Montana, Washington, Colorado, Vermont, and California. Countries such as Germany, Japan, and Switzerland have legalized assisted suicide in past years. It has been disputed for many years and continues to be a controversial issue whether physicians should be authorized to end an individual’s life with their prescription and if this should be done legally.

Physician assisted suicide is not something that anyone can use, it is for terminally ill patients only. Some state’s death with dignity law makes it so that you have to be terminally ill and receive permission from a judge before acting on the law. If there are regulations as to who can use it and how to be able to use it, I believe this would be a great thing for many people. It would end the suffering of the terminally ill and picking when they would die would allow their family to know when it would happen so they could say their goodbyes. It would also allow for everyone to come together and be supportive of one another, not have family or friends in different areas just hoping to get there in time to say goodbye.

Who gets to make the choice whether someone lives or dies? If a person has the right to live, they certainly should be able to make the choice to end their own life. The law protects each and everyone’s right to live, but when a person tries to kill themselves more than likely they will end up in a Psychiatric unit. Today we hear more and more about the debate of Physician assisted suicide and where this topic stands morally and ethically. Webster 's dictionary defines Physician assisted suicide as, suicide by a patient facilitated by means (as a drug prescription) or by information (as an indication of a lethal dosage) provided by a physician who is aware of the patient 's intent (Webster, 1977).

“Doctor-assisted suicide is the act of a physician facilitating the death of patient by providing the means or information to enable a patient to perform a life-ending act” (American Medical Association). When thinking of assisted suicide the first thing that comes to mind is whether it’s ethical for a doctor to assist in the suicide of a patient. There are many arguments both for and against the act but the arguments for it far outweigh the arguments against it. If I could make a meaningful change in society today, it would be for doctor-assisted suicide to become legal, however, with limitations.

In today’s society, suicide, and more controversially, physician assisted suicide, is a hotly debated topic amongst both every day citizens and members of the medical community. The controversial nature of the subject opens up the conversation to scrutinizing the ethics involved. Who can draw the line between morality and immorality on such a delicate subject, between lessening the suffering of a loved one and murder? Is there a moral dissimilarity between letting someone die under your care and killing them? Assuming that PAS suicide is legal under certain circumstances, how stringent need be these circumstances? The patient must be terminally ill to qualify for voluntary physician-assisted suicide, but in the eyes of the non-terminal patients with no physical means to end their life, the ending of their pain through PAS may be worth their death; at what point is the medical staff disregarding a patient’s autonomy? Due to the variability of answers to these questions, the debate over physician-assisted suicide is far from over. However, real life occurrences happen every day outside the realm of debate and rhetoric, and decisions need to be made.

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

What is Physician assisted suicide? Requests to end suffering through physician assisted suicide have occurred since the beginning of medicine. This technique to end ones life is very controversial and some argue that it should be legal while others argue otherwise. There are multiple advantages and disadvantages when it comes to physician assisted suicide.

Physician assisted suicide should be morally permissible. Patients who are in constant suffering and pain have the right to end their misery at their own discretion. This paper will explore my thesis, open the floor to counter arguments, explain my objections to the counter arguments, and finally end with my conclusion. I agree with Brock when he states that the two ethical values, self-determination and individual well-being, are the focal points for the argument of the ethical permissibility of voluntary active euthanasia (or physician assisted suicide). These two values are what drives the acceptability of physician assisted suicide because it is the patients who choose their treatment options and how they want to be medically treated. Patients are physically and emotionally aware when they are dying and in severe pain, therefore they can make the decision to end the suffering through the option of physician assisted suicide.

Should assisted suicide be allowed? Well, before answering, take into consideration the reasons why it shouldn’t be authorized. According to the Suicide Awareness Voices of Education or SAVE article,

The word suicide gives many people negative feelings and is a socially taboo subject. However, suicide might be beneficial to terminally ill patients. Physician- assisted suicide has been one of the most controversial modern topics. Many wonder if it is morally correct to put a terminally ill patient out of their misery. Physicians should be able to meet the requests of their terminally ill patients. Unfortunately, a physician can be doing more harm by keeping someone alive instead of letting them die peacefully. For example, an assisted suicide can bring comfort to patients. These patients are in excruciating pain and will eventually perish. The government should not be involved in such a personal decision. A physician- assisted suicide comes with many benefits for the patient. If a person is terminally ill and wants a physician assisted suicide, then they should receive one.

The practice is only legal in the states of Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and California, with Oregon being the first state to legalize the practice in 1994 and California being the latest state to legalize it in 2015. Although the practice is legal within the states mentioned, each state has its own laws and regulations as to who can receive the assisted suicide, in addition to what kind of physician must perform the assisted suicide and what procedures they must take. For example, in the state of Oregon, the patient must have a terminal illness in addition to a prognosis of six months or less to live. The physician providing the service must be either a Doctor of Medicine or a Doctor of Osteopathy and be willing to participate the act. In a different state such as California, the patient requesting an assisted suicide must first submit two oral requests, fifteen days apart, with a written request sent directly to his or her attending physician. California also requires the physician performing the practice to be either a Doctor of Medicine or a Doctor of Osteopathy and be willing to participate the act. (CNN.com) One organization in particular that aids terminally ill patients with information regarding physician assisted suicide is the Final Exit Network. Originally known as the Hemlock Society which was organized in 1980 then over time split into two organizations known as the Final