The Right to Assisted Suicide

The right to assisted suicide is a significant topic that concerns people all over the United States. The debates go back and forth about whether a dying patient has the right to die with the assistance of a physician. Some are against it because of religious and moral reasons. Others are for it because of their compassion and respect for the dying. Physicians are also divided on the issue. They differ where they place the line that separates relief from dying--and killing. For many the main concern with assisted suicide lies with the competence of the terminally ill. Many terminally ill patients who are in the final stages of their lives have requested doctors to aid them in exercising active euthanasia. It is sad to

It is imperative that nurses, and other healthcare providers, take a professional and personal stance in the debate. Ethical arguments against assisted suicide include pain and suffering, patient autonomy, and the quality of life. Activist for PAD believe it represents empathy since it helps patients end their pain. Pro-assisted suicide supporters claim that this practice can be added to palliative care. But does legalizing assisted suicide undermine efforts to maintain and improve good care for patients nearing the end-of-life? A broad right to physician-assisted suicide could undermine the efforts, and the will, to ensure humane and dignified care for all patients facing terminal illness or severe disability. The doctor-patient relationship

Now that I’ve demonstrated that my ethical theory can be used to make educated decisions in situations that we can potentially face daily, how does my ethical theory fit with issues of life or death? My ethical theory focuses more on issues that an individual will face in their everyday life. It does not directly deal with issues of life and death; however you can still go through the core concepts to make a decision. For instance, let's take a look at assisted suicide.

Brittany Maynard was given six months to live after being diagnosed with the deadliest form of brain cancer; she had recently just turned 29. To make matters worse, doctors had told her she would suffer from the tumor in a slow and painful manner before succumbing to death. Maynard decided she would die on November 1, a few days after her husband’s birthday under physician-assisted suicide. Unfortunately, she had to relocate from California, where her friends and family lived, to Oregon in order to fall under the “Die With Dignity” act. According to euthanasia.procon.org, only four states in the whole country have legalized assisted suicide. Unfortunately, there are many like Maynard, who have to relocate and leave their home or go through a long and strenuous court battle to receive this treatment plant. This is due to the disapproval of physician-assisted suicide.

   The basic dilemma surrounding the subject of assisted suicide is who has the right to choose when someone dies? There are many layers of questions and varying opinions surrounding this right. How can our own self-determination be considered morally wrong when taken in the context of the opinion of others? In a society that stresses individual freedoms why is it that Congress continues to hinder doctor-assisted suicide (Keminer, 2000, p. 8)?

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, also known as euthanasia, has been a hot topic as of late. If you do not know what this is, physician-assisted suicide is the taking of ones life. This usually occurs when a patient is in a irreversible state, and must live through a tube. With multiple cases occurring in the past, current and the more to occur the in the future, this looks to remain a hot topic. Some of those cases include Terri Schiavo, and Scott Thomas, which have both resulted in court cases and conversation all around the globe. Physician-assisted suicide is one of those topics that can be looked at multiple ways, and have multiple different solutions. Someone could look and justify it through the lens of Natural law and could bring up the doctrine of double effects, or the preservation of human life. Another person could go against it by using utilitarianism and could bring up how it maximizes the good, and produces the greatest overall good. Whether you find it to be murder/suicide or just a smarter decision if you cannot life properly, you must realize this is an issue that does need to be discussed more. Even with the attention it has gotten, it still is not discussed politically, and is not up there with other popular topics in our media today. If someone is in a state where he or she has to live off a tube is he or she really even alive?

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

Physician assisted suicide, or PAS, has always been a very controversial topic. This touches upon the healthcare side of the large spectrum of social problems today in America. An individuals view on this issue might vary depending on their political ideology. Modern conservatives might not necessarily agree with physician assisted suicide because of their traditional beliefs and values. Conservatives might say it is wrong because it goes against the teachings of the bible which states a life is created at the moment of conception and is always precious.

You’re visiting the hospice for the twenty-third day in a row; the soft squeaking of the linoleum and the gentle buzz of the fluorescents in the waiting room greet you as you walk in. You’re visiting your Grandmother, whose lung cancer has entered metastasis, and has been slowly spreading throughout her body; she has already lost movement in her arms. She is a hollow shell of the woman she once was; her once bright eyes have been fading steadily every day, and her bubbly demeanor has become crushed and gravelly, and every day before you leave, she will only say, “Kill me.” What would you do in this situation? Would you break the law in order to respect your elder’s wishes? It is a cruel reality we live in when ability to choose the time

As a human first with Christian beliefs, physician assisted suicide would be a moral issue for me. It is

Everyone seems have their own opinion on whether making own decisions is right or not. Is assisted suicide the right thing to do or is it not? Assisted suicide/ euthanasia is when the patient want to die on their own will throughout the process of being medicated with a drug prescribed from a doctor. Assisted suicide is only legal in Washington, Oregon, California, Vermont, and Montana (Procon.org) . There are restrictions to assisted suicide too, to be part in assisted suicide you must be 18 or older, and must have a terminal illness, and or have 6 months or less to live. Although people think it’s not the right thing to do because of a religious point of view or just because they don’t agree that it's okay. Some think that assisted suicide

Do you think assisted suicide should be legal for people who suffer from a terminal illness? It is not legal in Pennsylvania but it's legal in California, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. Medical technology isn't good for a person suffering from a terminal disease. Many people who suffer from a terminal disease want the right to assisted suicide. Assisted suicide should be legal for people who suffer from a terminal illness.

Walking down the cold, dimly lit hallways of one of the largest military hospitals in the United States listening to the coughing, moaning and sometimes crying coming out of the terminally ill patients rooms. I have watched many patients that I have personally cared for suffer a great deal during my time as a paramedic. During that span I have wondered and questioned why someone of their own free will not choose to end their own suffering. Working in this environment gave me some insight as to what others felt about the subject. One quote that has always stood out to me is “People want the right to die at a time of their own choosing. Too many families have watched helplessly as a relative dies slowly, longing for death”. (Toynbee) Some Doctors and nurses are totally against the idea while others support it. Let’s look into some of the reasons why assisted suicide should be a right for everyone.

Did you know, about 57% of physicians today have received a request for physician assisted suicide due to suffering from a terminally ill patient. Patients that are suffering, or do not have that much time to live are given the option of going through assisted suicide. People should not be able to make the choice of euthanasia so easily. Euthanasia is another word for assisted suicide, which is getting prescribed help from a doctor to commit suicide. Assisted suicide should not be freely suggested, or suggested at all. Solutions to this could be regulating assisted suicide, or even banning it. As a result of assisted suicide, many people will give up on themselves; therefore a ban is necessary to prevent the death. The background of assisted suicide has formed it into what it is today.