Arguments Against Physician Assisted Suicide
Melani Castro
Professor Vyvial
ENGL 1301
31 October 2016
The trouble of assisted suicide
In recent years, assisted suicide has made a bigger appearance than ever. With medicine advancing, this topic has conjured more controversy than ever, making it difficult to ignore. Per the Webster dictionary, assisted suicide is defined as “suicide with help from another person (such as a doctor) to end suffering from severe physical illness.” Assisted suicide contains many disputable sides; including the view of it being a moral dilemma, and the opposing view to have the right to die with dignity and humanely.
Those who oppose assisted suicide find it morally wrong. To make an educated decision about choosing a side, knowing the process of this is important. …show more content…
To better understand this process, knowing some background information is helpful. Per the World of Criminal Justice, in 1997, the supreme court ruled that “there is no constitutional right to physician-assisted suicide”. Although these laws have not changed, there are exceptions to this that argue on the behalf of physician-assisted suicide. For example, in Oregon a patient can go through with this only if they administer the drug themselves. One must meet certain qualifications for this, and such circumstances include, but are not limited to, terminal illnesses. Arguments for this process include the suffering a patient experiences. When a patient has a terminal illness, the pain at the end can be excruciating. Some of these patients do not consider living in pain to be living at all. They find it cruel to live in pain, and would rather go comfortably. Therefore, they seek the help of assisted suicide to end their suffering. There is also the argument that when they are reaching their final days, they want to be able to die with dignity. Their final days can be painful for both them, and their loved ones. In some cases, the patient does not recognize their loved ones, or is not even conscious when they pass, making it incredibly difficult for the family to say their goodbyes. Also, if a patient chooses to end their life, doctors can save their organs and then use them to save other people who need them. People who are in this position, argue that the choice of ending their life should be their choice, and their right. They want to be able to control what their body does, before it may be taken away by the illness. Although the opposing argument may
Professor Vyvial
ENGL 1301
31 October 2016
The trouble of assisted suicide
In recent years, assisted suicide has made a bigger appearance than ever. With medicine advancing, this topic has conjured more controversy than ever, making it difficult to ignore. Per the Webster dictionary, assisted suicide is defined as “suicide with help from another person (such as a doctor) to end suffering from severe physical illness.” Assisted suicide contains many disputable sides; including the view of it being a moral dilemma, and the opposing view to have the right to die with dignity and humanely.
Those who oppose assisted suicide find it morally wrong. To make an educated decision about choosing a side, knowing the process of this is important. …show more content…
To better understand this process, knowing some background information is helpful. Per the World of Criminal Justice, in 1997, the supreme court ruled that “there is no constitutional right to physician-assisted suicide”. Although these laws have not changed, there are exceptions to this that argue on the behalf of physician-assisted suicide. For example, in Oregon a patient can go through with this only if they administer the drug themselves. One must meet certain qualifications for this, and such circumstances include, but are not limited to, terminal illnesses. Arguments for this process include the suffering a patient experiences. When a patient has a terminal illness, the pain at the end can be excruciating. Some of these patients do not consider living in pain to be living at all. They find it cruel to live in pain, and would rather go comfortably. Therefore, they seek the help of assisted suicide to end their suffering. There is also the argument that when they are reaching their final days, they want to be able to die with dignity. Their final days can be painful for both them, and their loved ones. In some cases, the patient does not recognize their loved ones, or is not even conscious when they pass, making it incredibly difficult for the family to say their goodbyes. Also, if a patient chooses to end their life, doctors can save their organs and then use them to save other people who need them. People who are in this position, argue that the choice of ending their life should be their choice, and their right. They want to be able to control what their body does, before it may be taken away by the illness. Although the opposing argument may