Preview

Ethical Issues With Assisted Suicide

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1248 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Ethical Issues With Assisted Suicide
There is no moral and ethical problem with assisted suicide.
The topic of assisted suicide is very controversial and has had many people in history debate whether it is ethically and morally acceptable. This subject separates the people that believe you should have the right for someone to assist you in suicide, with those that think you don’t have the right to die because of moral reasons. It is one of those topics that just about anybody you ask has an opinion on it. Firstly there have been different countries and U.S sates throughout time that have made assisted suicide legal, sadly Canada is not one of them. The dictionary definition of assisted suicide is “the suicide of a patient suffering from an incurable disease, effected by
…show more content…
Also there are 4 U.S. states in which assisted suicide is legal. These are: Oregon, Washington, Vermont, and Montana. The places mentioned allow terminally ill patients to be assisted by a physician or someone else in ending their lives. The four European countries have different models in how they allow euthanasia or assisted suicide, as do the American states. For example in the Netherlands the criteria is as follows: “you must be suffering in unbearable pain with no prospect of improvement. The patient's request for euthanasia must be voluntary and persist over time. The patient must be fully aware of his/her condition, prospects and options. There must be consultation with at least one other independent doctor who needs to confirm the conditions mentioned above. The death must be carried out in a medically appropriate fashion by the doctor or patient, in which case the doctor must be present. The patient is at least 12 years old (patients between 12 and 16 years of age require the consent of their parents)”. . As you can see from this example, the laws have been crafted in ways which protect the abuse of the right and the value of human life. In all the places where assisted suicide is legal similar laws/ rules and regulations exist. This stops the law from being taken advantage of. So Canada has no reason for …show more content…
The woman was suffering from ALS (or Lou Gehrig’s disease) and was terminally ill. When it was found that she had less than a year to live, she began challenging section 241(b) of the criminal code of Canada which made assisted suicide illegal in the country. She wanted through section 7, 12 and 15(1) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, to reverse the law on assisted suicide and make it legal. Section 7 is the “right to life”, section 12 is protection against “cruel and unusual punishment” and lastly section 15(1) is the right to “equality”. The points of the woman were very valid and were completely within her rights in the charter. But the Supreme Court of Canada did not accept her appeal and mentioned this as one of the reasons “that there was no violation of section 7. They first considered whether the prohibition on ending one's life engaged the right to security of person. They found that the prohibition had sufficient connection with the justice system by its impact on an individual's autonomy and right to life by causing physical and psychological pain.”("Rodriguez v. British Columbia (Attorney General)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Apr. 2013. Web. 21 Oct. 2013). Also they mentioned that it does not violate the other two sections mentioned by Miss Rodriguez either. She ultimately either took her own life with Svend Robinson present or he helped her in taking

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Sue Rodriguez

    • 1319 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Sue Rodriguez, once a woman who was lively and healthy women much like the rest of us was given the horrible news that she had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in early 1991 changing her life tremendously. Little did she know her fight for equality of life would create a milestone in Canadian Law. Sue Rodriguez fought long and hard to demand the right to assisted suicide, which at the time was illegal under the Criminal Code of Canada, being a punishable act for up to a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. Ms. Rodriguez argued that Section 241 (b) of the Criminal Code (which prohibits assisted suicide) violated her constitutional right to life, liberty and security of the person under S. 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Unfortunately both the British Columbia Supreme Court and the British Columbia Court of Appeal dismissed her application. Sue Rodriguez at her final attempt of trying to grant herself the right to assisted suicide appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada, the verdict resulting in a five to four decision with the Supreme Court of Canada dismissing her appeal. In 1994, Ms. Rodriguez decided to take matters into her own hands, with the help of an anonymous physician Sue Rodriguez ended her life.…

    • 1319 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Many issues mention if assisting someone to kill themselves is illegal or not? Euthanization which is to end a person's life due to them suffering. The act of assisting suicide is assisting or encountering the other person to kill themselves. There are several classifications of euthanization; active and passive. “Three states have passed laws legalizing assisted suicide in certain limited circumstances. Under Oregon's Death with Dignity Act, physicians can prescribe lethal medication that will allow terminally ill individuals to end their lives. ” Oregon and two other states are the only one in the United States that don’t consider assisting suicide a crime. Since only 3 states have allowed it and the majority of the nation defines it as illegal…

    • 124 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    From the beginning of its existence, the sole purpose of the health care industry is to increase the quality of life. However, when a patient’s life is coming to an end, healthcare professionals strive to provide a comfortable death with minimal pain. With today’s doctors having new technology, medicines, and techniques, the ethics of assisted suicide has become a great debate between the public, the government, and health professionals. Dr. David Mayo and Daniel Callahan are both professionals in the healthcare industry and have varying viewpoints in regards to the effectiveness, position, and purpose of assisted suicide.…

    • 784 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Euthanasia, formally known as mercy killing, is the act of intentionally causing the painless death of a sick person, rather than allowing that person to die naturally. In terms of a physician's actions, it can be passive in that a physician plays no direct role in the death of the person or it can be active in that the physician does something directly to cause the death (Yount, 2002). Euthanasia may also be formed into three types of act, which are voluntary, involuntary, and nonvoluntary. Voluntary involves killing the patient at his or her request. Involuntary occurs when the patient does not give consent, or refuses. Nonvoluntary is where the patient is not able to make the decision about their medical treatment so it is up to a third party to make the decision for them (Yount, 2002). Legalizing euthanasia would cause many complications because we are dealing with a very controversial issue that brings into focus some extremely powerful, conflicting, and competing values. Under the Canadian Criminal Code, active voluntary euthanasia is illegal and individuals can be convicted for 14 years for murder (Ogden & Young, 2000). Passive euthanasia has been legal because the courts have recognized the right of a patient to refuse and to terminate unwanted medical treatments. The question that remains today is whether legalizing active euthanasia in Canada could either benefit or harm not only the individuals involved, but also society as a whole.…

    • 1490 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Physician assisted suicide, is this an ethical procedure? Many feel strongly on both sides of this issue. Some states such as Washington and Oregon have made Physician assisted suicide legal. Other states such as Michigan and Massachusetts have put the issue to a vote and the voters have turned down the option. What exactly is physician assisted suicide? According to Dictionary.com, the definition is a situation in which a physician provides the means of death for a gravely ill patient .Dehal and Levy explain, “The Death With Dignity Act (DWDA) allows mentally competent, terminally ill patients who are over 18 years of age and residents of the state of Oregon to obtain a prescription for a lethal dosage of medication to end their own life in case their suffering becomes unbearable. Patients eligible for the act must make one written and two oral requests over a period of 15 days. The prescribing physician and a consulting physician have to confirm the diagnosis and the prognosis. If either doctor believes the patient's mental competence is impaired, he must be referred for a psychiatric or psychological evaluation. The prescribing physician is required to inform the patient of potential alternatives to PAS, such as comfort care, hospice care, and pain control.” The positives of Physician assisted suicide is that people who are at the end of their lives can forgo the incredible pain that can happen with many diseases. Health care cost can be reduced. Doctors and Nurses would have more time to save those who are going to live or those who wish to try to survive. Family and friends have a chance to say their good byes. Organs can be saved to help others. Patients feel they have a choice, and may not be forced to try other ways to diminish their pain. The negatives include that many feel physician assisted…

    • 2634 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The debate about whether assisted suicide is morally right or morally wrong is an extremely difficult controversy. Many people assume that it is morally wrong since the practice is in fact illegal in the majority of the United States. Many people also believe that assisted suicide is spiritually wrong especially in terms of religion; from experience, many Catholics believe that the idea of suicide is a sin. However, in any controversy there is always another side. There were factors that led me to believe why assisted suicide can be morally right. According to William Winslade, a Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry of Behavioral Sciences at the University of Texas Medical Branch and Kyriakos Markides, a professor in the department of preventative…

    • 296 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In the United States and countries all over the world, the topic of assisted suicide or euthanasia has become highly controversial because it is hard for people determine if it is moral or not. This became more known and debated about in the public eye in the early ninety’s by the actions of Doctor Jack Kevorkian. He assisted in the deaths of over 130 terminally ill patients all while being in the public spotlight. Assisted suicide is defined as the process by which an individual, who may otherwise be incapable, is provided with the means (drugs or equipment) to commit suicide. In some cases, the terms “aid in dying” or “death in dignity” are preferred. Many patients that are terminally ill have to suffer serious and unbearable pain day in and day out and can do nothing but try and tame the pain until their time is up. Everybody who lives wants to live their life with dignity, and in turn die with dignity. This is being prevented by prolonging the pain and suffering of the patient’s life. It should be the decision of the person whose life it is to determine whether or not they are still actually living with dignity and choose if they want to continue to suffer, affecting not only them but they’re families as well. There are only three states in the U.S. in which assisted suicide is legal, and they have a very rigid guideline to determine who qualifies as terminally ill. The first state to pass a pro euthanasia law was Oregon, followed by Washington and Montana. I believe more states should adopt similar laws because it allows patients who truly desire to end their life in dignity to do so, along with preventing patients that aren’t terminally ill and don’t fit the strict requirements from engaging in physician assisted suicide. The right to die is a fundamental freedom of all people and so is the right to end suffering, which is why it should be legalized and not frowned upon in the eyes of society.…

    • 1862 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    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.…

    • 931 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Assisted Dying Ethics

    • 747 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Without understanding the compassion for assisted dying, it’s a challenge to get past the stigma. Opponents assert it’s unethical, but in reality, assisted dying is the basis to having a righteous ending. When we grant people the right to die, we promise them a dignified death. By offering a choice we give way to an escape from the pain, and the unnecessary suffering that would otherwise lead to the same fate. There’s more to the surface than just life and death. The mindset that goes behind it is what it means to have a dignified death.…

    • 747 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Assisted Suicide Speech

    • 150 Words
    • 1 Page

    People all over the world have a misconception about what the term ‘assisted suicide’ truly entails. Assisted suicide is suicide committed with the aid of another person, most times a caretaker, family member or physician. Assisted suicide is becoming more and more common across the world. With the House of Lords trying to pass a bill to legalize assisted suicide in the UK and the continuously rising rates in Switzerland. While there is no federal law involving assisted suicide in the U.S, the act is legal in five states. Some people like to believe that they are helping their terminally or mentally ill family member or friend when it comes to this act, but are they really? I believe that the government should set boundaries and explain in…

    • 150 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Assisted Suicide Cons

    • 189 Words
    • 1 Page

    Assisted suicide is a challenging topic to debate on because it is solely based on one’s personal opinion. The argument in favor of the right to assisted suicide is that it is not up to doctors to make decisions that disregard the rights of sick patients. Patients have the right to make any choice they want and stick up for their dignity. Their right includes the ability to choose assisted suicide and die on their own terms. Along those lines, having access to physician-assisted suicide allows the patient to maintain control over his or her situation which lets them end their life in an ethical and humane manner. People that are against assisted suicide argue that the medical field doesn’t have the right to assist in a patients death, but…

    • 189 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Forty-nine states have passed laws regulating assisted suicide, and forty-eight of them prohibit the study of it. Oregon is the only state where physicians are able to help their terminally ill patients, or anyone for that matter commit suicide. The debate of whether human beings, or even doctors have the right to help others die has been around since before the birth of Christ. There was an oath that was written the fourth century B.C, that states that physicians will not give a lethal drug to anyone, if asked and wont advise, and promise no abortions. Physician assisted suicide is the voluntary termination of ones own life by administration of a lethal substance with the direct or indirect assistance of a physician. Physician assisted suicide would cause suicides to climax. There is always another way out, no one should ever result to suicide, and no one should encourage it.…

    • 987 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Physician assisted suicide is a debated ethical topic in the science community. “Physician assisted suicide is the term used by the public and in the medical literature to describe the voluntary self administration of lethal medications prescribed by a physician expressly for the purpose of ending ones life” (Chin, Hedberg, Higginson, and Fleming). Physician assisted suicide is not a widely accepted topic, thus it is only legal in 5 states. There are many laws that are associated with PAS, describing what is and isn't allowed to happen between terminal patients and their doctors. Specifically, in Oregon they have the Death with dignity act, which allows PAS to be used in certain circumstances. “The law states that, in order to participate,…

    • 1126 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Medically assisted death should be legal in Canada assuming that applicants meet the clearly stated guidelines and safeguards that have been put into play by the government. Not legalizing medically assisted death is impractical and a violation of several rights given to citizens of Canada, as stated in The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Medically assisted death should be legal for three major reasons: All Canadian citizens have the right to life and liberty, as stated in s.7 of The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In connection with this fundamental right, all citizens must have the right to end their life before they lose the ability to do so as an effect of their condition. A second violation of The Canadian Charter of…

    • 1806 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Doctor Assisted Suicide

    • 1174 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Civil rights and law have not always gone hand in hand, that is why it is an extremely refreshing victory for the people of Canada, that active, voluntary euthanasia is soon to be legal. This newfound outlook on doctor-assisted suicide, however, raises the question, what circumstances is euthanasia to be permitted under? Recently, a parliamentary report was published, suggesting 21 recommendations regarding doctor-assisted suicide. Although, all 21 recommendations are important in creating guidelines surrounding euthanasia, there are four particular ones that will be addressed in this work; including, whether or not euthanasia should only be available to those suffering from a terminal illness, whether or…

    • 1174 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays