Physician Assisted Suicide
Emily Larson
English 102
Dr. Dietrich
Long Research Paper
Assisted Suicide In the medical field there are massive amounts of treatments for various diseases. Some treatments are going to help the patient feel more comfortable; however, some are going to counteract the problem, and others are going to help kill the patient. Physician assisted suicide is defined by medterms.com as “the voluntary termination of one 's own life by administration of a lethal substance with the direct or indirect assistance of a physician.” Any person wishing to undergo assisted suicide in Oregon must be at least 18 years of age and have a terminal illness. This illness must be within its final stages and leave the patient with less than six months to live. Within these six months a patient can request the treatment, but must orally request twice, and provide a written request once as well. In order to receive this treatment, however, a second physician must give a second opinion on the length the patient has to live. In her article, “Physician-Assisted Suicide: Compassionate Liberation or Murder?” Vicki Lachman talks about the option that patients have to request a lethal dosage of medication. She explores the moral conscience of nurses, the ethical and moral issues, and the legal issues that surround a patient’s request for lethal dosages. Similarly in her article, “Physician-Assisted Suicide: Development, Status, and Nursing Perspectives,” Theresa F. Rose gives background on the history of physician assisted suicide. She investigates the perspectives that nurses have on the issue and their personal views on the subject. Joris Gielen and his coworkers show a different angle in their article, “Religion and Nurses’ Attitudes to Euthanasia and Physician Assisted Suicide.” Their goal was to find the viewpoint of nurses on physician assisted suicide in regards to their religious beliefs. There are many different viewpoints on physician assisted suicide and they come from many different
English 102
Dr. Dietrich
Long Research Paper
Assisted Suicide In the medical field there are massive amounts of treatments for various diseases. Some treatments are going to help the patient feel more comfortable; however, some are going to counteract the problem, and others are going to help kill the patient. Physician assisted suicide is defined by medterms.com as “the voluntary termination of one 's own life by administration of a lethal substance with the direct or indirect assistance of a physician.” Any person wishing to undergo assisted suicide in Oregon must be at least 18 years of age and have a terminal illness. This illness must be within its final stages and leave the patient with less than six months to live. Within these six months a patient can request the treatment, but must orally request twice, and provide a written request once as well. In order to receive this treatment, however, a second physician must give a second opinion on the length the patient has to live. In her article, “Physician-Assisted Suicide: Compassionate Liberation or Murder?” Vicki Lachman talks about the option that patients have to request a lethal dosage of medication. She explores the moral conscience of nurses, the ethical and moral issues, and the legal issues that surround a patient’s request for lethal dosages. Similarly in her article, “Physician-Assisted Suicide: Development, Status, and Nursing Perspectives,” Theresa F. Rose gives background on the history of physician assisted suicide. She investigates the perspectives that nurses have on the issue and their personal views on the subject. Joris Gielen and his coworkers show a different angle in their article, “Religion and Nurses’ Attitudes to Euthanasia and Physician Assisted Suicide.” Their goal was to find the viewpoint of nurses on physician assisted suicide in regards to their religious beliefs. There are many different viewpoints on physician assisted suicide and they come from many different