Physician Assisted Suicide Ethics Paper

Ethics of Physician-Assisted Suicide Name: Naila Zafar Student ID: 210945210 Course: HLST 4010 Date: April.4. 2014

Physician assisted suicide is a widely spread controversial ethical issue. This paper is written in an effort to highlight some important points discussing whether assisted suicide should be legalized or not under certain circumstances. Various ethical and social factors that play key role in prohibiting and permitting the legalization of assisted suicide
Supporters of assisted suicide believe that this act benefit terminally ill patients by relieving their suffering. This is probably one of the reasons why Netherlands court determined that a physician is allowed to prevent severe and irreversible suffering, even if it reduces patient’s life (Bosshard et al, 2002). The act of assisted suicide or active euthanasia is allowed in Netherlands, Switzerland and Oregon under different conditions and legislations. The situation can be seen differently in places, where by moral and legal discourse; assisted suicide is interpreted as the freedom or right of the individual as in Switzerland and some states of US. From the ethical perspective, patient’s choice of suicide represents an expression of self- determination and while exercising self- determination people take responsibility of their lives and for the kind of person they become. They have a right to refuse the life- sustaining treatment if they don’t want to suffer anymore and according to law, physicians must respect their decisions to forgo life- sustaining treatment that are capable of making their end of life decisions. By refusing life- sustaining treatment, terminally ill people know that they are going to die soon and in order to avoid suffering or pain they ask physicians for assistance to end their
The debate on assisted suicide in Canada is very controversial among groups who believe that these laws are taking away patient’s right to make a decision about their life while suffering from severe pain or a “right to die”. An example of assisted suicide is the case of Sue Rodriguez, where she was suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis that was leading to total loss of physical control and dependence on a respirator. She wanted to maintain as much control over her own dying and death as possible and this is why she applied in Supreme Court to get permission for assisted suicide (Sneddon, 2006). But the Supreme Court rejected her request and ignored the fact that this prohibition discriminates against those who can not commit suicide without assistance and they are prevented by law from doing something that physically able are permitted to do. These laws might serve the goal of equality of autonomy but on the other side comes at the rate of being unfair. Such regulations prohibit the rights of competent vulnerable, disabled, and terminally ill people who are well aware of their situation that they will never get back to their healthy life and request to end life. From moral perspective, they face injustice by not getting the right to control their life. Making assisted suicide legalized will provide them justice and they will