Physician Assisted Suicide Research Paper
Ethical Reasons for Assisted Suicide
PHI208 July 28, 2014
A topic that has been around a while is physician-assisted suicide. James Rachels, an ethicists, believes a person who is virtually certain to die within a given amount of time and is experiencing or will experience a lot of pain before he or she dies should be able to choose an earlier, less painful death (Mosser, 2013). People have a right to end their life whenever they choose because some people living with a terminal illness do not want to suffer, there may not be anything the doctors can do to help them have a comfortable death, and it is their life and they have the right to make that decision.
First, people have the right to end their life when they choose because they do not want to suffer anymore. There are people in this world who live with a terminal illness knowing their days are numbered. Pain has been associated with death for a long time. No one, especially the people who are dying of an illness, want to die in pain. Patients tell doctors they would rather die at home than at …show more content…
the hospital, surrounded by family and not in pain. Once doctors feel as though they did all they could do, they pass people off to hospice care. These people are the ones who are responsible for making people comfortable during their last days. Sometimes, what they offer just is not enough.
Another reason physician assisted suicide is ethically significant is because there may not be anything more the doctors are able to do to help with a more comfortable death.
Unusually great pain or a terminal condition or an irreversible coma or advances senility or extreme degradation is the disqualifying quality of life that pleads –choice or no choice- for merciful termination (Kass, 1989). Even though the number of people who are dying with a large amount of pain is low, that does not mean that there are people who are not comfortable. Doctors are only able to give so much pain medication to a person. If given enough medication, one may be so drugged they are not even themselves. That is no way to live. Dr. Balfour Mount, from the College of Family Physicians, once said, “People do not have to die with pain” (Palliummia, 2011). To me, this means that people have a
choice.
My final reason why physician assisted suicide is ethically significant is that we as human beings have the right to make the decision when we can die. We as people have the right to control our body and our life, including the end of it; some go as far as to assert a right to die (Kass, 1989). Our freedom should be respected no matter the topic. Regardless of the situation, everyone has the right over their life and should be able to exorcise that right when they feel like doing so.
Therefore, while someone may end their life before it was their time, people have a right to end their life whenever they choose. Who are we to tell someone, “sorry, you may be in pain and all you want is to die pain free, but we cannot allow you to choose assisted suicide”. If someone is terminally ill and in such pain the doctors cannot do anything about it, they have the right to end their life when they so choose.
References:
Kass, L. R. (1989). Neither for love nor money: Why doctors must not kill. Public Interest, 94, 25-46. Retrieved from the ProQuest database.
Mosser, K. (2013). Understanding philosophy. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
palliummja. (2011, March 19). Dying for care – quality palliative & end of life care in Canada (English subtitles/captions) [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6mUbIjKEEI
PHI208 July 28, 2014
A topic that has been around a while is physician-assisted suicide. James Rachels, an ethicists, believes a person who is virtually certain to die within a given amount of time and is experiencing or will experience a lot of pain before he or she dies should be able to choose an earlier, less painful death (Mosser, 2013). People have a right to end their life whenever they choose because some people living with a terminal illness do not want to suffer, there may not be anything the doctors can do to help them have a comfortable death, and it is their life and they have the right to make that decision.
First, people have the right to end their life when they choose because they do not want to suffer anymore. There are people in this world who live with a terminal illness knowing their days are numbered. Pain has been associated with death for a long time. No one, especially the people who are dying of an illness, want to die in pain. Patients tell doctors they would rather die at home than at …show more content…
the hospital, surrounded by family and not in pain. Once doctors feel as though they did all they could do, they pass people off to hospice care. These people are the ones who are responsible for making people comfortable during their last days. Sometimes, what they offer just is not enough.
Another reason physician assisted suicide is ethically significant is because there may not be anything more the doctors are able to do to help with a more comfortable death.
Unusually great pain or a terminal condition or an irreversible coma or advances senility or extreme degradation is the disqualifying quality of life that pleads –choice or no choice- for merciful termination (Kass, 1989). Even though the number of people who are dying with a large amount of pain is low, that does not mean that there are people who are not comfortable. Doctors are only able to give so much pain medication to a person. If given enough medication, one may be so drugged they are not even themselves. That is no way to live. Dr. Balfour Mount, from the College of Family Physicians, once said, “People do not have to die with pain” (Palliummia, 2011). To me, this means that people have a
choice.
My final reason why physician assisted suicide is ethically significant is that we as human beings have the right to make the decision when we can die. We as people have the right to control our body and our life, including the end of it; some go as far as to assert a right to die (Kass, 1989). Our freedom should be respected no matter the topic. Regardless of the situation, everyone has the right over their life and should be able to exorcise that right when they feel like doing so.
Therefore, while someone may end their life before it was their time, people have a right to end their life whenever they choose. Who are we to tell someone, “sorry, you may be in pain and all you want is to die pain free, but we cannot allow you to choose assisted suicide”. If someone is terminally ill and in such pain the doctors cannot do anything about it, they have the right to end their life when they so choose.
References:
Kass, L. R. (1989). Neither for love nor money: Why doctors must not kill. Public Interest, 94, 25-46. Retrieved from the ProQuest database.
Mosser, K. (2013). Understanding philosophy. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
palliummja. (2011, March 19). Dying for care – quality palliative & end of life care in Canada (English subtitles/captions) [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6mUbIjKEEI