I believe euthanasia can be the most humane option for those suffering enough if the patient chooses it. I would say I am for active euthanasia. Passive euthanasia in some circumstances seems less humane than active because with passive the person is left to die slowly from lack of treatment or sustenance whereas active would put an instant relatively painless end to the pain. Active euthanasia should be administered only in special circumstances where the suffering is great and the patient has little time left to live. It needs to be distinct from suicide.…
In this article, William Toffler, a professor at Oregon Health & Science University and licensed physician, claims that legalizing assisted suicide in his state has had a negative effect on the medical profession. The author presents the reader with accounts of patients considering assisted suicide, as well as statistics surrounding the practice and legality. He supports his thesis by presenting the fears patients have when seeking medical care in a pro-suicide state. He also cites the laws put into effect that allows a doctor not to disclose how a patient died and the unreliability in knowing exactly how long a patient is expected to live; therefore the state is not giving the public access to certain data surrounding the issue. He goes on…
Every person knows what the circle of life consists of- to be born, to grow and to die. The lines between the right and wrongs of each are fuzzy and unclear. Assisted suicide brings up one of the biggest moral debates and there are so many questions with no clear answers: who should and shouldn’t be allowed to assist in suicides? Should assisted suicide be just for the terminally ill, or for all? What protection will there be for the people? and the biggest question of all- is it right or wrong? Those who are considered “pro-death”, believe that being able to choose how one dies is their own right. That there is a significant “difference between killing a patient and allowing a patient to die” (Breslow). Others however, believe The Suicide…
Many people argue that physician-assisted suicide is unethical and suggests that the human life is not valuable; however, this is untrue. Physician-assisted suicide allows a suffering individual to feel a sense of dignity and power, even in his or her last moments in life. What is more valuable than that? While the situation might be unethical in the case that the patient had no say in his or her own planned death, physician-assisted suicide requires that the patient be fully aware of what they are choosing to do. There is nothing unethical about a fully competent individual choosing to end his or her life in a peaceful manner, rather than in agony. As an alternative to physician-assisted suicide, some physicians encourage patients to believe that refusing to eat or drink would be a better way to die. This method of suicide takes many days and causes the patient even more suffering than what he or she already has to endure. The symptoms of dehydration…
Terminally ill patients that desire death is already a touchy subject with the government, religion, family, and ethics and so there is no true right or wrong answer to whether physician assisted suicide is ‘justified’. To only answer the prompt and ignore the legality and morals of the physicians performing the assisted suicide, I believe that yes, mental health professionals should serve as gatekeepers for physician-assisted suicide. There are many arguments against a Mental Health Professional (MHP) to be the gatekeeper, such that they are biased and ethical issues, that one person should not make that decision for someone else, that it should not be mandatory for MHP’s to be involved, and also that there aren’t across the board standards to assess a patient’s mental state to make a rational decision about their own death.…
Euthanasia is the painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable disease which is cutting a person’s life too short. The concept of physician assisted suicide always provokes a moral predicament for many people all over the world, mostly because it gives someone the freedom to choose whether to live or die. Euthanasia has been debated for many years, on one hand people believe euthanasia is a negative action because suicide is not a way out, but on the other hand people also believe assisted suicide is the only option for a patient who suffers from great pain that will only get worse. Euthanasia or physician assisted suicide should be legalized and people shouldn’t worry about whether or not if they feel it’s immoral or not.…
Euthanasia is another term for mercy killing. It is said to be the act of putting to death painlessly a person suffering from such incurable or painful disease. Meanwhile, in the 21st century it has been argued that euthanasia is one of the famous social concerns nowadays. Moreover, it is usually done by doctors to their patients who are terminally ill. Although euthanasia ends the suffering of the patients, it can damage the teachings of some religions, principle of medical ethics, and the patients trust.…
Physician-assisted suicide is the intentional end of one's own life by the organization of a deadly substance with the immediate or backhanded help of a doctor. Some people support Physician Assisted suicide while others do not. In order, to develop a better understanding of this trending issue, we must first look at different perspectives and viewpoints while approaching the topic. These viewpoints are moral, practical, and legal.…
John D. Arras looks at a situation which poses a patient suffering from uncontrolled pain by having the physician ignore their decisions amongst life and death. He mentions that physicians may contribute to “suicide and suicidal ideation” (page 478, column 1) which is statistically shown in over fifty percent of cancer patients who suffer from uncontrolled pain that is often brought on by untreated depression. In this situation however, if patient is given control of their own lives and obtain adequate psychiatric and palliative care to treat depression, it is assumed that most would lose interest in PAS/euthanasia. Using a similar example, there will always be a small amount of patients who may have pain that cannot be treated, for these patients J. Arras believes that present law on PAS/euthanasia can represent an impossible barrier to a distinguished and decent…
Euthanasia is very controversial and in most countries illegal. Even though it is illegal there are a lot of people who think that it should be legalized. Euthanasia is when a medical professional administers medicine that will end the patient`s life. People would make the option to have this done if they were suffering or if they had someone in their life who come make the decision for them when they could not , then that person would. This would put them out of their misery and they would pass away shortly after.…
In 1997, the Supreme Court ruled that patients do not have the right to Physician- Assisted Suicide under the constitution. However, the Supreme Court did not ban PAS (US Legal, Inc., n.d.). Later, in 2006 the Supreme Court ruled that laws related to Physician- Assisted suicide would be voted upon within each state. Currently, Physician- Assisted suicide is legal in five states in the U.S. including Oregon, Vermont, Washington and California where it is mandated by state law. Montana is mandated by court ruling. The first state to legalize physician assisted suicide was Oregon in 1994, followed by Washington in 2009. Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Nevada, Kansas, Minnesota, Idaho, Michigan, Tennessee, North Carolina, Maryland, New Jersey, New York,…
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…
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…
Medical professionals already have many burdens throughout their medical path, adding the guilt of killing someone to the list is not fair for the healthcare professionals and the family members. Euthanasia is ethically and morally wrong because the doctors have to continue to find possible ways to treat the patient not to give the patient the option of choosing to die. The incident in “Britain with the nurses technically killing the patient could have been avoided” (Fenigsen, “Other People’s Lives: Reflections On Medicine, Ethics, And Euthanasia”). Although, some people might believe that ending the patient’s pain is ending their suffering, but many fail to realize the actual outcome if euthanasia were to be practiced. For instance, “If terminating life is a benefit, the reasoning goes, why should euthanasia be limited only to those who can give consent? Why need we ask for consent” (ProCon.org, “Top Ten Pros and Cons)”, the slippery slope a reality to…
Assisted suicide is the suicide of a patient suffering from an incurable disease, affected by the taking of lethal drugs provided by a doctor for this purpose. I am neither for nor against because I see the pros and cons on this topic, which puts me on the fence. Although if I had to choose a side I would say I am more leaning towards being for assisted suicide. There are times where assisted suicide is acceptable and there are times where it is not. All in all, assisted suicide depends on the situation when deciding if you are for or against the issue.…