Preview

i support physician-assisted suicide

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
628 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
i support physician-assisted suicide
I support physician-assisted suicide In March 1998, an Oregon woman dying of breast cancer asked her physician to prescribe a drug that would allow her to end her life. The doctor agreed. Later in the month she took the medication. With that action, she became the first person in the united state to commit suicide with the help of a doctor-legally. This has come to be known as “physician-assist suicide,” which has come to be one of the most controversial topics, right up there with the topic of abortion. Arguments as to why it should be legal are terminally ill patients should have the ability to control their own lives and make their own decisions, is it morally right for a doctor to assist in suicide, and the pros and cons of assisted suicide. In thousands of homes across the nation, victims of terminal illnesses sit in pain due to their sicknesses. Should these people have to go through all of that pain and suffering just for the end result of death? Should these people have the right to assisted suicide, to rid themselves of the unbearable pain? According to Dr. Clarence H. Braddock III, a faculty member of the University of Washington’s departments of medicine and medical history and ethics, the arguments in favor of legalizing assisted suicide generally runs along these lines:
• People should be able to control their own lives
• Some terminally ill patients are allowed to end their lives by refusing medical treatments; in all fairness, those without that option should be allowed to choose death
• Death is a compassionate way to relieve unbearable suffering
• Legal or not, assisted suicides occur, and it would be better if they were brought into the open
The arguments against legalization, Braddock says, usually run around these lines:
• Taking a life under any circumstances is immortal
• Assisted suicide has great potential for abuse. People without family support or adequate finances, as well as depression, could be pressured to

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    ENG 111 Final Paper

    • 3005 Words
    • 9 Pages

    In today 's society one of the most controversial issues is physician-assisted suicide for the terminally ill. Many feel as though it is wrong, regardless of their health condition to ask their health care provider to end their life. Others feel it is their right to be able to choose how and when they die. For those who believe physician-assisted suicide should be their choice, they feel it should be legal because: they don 't want to go through the suffering caused by the life-threatening illness, they fear the loss of their independence, becoming a burden to their family and friends, and the fear of dying alone.…

    • 3005 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Not all terminally ill patients will choose this option, but it should be available for those who want it. Coping with the diagnosis of a terminal illness is difficult for both the patient and the patient’s loved ones and it only becomes more difficult as the disease progresses. Being given the ability to decide when to die allows the patient to feel a sense of dignity and control during a time when he or she may not have control over anything else in life. Not only does physician-assisted suicide provide a sense of relief to the patient, it provides relief to family and friends. Watching a loved one die is one of the most challenging things to endure in life. It only becomes more challenging when forced to watch a loved one die a slow and painful death. Physician-assisted suicide can provide closure to everyone involved in a situation dealing with a terminal illness; therefore, it must become legal in all fifty…

    • 575 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Physician-Assisted Suicide or Physician-Assisted dying is a topic that has many point of views. Whether or not you decide it’s the right choice, it’s the choice a patient has the right to have. Like Sophie, I agree that Physician-Assisted Suicide should be legal in all fifty states. There’s only six states, where you can have this right. Just because you see a love one alive doesn’t necessarily means that they are living, because the can be in pain and suffering. Although, Physician-Assisted has its ups and down; it can be a solution to end the pain the patients are in, and make him be in peace.…

    • 904 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Physician-assisted suicide is currently a hotly debate issue within the United States government. Physician-assisted suicide is defined as when “a physician assists a patient in dying by writing a prescription for a legal dose of a drug that the patient self-administers.” (Behuniak & Svenson, 2003). Physician-assisted suicide is illegal on a federal level, however; the practice has been legalized within 6 states: California, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and Montana (Author, 2017). The practice of physician-assisted suicide is flawed in several aspects. Firstly, it places people of a lower socioeconomic class and people that suffer from mental illnesses at a greater risk. Secondly, physician-assisted suicide degrades the sanctity of life. Lastly, physician-assisted suicide is exploited by insurance companies as a way to cut costs, because medication for a lethal-dose prescription costs less money than the care of a patient over several months or years. Physician-assisted suicide is a…

    • 1132 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There is much controversy over whether or not physician-assisted suicide should be legalized. Physician-assisted suicide should be supported because terminally ill patients should have the right to decide whether or not they wish to die. Physician-assisted suicide occurs when the individual assisting in the suicide of a patient is a doctor rather than a friend or family member. However, studies indicate that many physicians are unwilling to provide their assistance in suicide because it conflicts with their ethical beliefs or because it is illegal. Supporters of legalization believe that terminally ill individuals have the right to end their own lives in some instances and that patients, in spite of current law; continue to practice regularly, in secrecy. Opponents of physician-assisted suicide argue that widespread legalization would cause abuse rather than reduce or control it. The opposition side maintains that legalized assisted suicide would lead to deaths of patients who do not really wish to die.…

    • 858 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    To wrap things up, physician assisted suicide should never happen, for suicide is only a temporary solution to a permanent problem. Physicians should instead try to help patients find a better solution than suicide. This can be done through anti-suicide movements, community uplifting groups, or simply by love. If the world spread more love, there will be more life to go around. Suicide is never the answer to any problem.…

    • 721 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Around the world, some people take it upon to themselves to help their friends and families. The help they think they are doing is actually harm. If a person tries to help their family or friend end their life, it is murder. No matter the circumstances, a person killing another person is murder. If murder is deemed unlawful, physician-assisted suicide should be, too. There is no difference in a family member and a doctor wanting to end a person’s suffering. Both of these people are taking a life. There are some people in this world that would try to become a doctor, or pose as one, to be able to kill people. If physician-assisted suicide is illegal, more than likely this would not happen and somehow go unnoticed. It would be considered fine to do such a…

    • 971 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    For an unaffected, healthy individual, with death painted as a villain by his subconscious, it is easy to raise a gavel against the legalization of assisted suicide. It is easy for this individual to deny the right to end one’s suffering by citing a variety of aged, insignificant arguments like ancient oaths and biased religious teachings, all in defense of the instinct of his subconscious. However, the debate over assisted suicide is greater than this, and must be considered much more deliberately and meticulously. When one considers justice, autonomy, compassion, and all other necessary factors in the modern assisted suicide debate, it is clear that the practice of physician-assisted suicide is merciful and necessary, and must be a provided right to suffering individuals near the…

    • 920 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Active euthanasia should be permitted as a medical treatment to allow people the right to die with dignity without pain and in peace. Euthanasia, also known as assisted suicide or mercy killing, takes on many different forms. When most Americans think of euthanasia, they think of a specific form that is referred to as “active euthanasia” which means to actively do something that will end a patient’s life with or without that individual’s consent. When euthanasia is performed in an involuntary manner it is usually because the patient is comatose, unconscious, or otherwise unable to communicate whether or not they want to have their life prolonged through artificial means. In such cases, the physician makes an executive decision whether to end the patient’s life, deeming it just because that individual would experience only pain and suffering in the continuity of their state.…

    • 1807 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    When the topic of suicide comes up today, many people jump to the conclusion then say that it is immoral and it should not be allowed. Physician-Assisted Suicide is such a controversial subject but it could help a lot of people in our country. It essentially means death through the administration of the appropriate amount of lethal drugs, upon request of the patient. When the patient knows they do not want to continue with their life, they have the power not to with certain reason. Every state in the U.S. should legalize physician-assisted suicide for all patients.…

    • 957 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    All patients have the right to avoid the pain and suffering; it’s their choice if they would like to use physician assisted suicide. It is difficult for a patient to make the choice because of their family that they are leaving behind. Many of patients want to make sure the family is going to be okay before they decide on something this major, that changes everyone's life. Patients with very bad illnesses that do not live in a state that allows physician assisted suicide will have to move to one of the four states that allow it. In 1996, Emanuel and et al. stated that, “Depression, hopelessness, and general psychological distress are consistently associated with interest in PAS and euthanasia.”2 Depression symptoms are associated with the patient’s interest in physician assisted suicide, as discussing their interventions with their peers. The hopelessness that the patient gets comes from considering taking a prescription that its purpose is to end their life. The patients also have to consider the cost of this procedure and see if they can afford…

    • 1304 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Physician Assisted Suicide

    • 1683 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Should a person with a terminal illness be allowed to die with dignity, taking their own life with the help of a medical doctor? Many people believe that physicians should maintain a person’s life as long as possible. Dying patients and their doctors have the right to choose to discontinue any treatment that serves no purpose except to delay an inevitable death. Euthanasia is intentionally ending a life to relieve pain and suffering. According to Carrie Snyder, “As of 2011, active euthanasia is only legal in three countries: the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Assisted suicide is legal in Switzerland and in the US states of Washington, Oregon and Montana (Snyder)”. Physicians should be allowed to help terminally ill patients end their lives to stop suffering and the prolonging of their death.…

    • 1683 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the face of death, science and rationale, is it unethical to safely assist those who are suffering and have the desire to die with dignity and purpose? Physician-Assisted Suicide has and will continue to be a very controversial topic of discussion when talking about the health and dignity of the terminally ill. Although none of us ever want to think of our loved ones becoming ill, rates of devastating diseases such as cancer are rapidly increasing around us. This makes the probability of one of our loved ones being affected much higher. With only five states in the US allowing legal Physician-Assisted Suicide, leaving the majority of patients unequipped with all of the options for end-of-life care plans. Despite strong push-back from some concerned about…

    • 1552 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    especially within the last decade. For those who are terminally ill, assisted suicide is a way for…

    • 634 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Euthanasia

    • 792 Words
    • 4 Pages

    A gravely ill man lies in bed awaiting death. He exerts all his energy upon every breath he takes. One of life's agonies is waiting for it all to be over. Euthanasia, a remedy for this man's unfortunate situation, could be his solution to happiness. It has been a highly controversial debate not only in recent years, but also since 1870’s in the United States and Europe. Euthanasia is the act or practice of ending the life of an individual suffering from a terminal illness or an incurable condition, as by lethal injection or the suspension of extraordinary medical treatment, it is knew literally as “Easy and Good Death” and as the “Mercy Killing”(Britannica Encyclopedia 2012). Should Euthanasia be a legal option for the terminally ill? To begin, one aspect of euthanasia's benefits is the fact that the quality of life when a person is chronically ill tends to be very bad. Euthanasia can end an uncomfortable and painful life. Secondly, euthanasia can save families money on medical bills. The cost of keeping a person alive with an unfortunate fate would be higher than a person who chooses to pass away. Lastly, a person, legally, should have the right to end their life.…

    • 792 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays