...A Final Wish of Death A final wish of death should be granted when life has come to its last chapter and all that is sought is a peaceful passing. The decision between a physician and terminally ill patient to hasten their death should be accepted and granted. A terminal illness can be described as an incurable disease which will end the life of the sufferer. If death is inevitable, why must we wait for natural causes to occur? Physician-assisted deaths should be legalized in all states so that the terminally ill can request a final act of dignity. “Physician-assisted death is defined as the physician providing the means for death, most often with a prescription. The patient not the physician will ultimately administer the lethal medication” (Braddock & Tonelli, 1998). If a patient can come to a decision when it is time to stop treatment for their terminal illness, they should also be allowed to choose when to bring death. End of life care has become an equally important issue to physicians as well as the patients. If physician-assisted deaths were permitted in all 50 states, physicians could openly discuss end of life wishes with their patients. With all the advances in modern medicine, people are living much longer which allows for a higher risk in developing a terminal illness. A few examples of terminal illnesses are cancer, strokes, Alzheimer’s disease, renal failure, and heart failure. With increasing numbers in terminal illnesses...
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...Court heard impassioned pleas for overturning Canada’s absolute prohibition against assisted suicide, with proponents arguing laws that consider the act equivalent to murder are a violation of personal autonomy and infringe the Charter of Rights and Freedom that provides for “life, liberty and security of the person” (Connor, 2014). The hearing sparked fresh debates across the country. Opponents argue that legalizing physician-assisted suicide would lead society down a dangerous "Slippery Slope" that leads to involuntary euthanasia and the killing of people who are thought undesirable. In addition, opponents argue that legalizing physician-assisted suicide gives too much power to doctors and it may reduce the availability of palliative care. The aim of this paper is to make a comprehensive argument in favor of physician-assisted suicide. Physician-Assisted suicide & Euthanasia Physician-assisted suicide occurs for any situation where doctors use drugs or other methods to aid their patients in an effort to die sooner. This is usually done in response to some kind of terminal illness that leaves the person with greatly diminished capacity and extreme suffering. There are some non-terminal cases where people may want doctor-assisted suicide if they have a condition that causes a lot of suffering but doesn’t necessarily lead to death. There has been a lot of...
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...Death and illness affects everyone in the world. There are various diseases such as AIDS and Cancer that can make a person’s last days almost unbearable. This is where the question of whether or not a person should have the right to die. There are three forms of assisted suicide. They are passive, active, and physician assisted suicide. The removals of life support, stopping medication, stopping food or water, and to stop resuscitation all passive types of assisted suicide. Active assisted suicide is a request from a dying individual to be put to death. It can also be a mercy killing. This is also called euthanasia. It is committed when someone other than the patient ends the patient’s life out of mercy (CBS News). Physician assisted suicide applies to a lethal dose of medication or other information supplied to a dying patient by a physician. All of these forms of assisted suicide have caused much debate and controversy throughout the world. In 1997, Oregon passed the Death with Dignity Act that gives terminally ill patients the right to obtain lethal doses of medication from a physician to aid in their suicide. This act prohibits a physician or any other patient from directly administering a medication to end another’s life (DWDA). Patients must adhere to many requirements before receiving this medication. The patient must be: -An adult (18 years of age or older) -A resident of Oregon -Capable (defined as able to make and communicate health...
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...physician administers the means of death, which is usually death, while in physician assisted suicide the patient self administers the means of death. Physician assisted suicide should not be legalized in the United States. Terminating a person's life should not be decided by them or their loved ones if they are at that point with their illness, it could affect the way they think. Besides, if assisted suicide is passed, how can we determine if or when a person has no hope in surviving? Helping someone to kill themselves is assisting them in murder, and legalizing assisted suicide would be profoundly dangerous for the patient and the doctor. This has been a major topic that includes medicine in America’s history and also the future of American medicine. Today in America, there are six states that have legalized...
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...debated topic B. “There is no treatment that would save my life, and the recommended treatments would have destroyed the time I have left” is a quote by Brittany Maynard who is one of the most famous patients to use the death with dignity act C. She chose to use a pill that would end her life by November 1st II. Thesis: Patients around the world have wanted this act to be passed and they are starting to see their wish come true Body 1. The current debate of whether or not the death with dignity act should be passed across the U.S. is one that is highly debated ethically 1. “We must find a solution to the unbearable suffering of patients whose needs cannot be met by palliative care."- Lord Joffe 2. There is ways to help reduce the pain but in some cases even this methods don’t help and patients are forced to be in a hospital as they wither away and suffer. Transition: Now that you understand where I am coming from on this sensitive topic here are some more ideas that we must consider. 2. The Debate 3. Religious side 1. “Severely undermining respect for life” is the reason most people oppose the right for patients to end their life. 1. Legal Euthanasia worldwide 1. “one in every 32 deaths in the Netherlands is a result of legal or illegal euthanasia” 2. Dutch laws have even been campaigning for further relaxations of the law - for example, to encompass people with dementia. 3. Requirements...
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...Euthanasia or mercy killing both have the same meaning, which is stop the patient who will not recuperate from torment by using medical tools which are painless. Originally, euthanasia is a combination of two Greek words: “Eu” meaning “good”, and “ thanatos” meaning” death”, which means good death (1). Euthanasia has been known for a long time, in world war two the German soldiers who got very serious injuries and mostly would not recover let die(2). Locally, the Republic of Ireland criminalized this action. While in some other countries, as, the United States have three states that legalized euthanasia are Oregon, Washington and Montana states. In 1994, Oregon voters approved the Death with Dignity Act (DWDA) by voting of 51%. Since that year, physicians are capable to prescribe life-end medication for terminally ill people. According to Life issues Institute the DWDA records show that 455 people have requested fetal drugs from their doctors, and 292 patents have died from using them(3). The annually figure continue to rise, starting with 16 cases in 1997, rising to 38 in 2005, and reaching 46 cases in 2006 (3). On the other hand, Other States criminalized this action, and the states rules consider co-euthanasia as criminals, even for those who help people to commit suicide regardless of the fact that they are their...
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...cured. Because euthanasia involves death, it is a very sensitive topic. The different viewpoints contribute to the opinions that people have about euthanasia. People with a heavy religious culture are more likely to be against it, whereas people suffering from a life threatening or terminal disease are not. Euthanasia is currently only allowed in the state of Oregon through the Death with Dignity Act that was placed in 1997 and in four other states as well as three countries. Since that act, only 752 of the 1173 patients actually carried on to kill themselves. An article written by Ryan Wallace on October 7, 2014 titled “One Woman's Quest to Die with Dignity—and What It Means for Us All” is about a 29 year old woman named Brittany Maynard who has been diagnosed with stage four glioblastoma multiform, which is a fast-growing brain cancer that kills its victims. She is one of many that are in favor of assisted-suicide due to her illness. Maynard moved to Portland, Oregon where she would be able to end her life legally thru the Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act (DWDA). Those who are advocates don’t believe it is considered suicide because “aid in dying involves mentally competent people who are terminally ill but would love to live, if possible.” Maynard said herself that “there is not a cell in my body that is suicidal or that wants to die” but she wishes there was a cure. Terminally ill people are given a dignified way to exit life thru assisted-death. In “Joni Eareckson Tada to Brittany...
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...receive. Paternalism- the assumption of parent like authority by medical practitioners, is seen as infringing on a patient’s autonomy or freedom to make medical decisions. Covenantal relationship- which implies a mutuality of interest between provider and patients. Eight principles that are important when delivering bad news 1. Keep it simple 2. Ask yourself, “What does this diagnosis mean to the patient?” 3. Meet on “cool ground” first. Get to know a patient prior to presenting the news. 4. Wait for questions. 5. Do not argue with denial. 6. Ask questions yourself. 7. Do not destroy all hope. 8. Do not say anything that is untrue. Strategies that either curtail or encourage conversation when speaking of death by a caregiver * Reassurance * Denial * Changing the subject * Fatalism * Discussion “Whole person care”- caring for seriously ill and dying patients involves attending not just to a patients physical needs but also to his or her mental, emotional, and spiritual needs. Care can be both personal and comprehensive when the guidelines are in place. Total care also means attending to the needs of the patient’s family....
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...eat right, you get plenty of exercise, and you see your doctor once a year. At the doctor’s office, the doctor informs you that there is no easy way of telling you that a large amount of cancer cells have been found in your blood work. As you try to speak, he continues to inform you that the cancer cells have completely taken over your blood and have migrated to your vital organs. As you try to speak again, he interrupts you one more time, however, this time it is to deliver the final blow; you only have six weeks left to live, which you will surely spend in extreme pain and unremitting suffering as your body goes into complete organ failure. Would you not want the option to end your pain and suffering and die with at least a little dignity? This is what physician-assisted suicide (PAS), if legalized, would offer terminally ill patients. The strongest argument made on behalf of the legalization of PAS is that it, like abortion, it is a choice issue. Proponents continue to argue that PAS is the ultimate civil right,...
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