...Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide debate Mary Gundersen HCA 322 November 18, 2013 Linda Hoppe Euthanasia/Assisted Suicide debate Euthanaisa and assisted suicide are heated battle, in which lines have been drawn between warning social, religious, and political groups. Several individuals want this controversial institution erased from the volumes of lawful medicine, but others say that should be able to choose our fates in extreme cases. Either the law makers, neither the country, nor the citizens could find a solution to this debate without causing an intense opposition and the possibility for an end to this war of ethics seems very far in the distance. The definition of euthanasia is a painless killing, especially to end a painful and incurable disease; mercy killing. This intentional termination of life by another is at the request of the person who dies because like so many other religious, social, and political terms, euthanasia has various meanings. The passive euthanaisa is defines the hastening of death of a person by withdrawing several types of support and letting nature take it is course, instance of his are, removing life support systems, stopping medical procedures, stopping food, and water, not delivering CPR and letting the patient’s heart stop. The several common form of passive euthanaisa is to give a person large doses of morphine to control pain despite the likely hood that the pain killer would suppress respiration, thus causing death earlier than normal...
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...because of the detailed explanation that ethical considerations are being actively debated. Some may contend that euthanasia is a practice to be upheld in the U.S.A. due to being a country of freedom and liberty, and that is kind to allow one’s suffering to stop. However, others remain opposed and stand firm on the notion that assisting death is unethical, un-Godly, and to be illegal. The debate of assisted-suicide is argumentative amongst society, doctors, and legislators in Hawaii and throughout the nation; with recent regards to changing current law, euthanasia should remain to be illegal. Assisting in death, encouraging death, and advocating for death is wrong in many ways. Societal opinions differ and are found to be expressed throughout Hawaii in organizations, churches, and personal testimonials. What causes one to even think that assisted suicide is an acceptable foreseeable option? An example pros for debate is the notion of becoming invalid; according to an article by UH Philosophy Professor, Ron Amundson, a “Fear of Being Disabled Drives Advocates of Assisted-Suicide Bill” (Amundson, Pg.1). The idea of becoming disabled, or an invalid, is a pre-conceived notion, and shouldn’t be a determining factor in deciding one’s length of life. Many people live and maintain active and happily fulfilling lifestyles even...
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...Code of Ethics Paper HCS/335 Ethics: It is said that the greatest human freedom is to live, and die according to one’s desires and beliefs. Death with dignity is a national organization located in Oregon, which is non-partisan, non-profit that has led the legal defense and education of the Oregon law for nearly twenty years; however, the actual law for death with dignity was not passed until 1994 and due to legal issues, it became effective later in 1997. The Board of Directors for Death with Dignity Movements are some of the most esteemed medical, legal and scholarly experts, which are responsible for the political defense of the Oregon law and the promotion of death with dignity initiatives in other states. The Oregon Death with Dignity act has given patients what others might think or find deplorable a chance to die with dignity in their own terms. The Act allows mentally competent terminally ill adults who have six months or less to live receive, under strict safeguard, a prescription for life ending medication The goal of the Death with Dignity National Center is three fold: defend dignity, mobilize dignity, and preserve dignity. To Defend Dignity, the Death with Dignity National Center works with an “extensive and costly legal defense of the Oregon law, as well as coalition building providing the flexibility to rapid response to both legal and political challenges” (DWDNC, 2011). A second goal of the Death with Dignity National Center is to mobilize dignity. In...
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...Physician-assisted suicide is; suicide by a patient facilitated by means or information (as a drug prescription or indications of the lethal dosage) provided by a physician who is aware of how the patient intends to use such means or information (Merriam-Webster, n.d). For over ten years, there has been much controversy about the ethics and legality of physician-assisted suicide (PAS) not only in the United States but also worldwide. In 1997, the Supreme Court had a unanimous ruling that there was not a constitutional right or a constitutional ban to PAS. Since then almost every other state have opposed legalization of PAS. There are many terminally ill people that feel assisted suicide should be their choice, not something left to the government for debate. Assisted suicide should be legal in all states because those who suffer with a terminal illness that want to die should be able to end their life peacefully instead of living in agony. Almost everyone that lives in the United States has rights; the right to free speech, the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but those that are dying from a terminal disease do not have many rights. They do not have a right to seek help to end their pain and suffering. They lose the right to be in charge of their own life. The pursuit of happiness seems to not exist for those that wish to end their life. For some having their pain and suffering ended would make them “happy” because they no longer have to live with pain...
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...Physician-Assisted Suicide Thousands of people in the United States alone die every year from terminal illnesses. Medical technology is responsible for keeping many people alive; however some people are alive against their will. This paper recognizes the various events and people that are affected by physician-assisted suicide. While some terminally ill patients feel there is no reason for them to live and cause pain for not only themselves but also others, there are still people out there who disagree because they find that physician-assisted suicide degrades life. Since ancient times, many people have come up with the concept of a merciful and acceptable death. From the Greek and Roman times till today, physician-assisted suicide has been long debated throughout history (Boyd). However, individual choice in dying did not become a United States social and legal issue until recently. Jack Kevorkian, Dr. Death, is well known in history for being the first American doctor to perform physician-assisted suicide (“Jack Kevorkian Biography”). "Kevorkian created, "the suicide machine", a device that distributed first a muscle relaxer, then a drug that would stop the heart from beating" (Kastenbaum). Dr. Jack Kevorkian is perhaps the biggest advocate of assisted suicide after "he aired a videotape, on 60 Minutes, of him injecting Thomas Youk. He was charged with first degree murder, in 1998, for killing Thomas Youk, a victim of Lou Gehrig's disease" (Pickert). As a physician, Dr. Jack...
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...Assisted Suicide Suffering from an illness that is terminal can last weeks, months and even years, or it can take one massive decision on taking yourself away from the pain with assisted suicide. Assisted suicide is when a patient that is terminally ill, and qualifies for the procedure, asks for medication to take their own life to stop the pain. In the United Sates, forty six states do not give the option for assisted suicide, which means there are millions of people suffering from incurable illnesses, waiting to die. Many people try killing themselves on their own, because they are not a citizen of a state that allows assisted suicide. I believe that killing yourself unassisted is worse than killing yourself with provided medication. Assisted suicide should be legal, because it allows suffering people to decide when they want to overcome the pain. Assisted suicide is not like any ordinary suicide. It is a suicide to relieve pain from a patient who only has so long to live. To receive assisted suicide, the patient has to qualify to all of the requirements. Out of the four states that have legalized assisted suicide, three of them involve the same requirements. Oregon was the first state to legalize assisted suicide on November 8, 1994. “An adult who is capable of making choices, is a resident of Oregon, and has been determined by the attending physician and consulting physician to be suffering from a terminal disease, and who had voluntarily expressed his or her life in...
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...Physician assisted suicide is the voluntary termination of one's life who has been diagnosed with six months or less to live, carried out by the assistance of a physician. Compared to Euthanasia, assisted suicide is performed by the patient themself, where as Euthanasia is performed by the physician. Physician assisted suicide is much easier on the physician themselves for the reason that it puts complete control into the patient. It has been of some controversy over the years since its first legalization in 1997. Today there are five states that have legalized physician assisted suicide which include, California (the most recent),Colorado, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. The reason why this has not been a nation wide acceptance is due to...
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...Seminar 5 First Draft – Physician Assisted Suicide INTRODUCTION In my term paper I am going to be answering the question is Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS) ethically justified? The debate on Physician-Assisted Suicide has been a topic of debate for many years. Born and raised in Michigan I remember all of the news on Dr. Jack Kevorkian assisting terminally ill patients in their death and the controversy on it. The dilemma is whether or not a physician should be allowed to assist a person in ending their life even if they are terminally ill. According to a recent article on The New York Times website, New Mexico just legalized Physician-Assisted Suicide for terminally ill patients. This ruling would make New Mexico the fifth state to allow physicians to prescribe to their terminally ill patients a fatal dose of medications to end their life (Eckholm, 2014). Proponents of Physician-Assisted Suicide believe that terminally ill people should have the right to choose go to the doctors and ask for their help to end their lives and stop their suffering. Of course there would have to be certain steps taken to make sure they were making the right choice. Many supporters of Physician-Assisted Suicide believe that there should be some psychiatric evaluation to make sure that the patient is of a sound mind in their decision to end their life. Opponents of Physician-Assisted Suicide believe that a person does not have a right to end their own life and that it goes against...
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...Physician Assisted Suicide Physician assisted suicide is a very controversial subject in today's society. Physician assisted suicide is when one voluntarily makes the decision to end life due to a terminal illness. In my opinion, physician assisted suicide is not ethical because; many people feel taking of a life is morally wrong, it shows no respect for humanity, and it takes ones dignity away. Physician assisted suicide and Euthanasia exist and neither are morally correct. Nothing about ending one's life is ethically right. An act as such would be considered an act od virtue ethics. "Virtue ethics is distinct from both utilitarianism and deontology. Rather than focusing on the consequences of the act we wish to evaluate or the rule that guides the action, we look at the character of the person performing the act."(Mosser, 2010) Each having the same outcome but still different, physician assisted suicide is when a physician gives the patient means to commit suicide but not administering it personally.Euthanasia is a lethal dosage of medicine administered by a physician. (Gula,1999a) This process is called death by mercy but some see it as murder. Death is a natural part of living. Death is something that occurs somewhere every second of the day, it should be from natural cause or accidental never should it be doctor promoted . When people become ill it is the physician they put trust in for the care they need to survive...
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...Assisted Suicide Dr. Wendy Whitner Health care Policy, Law and Ethnic-HSA 515 June 12, 2011 1. Explain how the Patient Bill of Rights applies to this case. Nurse Nancy is violating the Patient Bill of Rights because Mrs. Jones did not make her own decision to end her life as a form of treatment. Mrs. Jones has the right to be involved in every aspect of treatment and can refuse treatment at any time. The patient is expecting reasonable continuity of care even though she might die. The patient’s doctor is supposed to inform Mrs. Jones if her condition is worsening and if she needs to seek different treatment options. Nurse Nancy did not ask the patient if she wanted to die, she just assumed because the patient is very ill that she may want to end her life. 2. Identify and explain at least three ethical considerations. Ethically it is a nurse’s job to help the doctor preserve a patient’s life. However, Nurse Nancy is the one that is with Mrs. Jones more and sees the drastic effect that the cancer has taken on her. Nurse Nancy has compassion for Mrs. Jones and knows that she is suffering from cancer, so to alleviate the pain she wants to help her end her life. Nurse Nancy needs to ask Mrs. Jones if she wants to die early because of her status as a single mom. In the event that Mrs. Jones does want Nurse Nancy to help her end her life she will need to make preparations for the care of child. Secondly, is it right...
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...Ever since 1972 when the US Senate held the first national hearing on euthanasia (assisted suicide), six states have legalized assisted suicide. Assisted suicide is a process in which, if a terminally ill adult chooses, a doctor will legally prescribe a lethal dose of barbiturates to end its life. Consequently, a direct result of the legalization of assisted suicide is the abuse of its power. Therefore, the U.S. government should illegalize assisted suicide in all 50 states to protect its citizens from abuse. First and for most, assisted suicide puts those with disabilities at risk of abuse. Rhoda Olkin, Professor at the California School of Professional Psychology, states “People without disabilities judge the quality of the lives of people...
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...Student Name: David Mc Namara. Title: Are we moving towards Assisted Suicide? “Those who have exhausted the end seek the right to die with dignity, this is a choice to die, which allows the body to speak its end rather than have that end dictated by the voice of an expert, legal or medical” (Hannifin. 2009, p.84) The person who seeks to die is, to paraphrase Foucault, ‘the Passenger par excellence: that is, the prisoner of the passage’ (Foucault. 1967, p.11) The European Convention on Human Rights sets out a number of fundamental rights and freedoms, right to life, prohibition of torture, prohibition of slavery and forced labour, right to liberty and security, right to a fair trial, no punishment without law, right to respect and family life, freedoms of thought, conscience and religion, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association, right to marry, right to effective remedy, and prohibition of discrimination The Council of Europe produced the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms in 1950. This body was formed in the aftermath of the Second World War to achieve unity among its members in such matters as the protection of fundamental rights. The Convention was drafted after the atrocities of the Second World War. The Convention was signed by the High Contracting Parties in 1950, and came into force in1953. It was ratified by the United Kingdom in 1957. Article 2 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental...
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...“Dr. Death” Sydney Speight English B Jack Kevorkian originally wanted to be a baseball radio broadcaster, but his Armenian immigrant parents felt that he should have a more promising career. So he became a doctor, specializing in pathology. Kevorkian worked primarily with deceased people, performing autopsies in order to study the essential nature of diseases. Kevorkian was born on May 28, 1928, in Pontiac, Michigan. He was raised in an Armenian, Greek, and Bulgarian neighborhood. Kevorkian attended the University of Michigan medical school and graduated in 1952. Kevorkian initially received his nickname, "Dr. Death," for his pioneering medical experiments in the 1950's. He photographed the eyes of dying patients in order to determine the exact time of death. As Kevorkian witnessed the suffering of terminally ill patients, he became convinced that they had a moral right to end their lives when the pain became unbearable, and that doctors should assist in this process. To that end, he designed and constructed a machine that started a harmless saline intravenous drip into the arm of a person wishing to die. When the patient was ready, he or she would press a button that would stop the flow of the harmless solution and begin a new drip of thiopental. “This chemical would put the patient into a deep sleep, then a coma. After one minute, the timer in the machine would send a lethal dose of potassium chloride into the patient's arm, stopping the heart in minutes...
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...university | ME Ciera Clark NAtional American university | ME State Health Laws on Physician-Assisted Suicide State Health Laws on Physician-Assisted Suicide February 15, 2013 February 15, 2013 Table of Contents Introduction……………………………………………………………….2 About Euthanasia and Assisted suicide………………………………….2 Legalized euthanasia and assisted suicide……………………………….3 States considering bills to legalize physician-assisted suicide………….3-4 Death with Dignity Acts………………………………………………......4-5 Oppose Physician Assisted Suicide………………………………………5-6 Supporters…………………………………………………………………6-7 Reference…………………………………………………………………..7-8 Introduction For decades, the public, government, and physicians have been debating over the “Death with Dignity Act” or “Physician-Assisted Suicide.” It started back in the Ancient Greek and Rome time. The debate originated around the Hippocratic Oath and the condemnation of the practice. With the upsurge of Christianity, many physicians continued to condemn the practice. Within the last two centuries the public has spurned many discussions about Physician-assisted suicide and Euthanasia from many different historic perspectives (Procon.org, 2012). Although this debate has been lengthy and many of the issues discussed over the centuries are repetitive, new ideas and concerns do emerge with the current debate. What do you think when you here assisted suicide? Would you want your family member to suffer with an illness that has put them in so much pain...
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...Assisted Suicide by Jordan Froce A Project Presented to Professor Demosthenes Long in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for CRJ 150: Introduction to Criminal Justice Pace University Dyson College of Arts and Sciences February 3, 2012 Table of Contents Introduction……….................................................................................... 3 Background…………………………..……………………...................... 3 Literature Review……………………………….……………………….. 5 Conclusion………………………………………….……......................... 7 References........………………………………………….…..................... 9 Introduction Imagine being in such a great deal of pain, and suffering that you make the decision to end your own life. We often have people there in our lives to help us along the way. Parents are there to love us, teachers are there to teach us, and doctors are there to help us when we are sick. But what happens when you are terminally ill, who is there to help you then? Doctors can only do so much. Many people believe that they should have the right to end their lives, while others disagree. If people do decide to end their lives, why shouldn’t they get the best care possible? Dr. Jack Kevorkian is a very well known physician who offered these possibilities to his patients with grim futures. In this paper I will be covering different aspects of the very controversial subject...
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