...ABSTRACT: Medical professional have long prohibited physician involvement in assisting a patient's suicide. However, despite ethical and legal prohibitions, calls for the liberalization of this ban have grown in recent years. The medical profession should articulate its views on the arguments for and against changes in public policy and decide whether changes are prudent. In addressing such a contentious issue, physicians, policymakers, and society must fully consider the needs of patients, the vulnerability of particular patient groups, issues of trust and professionalism, and the complexities of end-of-life health care. Physician-assisted suicide is prominent among the issues that define our professional norms and codes of ethics. The American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine (ACP-ASIM) does not support the legalization of physician-assisted suicide. The routine practice of physician-assisted suicide raises serious ethical and other concerns. Legalization would undermine the patient-physician relationship and the trust necessary to sustain it; alter the medical profession's role in society; and endanger the value our society places on life, especially on the lives of disabled, incompetent, and vulnerable individuals. The word ‘euthanasia’ is derived from the Greek work for ‘good death’ and originally referred to intentional mercy killing. Applied to our society, euthanasia is the merciful ending of life to release a person from unendurable...
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...Physician assisted suicide has been a controversial topic in this country for many years. Some believe that people who are sick and dying should have the legal right to end their life with the help of a physician. There are many terminal cancer patients who are so sick they will not have a chance to live the rest of their life so they choose the route of physician assisted suicide. They choose it because it is an easy pain free way to end their life. Although people may say physician assisted suicide is unethical, physician assisted suicide is ethical because it is a person's individual choice whether they want to live or die and it reduces suffering. There have been many cases and statewide issues that have dealt with physician assisted suicide. The state of California and Washington denied the idea of physician assisted suicide. In the early 1990’s California and Washington rejected the votes that would have allowed Physician assisted suicide to be legal. Physician assisted suicide is a state issue. Physician assisted suicide was a problem in states...
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...End of Life: Assisted Suicide PHI208: Ethics and Moral Reasoning Instructor: Shawn Lorenzen September 29, 2014 Moral and ethical debates attempted to resolves controversial issues but never seem to end with everyone agreeing. Often these ethical and moral debates are complex, involve opinions persuaded by religion or customs, and have legal implications to consider. Physician assisted death is one of these very complex and controversial issues that all people will never agree on. Many questions arise in the debate of physician assisted death such as patients’ rights, physicians controlling the right if someone lives or dies, a patience’s mental state, a family member’s rights, religious beliefs of the parties involved and the law. Philosophers attempt to explain the different theories that people will use to argue their belief systems in terms of logic and reasoning. For example, some people may take the position of a deontologist who would argue that it is our moral duty to support and sustain life therefore assisted suicide should not be allowed. Unfortunately, this very emotional thought provoking debate is not a “black and white issue,” as most ethical arguments are not. In the situation of physician-assisted death, I disagree with the deontologist point of view that it is immoral for a physician to assist a patient in suicide. I believe as some relativist due, that as long as the patient is fully capable of making this decision and the patient is in a constant state...
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...Ethics and Social Responsibility David Strand September 24, 2012 Ethical/Personal Issues of Physician Assisted Suicide Physician assisted suicide is a very passionate topic for me. I totally agree that it should be legalized and used when a terminally ill patient has totally used every possible avenue of treatment and there is nothing left to do. As a Utilitarian you definitely want the right thing to be done. Then what is right is right and wrong is wrong. I am sure that in egoism there would be a problem because they would only want to be the hero so to speak and do what is correct of the family and everyone else’s needs. As we go through the issue you will see different views and feelings involving all providers involved which are doctors, nurses, patients, friends, and family members. What is physician assisted suicide? For the lack of a better term physician assisted suicide will be addressed as “euthanasia”. Euthanasia is defined broadly as “the mercy killing of the hopelessly ill, injured or incapacitated” (Pozgar, 2010). Euthanasia is a Greek word meaning “good death” or “easy death” (Pozgar, 2010). As a healthcare worker/provider for many years I have come to have great feelings on passive euthanasia as well as many other healthcare individuals have. We must discuss the fine lines of legal issues as well as ethical issues. Is there a right or a wrong, when it comes to the end of life for an individual? Who really needs...
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...Should Physicians Be Allowed to Assist in Patient Suicide Ethical Issues in the Biomedical Science Jennifer Ricardo PHI 352- PK Barry University Introduction The issue of physician-assisted suicide has come to be one of the most controversial legal issues in recent history. In my opinion I think that the law is designed to lay out guidelines for the social conduct of individuals in society. Yet, within this definition there are extremes on both ends of the spectrum in which the law encompasses. The question of whether or not physicians can legally prescribe and administer lethal doses of medication to mentally competent patients who suffer from the issue of physician-assisted suicide has become a heated topic. Whether or not physicians can legally prescribe and administer lethal doses of medication to mentally competent patients who suffer from untreatable pain is not an easily conclusive issue. Rather, the question of the ethics is the pressing legal matter. Some may argue that life should be ended in its due time and not tampered with, yet I cannot agree with this. I strongly feel that mentally competent adults who are in a constant state of suffering and who know, and have been told that death is inevitable have the right to commit suicide with the aid of a physician. If the person so wishes to end their life it should not lay blame on the physician who assisted in the matter. Medically Ethical Behavior Ethical behavior is defined my moral principals or value...
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...will touch everyone at some point in their life. It is a natural part of the life cycle for all living beings. Now not everyone views death as a natural occurrence and others seek to prevent it by prolonging life by medical means. Physician assisted suicide is a major topic in U.S. culture today. There are people who believe it is more humane to let someone live their days out and there are others who believe that it is morally wrong because it causes unnecessary pain and suffering. Each side has their argument points in which they defend with purpose. The purpose of this paper is to discuss both sides of the issue at hand here. It is also to discuss why physician assisted suicide is a viable option for the future for terminal illnesses. The first portion will discuss the present physician assisted suicide laws that are in place. Following that, the arguments that do not consider physician assisted suicide a viable option will be discussed and...
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...Introduction: Assisted suicide is an intentional termination of life by another at the explicit request of the person who wishes to die. There are current debates on the legality of assisted suicide. Issue Statement: We believe assisted suicide should be legal. Premise 1: Performing assisted suicide on a person is no different than putting a pet down. The American Veterinary Medical Association Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals 2013 Edition defines euthanasia as, “Ending the life of one individual animal in a way that minimizes or eliminates pain and distress.” This definition resembles the definition of euthanasia performed on humans. Therefore the same ethics and morals can be applied. We should be compassionate towards humans as we are to pets as far as assisted suicide. Behavioral science professor Barton Ross discusses in his book Pet Loss and Human Emotion: A Guide to Recovery, “A man who was suffering from lung cancer had a dog with the same disease. He was well educated on the options available to him in fighting the disease progressed and chose a similar course of treatment for his dog. As the disease progressed in the dog, the veterinarian recommended euthanasia. The client not only had to deal with the imminent loss of his dog but also had to face his own mortality. He said he was grateful euthanasia was available for his dog, but he was angry that it was not an option available to him if he did not go into remission.” Premise 2: Assisted suicide is ethical...
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...voted and passed a law to legalize assisted suicide, called Death with Dignity Act in 2009. This law is for terminally ill patients, diagnosed by their physician to have less than six months to live. There are several steps before the patient is allowed to receive the medication for assisted suicide .“The patient must be a resident of the state, be at least eighteen years old, declared mentally competent to make the request, and two doctors have to certify that he or she has less than six months to live” ( Medical News Today, 2009 ). The representative for Compassion and Choices, an aid in dying advocacy group for assisted suicide, is very supportive of the new law, which gives terminally ill patient other option and helps he or she decide how they wish to live their last days. The Death with Dignity Act allows physicians to prescribe lethal doses of medications to the terminally ill patient. Barbara McKay is terminally ill from advance ovarian cancer and she said “I have watched both my parents suffer with few choices at the end of their lives. I want to be able to decide what time and the way I wish to die.”(Medical News Today,2009). Death with Dignity Act has placed a considerable load of ethical and unethical consequences of emotions on the health care professionals, who will be performing this request. Death with Dignity Act passed, many health care facilities been deciding whether to opt in or stay out of the assisted suicide. Cassie Saucer, from the Washington...
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...Legal and Ethical aspects of Assisted Suicide Paula Nehrling Grand Canyon University Introduction to Nursing Research NRS-433V Angie Lawson May 01, 2016 Legal and Ethical aspects of Assisted Suicide Only five states in the US have legalized physician assisted death. California is the latest to legalize this and it will be available here in less than a month. There are many legal and ethical questions that nurses have. Some feel like this is murder or against their religious beliefs and others feel like people should have the right to die with dignity. The Oregon death with dignity act was passed more than 20 years ago in 1994, though legal challenges delayed enactment until 1997. Washington followed in 2008, since this time, Montana and Vermont has passed laws supporting physician assisted death. California has passed legislation and will begin next month (Ganzini, L., 2016). The process is very similar in each of these states. They allow a competent adult resident of that state to obtain a prescription from a physician for a lethal dose of medication, for the purposes of causing death through self administration. The law does not allow lethal injection or allow individuals to acquire a lethal prescription through advanced directive to be used when mentally incapable in the future. There are also limits as to when the prescription can be written. Two physicians, one of whom writes the prescription, must confirm that the...
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...Physician Assisted Suicide Jason July 9, 2012 Most states in the United States make euthanasia, also known as physician-assisted suicide, a felony crime, punishable by years of imprisonment. Euthanasia is a very notorious issue within the medical and legal systems; which has been in debate for almost two million years. The word ‘euthanasia’ comes from the Greek origin and means “good death, or easy death.” (Pozgar, 2010) When considering a physician acting in the best interest of the patient, the “legal system must ensure that the constitutional rights of the patient are maintained, while protecting society’s interests in preserving life, preventing suicide, and maintaining the integrity of the medical profession.” (Pozgar, 2010)Euthanasia is a highly controversial issue, especially when patients and their families recognize the quality of life being greatly decreased, with no end to the pain and suffering, the real problem occurs for both the patient and family, but for the health care professionals as well. Surely we all remember Dr. Jack Kevorkian, one of the most controversial and most publically followed physicians held liable for his actions in physician-assisted suicide. The medical staff is trained to save lives, preserve life, treat illness, and bandage wounds, so it would be considered very unethical for any medical profession to aid in euthanasia. “The prohibition against killing patients ... stands as the first promise of self-restraint sworn to in the...
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...euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide? Voluntary euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are similar. Forms of assisted suicide involve the guidance and supervision of a licensed physician. There is a difference between euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. Physician-assisted suicides’ preparation is when, “A doctor’s helping their distressed patient to commit suicide at the patient’s autonomous appeal” (Varelius, 2013). Euthanasia, on the other hand, “consists of administering lethal medication to the patient,” by the licensed physician (Varelius, 2013). There are countless numbers of questions and concerns about an individual’s quality of life. Under no circumstances, suicide is never the ideal way for an individual to die. However, if physician-assisted suicide or euthanasia were legal and regulated in all states, then the United States Constitution may salvage lives by giving people the right to elect how they wish to die. This is a matter of legal issues, moral issues, and...
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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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...Life and Ethical Issues/Applying Ethical Theory Leanna Moore PHI 208 Ethics and Moral Reasoning Instructor Jean Suplizio March 12, 2016 Due to technology medicine have advanced over the years, this allows physicians to save people’s lives and helped increase the life expectancy of their patients. Unfortunately, there are some medical conditions and diseases that are incurable. And these medical conditions and diseases are unpredictable and may cause us to have to make some difficult decisions to want ease the patient from suffering. There are ethical issues surround anything that is done in the medical field, particularly concerning the treatment and voluntary euthanasia of a patient that is dying. There are strong controversy whether voluntary euthanasia and physician assisted suicide, of a patient that is dying, is morally right or wrong. Should it be up to the patient and their family to make the decision for end-of life care? The choice for end of life a mission for many individuals, “the nineteenth-century philosopher John Stuart Mill argued that individuals are, ultimately, the best judges and guardians of their own interests”, (Singer, 2005). In this essay, I will discuss the difference between euthanasia and physician assisted...
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...Assisted Suicide Letithia Terry PHI103: Informal Logic Kurt Mosser June 6, 2011 Assisted Suicide Assisted Suicide is when the physician provides the necessary means or information and the patient performs the act. Euthanasia is where the physician performs the intervention defined as the “act of bringing about the death of a hopelessly ill and suffering person in a relatively quick and painless way for reason of mercy (as cited in Mosser 2010). Physician Assisted Suicide has grown to be a controversial issue and one of the major disputes is; can an incurable ill patient be able to choose Physician assisted suicide? This phenomenal dilemma has risen debates on rather to legalize PAS or keep it illegal because of the different issues concerning the different religion, moral and ethical views people have on the topic. In this essay I will discuss issues of why many people and I believe assisted suicide should be legalized. There are different laws around the world concerning physician assisted suicide and only a few states that has legalized the procedure. In 2005, there were only four places in the world that open and legally authorize assistance in dying patients: “Oregon (since l997, physician-assisted suicide only); Switzerland (1941, physician and non-physician assisted suicide only); Belgium (2002, permits 'euthanasia' but does not define the method and the Netherlands (voluntary euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide...
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...Euthanasia/Assisted Suicide Debate HCA 322 Sonya Pedro 24 April 2011 Everybody is going to die sometime, but for some, serious medical conditions only prolong the wait upon their deathbed. From newborn infants with severe handicaps, to elderly men and women diagnosed with hopeless amnesia, euthanasia has found a place in society since society’s creation. In this paper I will focus on the controversial and difficult issue of assisted suicide or euthanasia. I will discuss my beliefs concerning euthanasia, to include the “special population” and identify the laws concerning physician-assisted suicide in the state of North Dakota. Euthanasia has its share of protesters, and there are some supporters who recognize the boundaries. Let’s discuss some of my beliefs concerning euthanasia. A person has become extremely ill and doesn't want to continue suffering, should he/she be forced to stay alive? Whose life is it anyways? Is it the family's life or the persons'? As our text explains, physician-assisted suicide occurs when the physician gives the patient a lethal dose of some medication, but the patient administers it him/herself. Euthanasia occurs when the physician carries out the final act. (Pozgar, 2010). Most families believe that they should be given the right to decide if they want to let their loved ones go, but in most cases it's not the family's choice. The decision to live or die usually rests with the individual, unless he/she is too ill to make...
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