...Euthanasia/Assisted Suicide Yes or No HCA322: Health Care Ethics and Medical Law Instructor: Keysha Knights July 22, 2013 Yes or No Euthanasia, also known as assisted suicide, physician-assisted suicide (dying) , doctor-assisted dying (suicide), and more loosely termed mercy killing, basically means to take a deliberate action with the express intention of ending a life to relieve intractable (persistent, unstoppable) suffering. Some interpret euthanasia as the practice of ending a life in a painless manner. Many disagree with this interpretation, because it needs to include a reference to intractable suffering (Nordqvist, 2010). When breaking down euthanasia there are two different types passive euthanasia and active euthanasia. Active euthanasia is a state where a patient is given a lethal injection, while passive euthanasia involves withdrawing life support systems from a patient (Anonymous, 2011). Active euthanasia basically is when the physician gives the patient medication to help end their life. Passive euthanasia is when treatments for the patient’s condition are stopped and ultimately ends in the patient’s death. When it comes to euthanasia or physician assisted suicide I can understand both sides of the debate but in the end I feel that it should be legal under certain circumstances. If a person is terminally ill I feel they should have the right to have a choice to end their life instead of suffering. A doctor’s job is to help the patient and their...
Words: 1813 - Pages: 8
...Should Physician-assisted suicide be legalized in Canada? Introduction The topic of legalizing Physician-assisted suicide has long been a controversial issue in Canada and has recently received increased attention. In 1993, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled the provisions of the Criminal Code prohibiting assisted suicide. Two decades later, the Supreme Court of Canada began to deliberate whether to uphold or strike down the law prohibiting doctor-assisted suicide. Last month, the nine justices of the Supreme 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...
Words: 2164 - Pages: 9
...Should physician-assisted suicide be legal? While I believe if one chooses to end his or own life through physician assistance for reasons that they chose, the choice should be up to the individual. Physician-assisted suicide should be at one's discretion. “Assisted Suicide, also called Voluntary Euthanasia, is currently a contentious issue in many countries. Because Euthanasia is legal in a few modern democracies: the Netherlands, Belgium, and Switzerland. In the Netherlands, voluntary euthanasia has been legal since 1983, with some 3,000 people requesting it each year. In Australia, assisted suicide was legalized in the Northern Territory with the backing of a substantial majority of the local population, but was then overthrown by the Federal Senate before anyone could actually use the new law. However, in Oregon and California, state legislation has been passed to allow for euthanasia in special circumstances and within a heavy regulatory framework in which third party ethicists attempt to ensure the appropriateness of euthanasia cases. Euthanasia or assisted suicide is illegal in most countries around the world. In the United States, Dr Jack Kervorkian – nicknamed ‘Doctor Death’ for his actions beliefs – has campaigned for a change in the law for many years, and assisted in the suicide of at least 45 people.” (Brooks) Physician assisted suicide has always been an ongoing argument. It can be both inductive and deductive depending on the premise. I will be looking at the...
Words: 1015 - Pages: 5
...EUTHANASIA: The intentional killing by act or omission of a dependent human being for his alleged benefit. (If death is not intended, it is not an act of euthanasia) ARGUMENTS FOR EUTHANASIA: It provides away to relieve extreme pain It provides a way of relief when a person’s quality of life is low Frees up medical funds to help people It is another case of freedom of choice ARGUMENTS AGAINST EUTHANASIA: Euthanasia devalues human life Euthanasia can become a means of health care cost containment Physicians and other medical care people should not be involved in directly causing death There is a “slippery slope” effect that has occurred where euthanasia has been first been legalized for only the terminally and later laws are changed to allow it for other people or to be done non-voluntarily. Opposition overcomes 48 point deficit to defeat assisted suicide - Ballot Question 2 in Massachusetts 1 1 0 Google BOSTON, Nov. 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- In a stunning upset, the voters of Massachusetts soundly defeated Ballot Question 2 on Election Day. Dealing a significant setback to the expansion of the assisted suicide movement throughout the United States by Compassion & Choices (the organization formerly known as the Hemlock Society), a diverse coalition of disability rights organizations, medical associations, nurses' groups, community leaders and faith-based organizations united in this effort. "Tonight was a huge victory for those of us in the...
Words: 6383 - Pages: 26
...In their article “Assisted Suicide: An Overview” found online at EBSCOHost Connection Library, authors M. Lee and Alexander Stingl explain assisted suicide in the point of view of two parties, pro, and con. “Assisted Suicide is a controversial medical and ethical issue based on the question of whether, in certain situations, doctors should be allowed to help patients actively determine the time and circumstances of their death.” Stated in the article by Lee and Stingl, morality plays a key role in whether or not physicians have a right to assist patients in the final decision for their death. In the thesis above, the authors did not choose a bias on whether assisted suicide is right or wrong and leave it to the audience to decide, based...
Words: 745 - Pages: 3
...Euthanasia is the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering and is categorized as voluntary, non-voluntary or involuntary. Assisted suicide is committed by someone with assistance from another person usually in regard to someone suffering from a severe physical illness. It is referred to as a “physician assisted suicide” when a physician provides a competent, terminally ill patient with prescription for a lethal dose of medication upon the patient’s request. Physician assisted suicide is often confused with euthanasia. Do Not Resuscitate or “DNR” and Living Wills are legal orders that represent the wishes of a patient. A DNR states that the patient does not wish to undergo extra measures if their heart were to stop or if they were to stop breathing. A living will is also referred to as an advance health care directive, personal directive, advance directive, or advance decision. It is a set of written instructions that a person gives that specify what actions should be taken for their health, if they are no longer able to make decisions due to illness or incapacity. A DNR, Living Wills and various medical proxy documentations are legal when it comes to medical treatment decisions and the end of life. Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are prohibited in most countries worldwide. Belgium, Luxembourg, and The Netherlands appear to be the only countries where both euthanasia and physician assisted suicide have been made legal...
Words: 417 - Pages: 2
...and medical advances, a discussion over euthanasia is kindled in the last years. The term euthanasia (Greek, “beautiful death” ) originally means that humans, who did not feel their life worth living due to outside influences as a right to a self-chosen death possessed. In Europe, there are different ways of handling euthanasia determined by laws. To discuss this complex topic in the range of this paper, it is necessary to circumscribe the content. In general, there are four different ways of euthanasia. Active euthanasia means killing someone on his explicit demand, normally practised by physiscians with pharmaceutical additives. Indirect euthanasia describes the medical therapy to avoid unendurable pain under accepting a shorter life expactancy. The third way is passive euthanasia, which implies the abdication of life prolonging measures. The fourth and last method of euthanasia is medically assisted suicide. In fact, this stands for giving someone the possibility to commit suicide, whereas the patient has to do the last step on his own. To discuss and describe the different ways of euthanasia in a good way, we want to take a closer look to Europe, especially to the Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany. This selection is based on the fact, that there are the three major types of handling euthanasia with the corresponding judical solution in each country. In the Netherlands it is legal to practise active euthanasia by a physician with the corresponding legal regulations...
Words: 2182 - Pages: 9
...Euthanasia: Quality Above Quantity Inin Life and Death Leanna Smith Cuyahoga Community College ENG 1010 Professor Neel July 20, 2014 Author Note This outline research paper’s final draft was prepared as part of a research project for English 1020, taught by Professor Neel. Abstract Euthanasia is commonly known as physician-assisted suicide. This is the act of a physician providing a terminally ill patient with lethal drugs and administers the drugs in a safe environment. Assisted suicide on the other hand is when the physician or pharmacist prescribes the lethal drugs for the terminally ill patient to take at a time of his or her own choosing. Assisted suicide is legal in 3 states in the United States, while euthanasia is illegal in every state. There are many arguments for and against this debate. The objections are mainly moral or ethical. There are many benefits to allowing assisted suicide in the United States, a couple of them are: less suffering for the patients, keeping the patients’ debts low, and keeping medical resources available for those with hope for more than 6 months to live. Oregon has provided the United States a good example of a state providing an opportunity for a terminally ill patient to control his or her own future. Hopefully with the first 3 states leading the way, the rest of the country will follow. Euthanasia: Quality Above Quantity in...
Words: 2596 - Pages: 11
...Christian denominations: Pro-choice statements have been made by the United Church of Christ, and the Methodist Church on the US West coast. The 'Episcopalian (Anglican) Unitarian, Methodist, Presbyterian and Quaker movements are amongst the most liberal, allowing at least individual decision making in cases of active euthanasia The BBC wrote in an Aug. 3, 2009 online article titled "Religion & Ethics - Christianity: Euthanasia - the Christian View" on www.bbc.co.uk: "Christians are mostly against euthanasia. The arguments are usually based on the beliefs that life is given by God, and that human beings are made in God's image. Some churches also emphasise the importance of not interfering with the natural process of death... Christians believe that the intrinsic dignity and value of human lives means that the value of each human life is identical. They don't think that human dignity and value are measured by mobility, intelligence, or any achievements in life. Valuing human beings as equal just because they are human beings has clear implications for thinking about euthanasia: • patients in a persistent vegetative state, although seriously damaged, remain living human beings, and so their intrinsic value remains the same as anyone else's • so it would be wrong to treat their lives as worthless and to conclude that they 'would be better off dead' • patients who are old or sick, and who are near the end of earthly life have the same value as any other human being ...
Words: 7225 - Pages: 29
...Physician assisted suicide has been a major debate worldwide for many years. Some individuals don’t realize how hard it is to accept assisted suicide on a grand level. The hardest questions around assisted suicide is not whether it is accepted or not, but if accepted, how and who it will be implement for. This paper will not discuss why assisted suicide should or should not be implemented, but will explain political and societal questions that may arise if assisted suicide is accepted. There will also be given real examples of individuals who completed assisted suicide and possible questions that can arise from them. This paper will also explain how assisted suicide has only a minor effect on nursing care. Once the answers to these questions...
Words: 1947 - Pages: 8
...with a physician assisted suicide also known as Euthanasia. The term Euthanasia was first used in the 17th century as a medical term to describe an easy, painless, and happy death. There are two types of Euthanasia, passive and active. Passive euthanasia is when a patient refuses their medical treatment which may hasten their passing; this is also considered legal euthanasia. Active euthanasia is the acceleration of death by the use of drugs and it can be either physician assisted or done by the patient themselves and is also considered illegal euthanasia. While active euthanasia is illegal in most of the United States as well as the world, there is controversy that it should be the terminally ill patient’s choice as to whether or not they live in pain or suffer. How can helping someone relieve pain and suffering be illegal? The ethics of euthanasia have been a debate since the 1800’s, with debates peaking every couple of decades. Many of the debates against euthanasia fall back to the ethics and how euthanasia can be used as a solution to lower medical costs, a failure to provide care for people with disabilities, or even that the doctor themselves would be going against the very Hippocratic Oath they are sworn to. First and foremost euthanasia was first used to relieve terminally ill patients from pain and suffering only if that patient was able to provide consent to the physician for an assisted death. Dr. Kevorkian performed his first physician assisted death in...
Words: 1662 - Pages: 7
...can be for or against today’s issues issues. One major issue in today’s world is physician assisted suicide. When people think about physician assisted suicide, they think primarily about five things; they ask what is it, what are the facts, who’s choice is it, what are the development in health care, and where can this lead? What is physician assisted suicide? Physician assisted suicide, also known as PAS, is when a physician provides the necessary means or information to a patient to kill himself/herself. However, the patient is the one who actually performs the act. People often get physician assisted suicide confused with euthanasia. Euthanasia is when the physician does both actions for the patient; the physician provides the means and performs the means. After people realize what physician assisted...
Words: 1286 - Pages: 6
...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...
Words: 2286 - Pages: 10
...Charles Coon Professor Chapla Verma Introduction to Ethics 1 May 2016 Active Euthanasia When you think about euthanasia most think of this as being an assisted suicide and or assisted murder. One has to think about the circumstances and or situation that the individual is in at the time of making the decision to end their life. Many of the physician assisted deaths or euthanasia is due to terminal illnesses or one is in such pain and suffering from a disease or a non-curable virus. When you look at these factors one would have to ask themselves, even though it is properly regulated, should euthanasia be legalized or not because everyone has the right to die, it has been proven to saves lives, and has been known to encourage vulnerable people to end their lives. First, should euthanasia be legalized or not because everyone has the right to die. There was a story that I read about a guy’s grandmother was suffering from advanced heart disease and during surgery she acquired a bacterial infection, and ended up to where she could not take care of herself. She ultimately did not want to live anymore. Matthew Hayes went on to say that to his grandmother “Life was not worth living, she told me, without autonomy. She wanted to die happy and with some dignity left” (Hayes, 2014). Since she could not end her life legally in New York, she went on to suffer for two years before finally dying a slow and painful death. Oregon passed a law in 1997 called the Death with Dignity act, where...
Words: 1236 - Pages: 5
...been long simmered beneath the surface in legal and political circles: under what circumstances do terminally injured and ill Americans have the right to choose to die? The Supreme Court made a definitive statement in the landmark 1990 case Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Dept. of Health that severely injured patients have a constitutional right to refuse medical treatment and die. But the court also ruled that states can require "clear and convincing" evidence of a patient's intent to forgo medical treatment, a rather high evidentiary standard to meet. History The actual word for “having a right to die” is Euthanasia. According to Dictionary.com, euthanasia is defined as the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering. The concept of Euthanasia goes as far back as 1870, when Samuel Williams, a schoolteacher, initiated the contemporary euthanasia debate through a speech given at the Birmingham Speculative Club, which was subsequently published in a one-off publication...
Words: 4441 - Pages: 18
