...Physician Assisted Suicide “I still feel good enough, I still have enough joy. I still laugh and smile with my family and friends. This does not feel like the right time to go,” Brittney Maynard. In Oregon, there was a woman named Brittney Maynard. She was 29 years of age. She suddenly started to have severe headaches and became concerned and wanted to go see a doctor as soon as possible. Shortly after in May 2013, Maynard was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. She was married to her husband Dan Diaz, at the time she was diagnosed. The following year, in the spring of 2014 she was informed that she only had six or seven months to live. The thought of dying from terminally ill brain cancer and never having kids was heartbreaking to her. She wanted to leave her legacy behind. Maynard decided to move from the state of California to Oregon to participate in physician assisted suicide also known as the “Death with Dignity Act.” She was told that the process would be long and painful, and she did not want to go through that. So she went a doctor in Oregon that could prescribe her the lethal dose of the medication that would end her life immediately. She scheduled to end her life November 1, 2014, just three short days after her husband’s birthday. Brittney stated, “I know everyone has to morn, but I want him to remarry and have a family. Something I could never do for him.” In her saying that one can tell that she really loves Dan and wants only the best for him. Physician...
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...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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...Should Assisted Suicide be Legal? Stefan C Sooter HUM/115 October 12, 2015 Beverly Sessoms Should Assisted Suicide be Legal? As I type this opening paragraph for my essay, I should precursor this by saying that I'm beginning this piece as a non-advocate for assisted suicide. It's not just about my religious views, but also for the fact that I believe that with modern medical miracles, anything can happen. If you tap out of the fight too early, you may never know what could have happened. I understand that the situation can feel hopeless, and one can be in so much pain that one may feel like they can't take anymore, but I've witnessed first-hand desperate situations turn into miracles. My father was diagnosed in 2009 with Stage 3 Esophageal cancer. The chances of him living, especially at 65 years old, were thirty-three percent, at best. Today, he is one hundred percent in remission and living his life as a healthy senior man. That example alone is my reason for not believing in assisted suicide. A publication in the Evening Chronicle states that assisted suicide may be a dangerous law to pass. If legalized, it could set a precedent for those that are disabled or terminally ill to take their lives as to not be a burden to their family or friends (Anonymous, 2010). The author also goes on to discuss how legalizing assisted suicide could, "create pressure, particularly on those who are newly physically challenged, to end their lives. We should be fighting for proper health...
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...prolongation of dying. Put simply - why should be patient be forced to experience a slow death? Most physicians have received one or more requests to help a patient end his or her life prematurely. This module focuses on the skills that the physician can use to respond both compassionately and with confidence to a request, not on the merits of arguments for or against legalizing physician-assisted suicide (PAS) or euthanasia, but using solid clinical skills. To respond effectively, physicians must know the reasons why patients ask for assistance. Depression, psychosocial factors, and anticipated distress are common reasons, but current physical suffering can also be a factor. Physicians need to be able to assess the root causes of the specific request, make a commitment to the patient’s care, address each of the patient’s sources of suffering, educate the patient about legal alternatives, and seek counsel from colleagues. The vast majority of requests for PAS or euthanasia should abate when approached in this way. Oregon The state of Oregon has had a physician-assisted suicide law since 1994 which was implemented in 1998. Since then more than 341 terminally ill people have taken...
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...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 mobilizing dignity, the Death with Dignity National Center “provides various educational and outreach resources which identify and support states actively seeking to pass death with dignity laws similar to the state of Oregon” (DWDNC, 2011). The goal of preserving dignity is “achieve by developing and nurturing diverse financial resources which ensures financial vitality and its position as the...
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...life support. Being able to choose what you do with your life, especially in a terminally ill state, should be a fundamental human right and a legal option for anyone around the globe. One major benefit of physician-assisted suicide is that it ends suffering. According to "Doctor Assisted Suicide Pros and Cons List," as death nears, a lot of physical pain can occur from terminal...
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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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...Assisted suicide has become a very controversial issue all over the world. Although it is still illegal in most of the world, there are places where it is legal, at least under certain conditions. Switzerland is one of the countries where assisted suicide has been legal for many years. Many countries, like Canada, are considering making changes to their laws regarding this issue. Before doing so, it is essential to closely examine places like Switzerland to identify the issues that have arisen. The fact that people travel from countries where assisted suicide is illegal to places like Switzerland where it is legal is problematic. Additionally, the “slippery slope” argument against assisted suicide has become clearly evident in Switzerland. It is evident that the legalization of assisted suicide does not come without some serious concerns. In Switzerland, assisted suicide has been permitted since 1942. Assisted suicide is acceptable as long as medical protocols are strictly followed (Todd). Euthanasia is not legal in Switzerland. Euthanasia is defined as “intentionally causing the death of a person, the motive being...
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...EITHICAL DELIMAS IN NURSING Green Group Shannon Blake, Sherri Dunn, Susan Brown, Tammie Hicks, Miriam Cook Grand Canyon University Nrs-437 November 7, 2015 Nurses have been playing very important roles in the caring of patients throughout the continuum of life and at the end of life for years. It is the position of the ANA that participation of nurses in euthanasia is prohibited as those acts are in contradiction of the code of ethics for nurses. Nurses have a duty to provide humane, comprehensive and compassionate care in respect to the rights of patients, but maintain the standard of the profession in the presence of chronic, debilitating illness and at the end of life. Voluntary euthanasia is the act of taking a life painlessly especially to relief suffering from an incurable illness, with the consent of a dying patient. Denying people such wishes can lead to unnecessary suffering. There are two types of euthanasia; involuntary, where patients refuse to consent and non-voluntary, patients unable to consent. Euthanasia can have great impact on the society. It affects everyone one way or another. Although a person has autonomy to make decisions about his end of life care doesn’t take away from the fact that their family and friends will be affected with guilt, anger and bitterness. Voluntary euthanasia can hamper efforts to advance medical research in finding cures for diseases (Saunders, 2011). As the nurse taking care of a terminally ill patient...
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...Dara Hughes A. Kopriva English 1001 30 November 2011 Life Affecting 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...
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...ENC 1102C June 20, 2011 The Right to Die: Physician-Assisted Suicide In cases such as the Death before Dignity Act, lawmakers and citizens are trying to legalize what some would call physician-assisted suicide or euthanasia. Physician-assisted suicide is when a physician provides the means of death for a gravely ill patient but the patient takes the final step ( Dictionary.com, LLC ). According to Dictionary.com, euthanasia is the act of putting to death painlessly or allowing to die as by withholding extreme medical measures, a person or animal suffering from an incurable, especially painful disease or condition. In most cases, the physician would recommend to the family or the patient would ask for him/herself but you have many instances where the physician hastens or rushes the patient to make the decision (Henry). The issue at hand though, is why a person can’t have control over their life and determine when it shall end. If one is mentally competent and have a terminal illness, meaning they have six months or less to live, why can’t one end their life? If all they’re doing is lying in a hospital bed receiving palliative care, eating pills like candy just to try to ease the pain, why can’t one say “okay, enough is enough?” Place yourself in their shoes, imagine if you were diagnosed with lung cancer that metastasized to your brain, or if you no longer had HIV but AIDS, would you want to live through that pain or would you rather ease it all by ending your life? That...
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...Against Humanity: Euthanasia Tolga Arslan ESL 160-03: Combined Skills VI Professor Roxanne Leach April 24, 2013 Tolga Arslan 4/24/2013 ESL 160-3 Library Report Essay Professor Roxanne Leach Against Humanity: Euthanasia Euthanasia is a serious political, moral, and ethical issue in today’s society. Euthanasia is putting people in a painless death or when terminally ill people choose to end his or her life with a doctor’s help. The word euthanasia comes from Greek “eu”, goodly or well and “thanatos” death, so it is good death. This short definition is a cause of all those debates all over the world. Doctors, politicians, religious leaders, lawyers, and general public argue for euthanasia, whether it should be legalized or not. Euthanasia is a serious topic because it goes against the standards of traditional medicine. First, doctors have to take the Hippocratic Oath to become a real doctor. The Hippocratic Oath says do whatever you can to save people’s life. Euthanasia says just kill them if they want to die. Which doctor can kill their client if they have taken the Hippocratic Oath or if they are real doctors? Second, euthanasia is not always applied to terminally ill patients either. People who have been in serious accidents, or who have debilitating diseases are often consideration for the application of euthanasia. The problem is, these patients are neither in a coma nor senseless. According to http://www.euthanasia.cc, “A pair of identical twins has died after...
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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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...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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