...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...
Words: 2808 - Pages: 12
...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...
Words: 1850 - Pages: 8
...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...
Words: 1018 - Pages: 5
...Physician-assisted suicide is a controversial issue at the forefront of American society. The idea is that if someone has been diagnosed with a terminal illness they should have the option to end their own life through a quick and painless drug administered by a physician. Many terminally ill patients believe this gives them a sense of control and gives them an option to end the pain of dealing with their illness. The opposition of physician-assisted suicide are those who believe that suicide is immoral and forcing a physician to administer this procedure would unfair. While many are now in favor of physician-assisted suicide there are still those who oppose it for moral or religious reasons. Many believe that the practice is morally wrong because it...
Words: 663 - Pages: 3
...PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED SUICIDE: LEGALITY AND MORALITY Wednesday - May 8th, 2002 By Martin Levin, 107 Irving Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (617)-497-6828 mlevin@levinlaw.com On Sunday, June 21, 1992, Jennifer Cowart, age thirty-two, and her brother George Kowalski, age twenty-eight, traveled to Pensacola Beach, Florida, for a day of relaxation. At the end of the day, Jennifer and George were heading back to their vehicle when Jennifer noticed a go-kart track. The two entered the track, bought tickets, and began riding. Within one minute, Jennifer’s go-kart bumped into one of the side guardrails, flipped on its side, and burst into flames. Jennifer was seat-belted in the go-kart and could not get out. George tried to run into the fire to save his sister, but the flames were too intense. Bystanders attempted to use a fire extinguisher, but it did little to lessen the inferno. Jennifer was trapped in the burning go-kart for two minutes when her seat-belt finally burned through and she fell to the ground. George grabbed his sister and pulled her away from the fire. Jennifer was alive. She was lying on the asphalt alert, oriented, and coherent. She had suffered 3rd and 4th degree burns covering ninety-five percent of her body. She was suffering the worst pain imaginable. At the scene, Jennifer begged the rescue personnel to “let me die.” Instead, Jennifer was flown to a burn center in Mobile, Alabama, where she remained for one year until she was overcome by an infection...
Words: 15474 - Pages: 62
...or painful and incurable disease. One form of Euthanasia is the Physician-assisted suicide. Physician-assisted suicide happens when a disabled or a terminally ill patients are assisted by a physician or other medical practitioner to terminate their own life, either by giving the patient instructions on the suicide method to use or giving a lethal drug prescription to commit suicide. Several European countries have accepted physician-assisted suicide practices and euthanasia. However, in the United States, physician-assisted suicide has only been legalized in five states. Currently, the United States has not legalized euthanasia, but a vigorous debate on whether all states should emphases physician-assisted suicide and legalize euthanasia is going on. However, what derails the legalization of physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia is the controversial arguments...
Words: 940 - Pages: 4
...of “Definitions of Euthanasia,” physician-assisted suicide is when a, “Medical doctor helping patient to die by prescribing a lethal overdose.” Although there are many guidelines that have to be followed for a patient to be considered for physician-assisted suicide, it still should not be legal. Kayla Asbury argues in her article “The Right to Die: Benefits of Physician-Assisted Suicide” that, “dying with dignity is a right everyone should be afforded.” However, many people argue that physician-assisted suicide is not moral and should not be preformed under any circumstance. In Asbury’s article she time and time again explains why she believes physician-assisted suicide should be legal. Asbury’s main argument...
Words: 725 - Pages: 3
...human being for his or her alleged benefit. There are four types of euthanasia listed by Levine: active euthanasia, passive euthanasia, voluntary euthanasia, and non-voluntary euthanasia. The controversy is not life ending, but when death is inescapable, how far should one go in accelerating it? On October 27, 1997 Oregon enacted the Death with Dignity Act which allows terminally-ill Oregonians to end their lives through the voluntary self-administration of lethal medications, expressly prescribed by a physician for that purpose (Oregon 2012). The Act requires the Oregon Department of Human Services to collect information about the patients and physicians who participate in the Act, and publish an annual statistical report. Many objections that arise on this topic is the act allowing patients to commit suicide? The Eighth Annual Report on Oregon's Death with Dignity Act states under the Act, ending one's life in accordance with the law does not constitute suicide (ProCon 2012). The Death with Dignity Act legalizes physician-assisted suicide (PAS), but specifically prohibits euthanasia, where a physician or other person directly administers a medication to end another's life. In 1997 Oregon became the first state to permit physician-assisted suicide. On November 5, 2008 the state of Washington voted to allow legal assisted suicide according to the Oregon model. There is no specific federal law regarding either euthanasia or assisted suicide. All 50 states and the District of...
Words: 945 - Pages: 4
...1102 Professor Turner December 9, 2014 Assisted Suicide: Should it be Legal? Imagine getting the news that you only have a few months left to live. And during those few months pain begins to take over your entire body to the point you cannot bare it. Eventually you are bed ridden in a hospital, unable to do simple tasks without the aid of someone else. Life is no longer about living, but about that agonizing path that will soon lead you to death. Nobody wants to spend the last few months of his or her life suffering in pain, powerless and incapable of being independent. Someone that is suffering to this extent may come to the point where they decide that they do not want to live anymore. Assisted suicide, by definition, is suicide committed with the help of someone else. Many times it is also sometimes referred to as physician-assisted suicide in light of the fact that a doctor will provide them with the lethal dose of a drug required to kill a person. Numerous people will argue that assisted suicide is morally wrong while others will agree that if someone is truly sick and suffering, that they should be allowed to make that choice themselves. Because of the fact that if someone is suffering to the point that they want to end their life, then I believe that if they request it, patients should have access to this method. The more people learn about what assisted suicide is, the type of people that are seeking this method, and benefits of taking this route, the more they will...
Words: 1245 - Pages: 5
...patients have been pressed to the walls by their ailments. This has compelled them seek for suicide assistance in form of prescriptions for lethal drugs to help them terminate their lives. Such patients have undergone extreme pain that they are left with no options rather to beg to die. This is an illusion to some critics who preach about the sanctity of life. This paper intends to explore on legalizing Physician Assisted Suicide for terminally ill patients with certain guidelines. Introduction According to Birnbacher (2008), the question of legalizing physician assisted suicide still generates great debate. These two scholars have added their voice to the debate by stressing that physician assisted suicide should be permissible medical caregivers. This should only be possible under certain and considerable conditions. Manning (1998) also argued that some diseases are quite traumatizing. The patients tend to face extreme suffering that even doctors can seldom extend their olive branch. For instance, when an individual is suffering from incurable syndromes that press them to the extreme throughout their life, then euthanasia should be allowed (Snyder, 2002). This showed that physician assisted suicide could relieve such patients from the suffering. Based on the debate on physical assisted suicide, the proponents of the debate have appealed for legalizing physical assisted suicide. Their arguments have basically been founded on principle of autonomy (Birnbacher, 2008)...
Words: 3170 - Pages: 13
...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
...Physician-Assisted Suicide Suffering has always been a part of human existence. Request to end suffering by means of death through both physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia have occurred since the beginning of medicine. By definition, assisted suicide is a type of active euthanasia in which a physician facilitates a patient’s death by providing the necessary means of death to enable the patient to perform the life-ending act. Usually by prescribing a lethal dose of drugs but the patient is responsible for performing the final act (Codes of Ethics). Even though physician- assisted suicide is illegal, many people and doctors believe that it should be legal to help terminally ill people at the end of their life while others believe it is against their beliefs and religion to commit any type of suicide. This paper is going to show why doctor assisted suicide should be legalized because at the end of their lives, most people do not want to suffer. Only a terminal ill patient is really aware of what it is like to experience intractable suffering; even with pain relievers. Those who have not experiences it cannot fully appreciate what effect it has on quality of life. Apart from physical pain, overcoming the emotional pain of losing independence is an additional factor that only the patient comprehends fully. In medicine prolongation of living may sometimes turn into prolongation of dying. Why should be a patient be forced experience a slow death? Many families don’t want to see...
Words: 1670 - Pages: 7
...Physicians Assisted Suicide 1 Week Two Assignment PHI 103- Inforamal Logic Physicians Assisted Suicide 2 Most people want to live with dignity and die with dignity. People live their life the way they want to. They make important choices that can be very difficult sometimes and lead to dramatic changes. A person has a constitutional right to decide whether he wants to live or not. Some people become very ill or have devastating physical problems. Many of them trust their doctors to help them to cope with their illness and end their suffering. Physician-Assisted Suicide is an important topic that concerns people all over the United States. PAS is “the voluntary termination of one’s life by using means or information, such as a drug prescription or indication of the lethal dosage, provided by physician who is aware of how the patient intends to use such information or means”. Some people are against it because it goes against their religion and moral principals. Others are for it because it helps dying people to leave this world with dignity. Although opponent of PAS think that only God has the right to decide when a person has to die, others who are with it believe that a person has a right to end the suffering and pain by their own. One of the biggest benefits of PAS is that a person can stop their suffering and pain. There are ...
Words: 1071 - Pages: 5
...American 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...
Words: 2028 - Pages: 9
...life that can demand that we make split decisions. Some decisions are reversible whereas others, such as Physician Assisted Suicide, are concrete. While some view it as a solution or being a form of relief from intolerable pain, Physician Assisted Suicide should not be legalized. The reason for this is because patients shouldn’t make final decisions filtered by frustration. Other reasons are that Assisted Suicide can also give patients the idea that losing all hope is Ok. Although It’s fair to feel hopeless. The positive mindset can have great benefits to our health. Finally, many times it is the wrong approach to a much deeper problem. Hidden mind altering moods or emotions such as Depression can cause illogical reasoning. These are only a few reasons while Physician Assisted Suicide should be legalized. Frustration is an emotional state that a person experiences while under distress. It is also one of the many leading causes for attempting to find an “easy way out”....
Words: 742 - Pages: 3
