...truth to the parents and or coach. Although not as controversial as assisted suicide it poses significant risks and eyebrow raises in the sports world. Doctors, nurses, and various medical personal have a harder role. They wager people’s lives and future and decide in some countries whether or not to permit such an act. In this essay we will explore the facts on Euthanasia: Assisted Suicide, my view, the world view and its progress. Before I begin, however, let me note what I will not try to do. I will not try to show you that Physician Assisted Suicide is a fully justifiable course of action what I will do is give you facts and statistics of this rapidly growing controversial issue.. What I will show you is the compatibility to the commitment to good end-of-life care. One of the most important public policy debates today surrounds the issues of euthanasia and assisted suicide. The outcome of that debate to whether or not it should be made available will profoundly affect family relationships, interaction between doctors and patients, and concepts of basic ethical behavior. Although not accepted widespread, the thought and ease of relocation to a place where it is available is an option many people are considering. By definition Physician-Assisted Suicide is defined as a physician providing medications or other interventions to a patient with understanding that the patient intends to use them to commit suicide. In contrast to Euthanasia defined as, intentionally administering...
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...THE CHURCH, EUTHANASIA and ASSISTED SUICIDE Euthanasia also known as “mercy killing” and assisted suicide are worldwide controversial issues. According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, the word euthanasia comes from Greek, meaning easy death (eu: easy, thanatos: death). Euthanasia means to end the life of a person who is terminally ill or suffering from severe pain, in a deliberate way. At the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) webpage, in the section Ethics guides, under the title of Forms of Euthanasia, Religions and Death? (2009), different types of euthanasia are described, such as indirect, active, passive, voluntary, involuntary and non voluntary. On the other hand, assisted suicide is usually performed with the help of a health professional; that is why; it is usually called Physician Assisted Suicide (or PAS). The main controversy is over the different opinions on whether it is the sick patient’s decision or if it is a legal, ethical or religious issue to be considered by a third party. In order to practice assisted suicide in a country where it is legal, many factors should be present, such as the moral and religious beliefs of the patient and the physician or the patient’s family and the physician, as well as the legislation of the country where it is going to be carried out. At present, in countries where euthanasia is not legalized yet, it is very difficult to obtain legal permission to practice it. As regards the ethical...
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...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...
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...Assisted suicide for terminally ill patients The issue of assisted suicide for terminally ill patients is heavily debated and relevant nowadays with the medical technics that has come so fare making it almost impossible for terminally ill patients to die ‘by choice’. I will present three different people’s view on the subject. An account of the issue In 2012 the British newspaper The Independent brought to articles with two different views on assisted suicide on their website. The article Tony Nicklinson: “Perhaps I’ll say goodbye on Twitter” written by former nurse Nina Lakhani concerning the patient Tony Nicklinson’s wish to die since he suffers with locked-‐in syndrome. Nicklinson sees it as a violation of his human rights that he is not allowed assisted suicide. ‘The government is in breach of Mr. Nicklinson’s Article 8 right to “privacy, dignity and autonomy”, a right he cannot...
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...are terminally ill. The issue is physician assisted suicide and should individuals have the right to decide for themselves that they want to have their life terminated. There are no laws against a person taking their own life but a terminally ill person would need the help of a physician to take their life, and that is legal in only 3 states (wrtl.org, 2011). The right to assisted suicide is legal in several countries including the Netherlands Belgium, and Luxemburg. Current state laws are varied but in 34 states there are laws that explicitly make it illegal. A terminally ill patient may override objections from their clergyman because of the indescribable pain and seek out help from a physician. The Hippocratic Oath forbids Doctors from performing physician-assisted suicide but that does not always prevent them from doing so, as in the case of Doctor Kevorkian in Michigan who was known for assisting some terminally ill patients with ending their lives. In 1990 a Detroit newspaper contained this ad:"Applications are being accepted. Oppressed by a fatal disease, a severe handicap, or a crippling deformity? Write BOX 264, Royal Oak, Mich. 48068-0261. Show him proper compelling medical evidence that you should die, and Dr. Jack Kevorkian will help you kill yourself free of charge." (Kearl, 2002, p. 1) There are other doctors that feel euthanasia should be a choice after all other options have been exhausted. ”Physician-assisted suicide should be a lawful medical procedure for competent...
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...Assisted Suicide Shanette Anfield PHI200: Mind and Machine Troy Epps July 31, 2012 Assisted Suicide Assisted suicide is an ethical issue that not only has an effect on the individual, but it also reflects on the society where the individual lives. Euthanasia is an act of someone else ending someone’s life. Assisted suicide is the act of the individual having help in ending their own life. “Physician-assisted suicide (PAS), is slightly different than euthanasia; in using PAS, the patient is provided the means for terminating his or her life, but the patient, not the doctor, ends the life in question” (Mosser, 2010, Chp. 2.3, para. 31). However, not all assisted suicides may involve a doctor. In the United States, Oregon was the first state to pass an assisted-suicide law. Washington is a state that has as recently as 2008 adopted an act that allows residents that have less than six months to live to request a legal dose of medication. Eleven states, including Alabama, Idaho and North Carolina ‘have no enactments which criminalize aiding, abetting, assisting, or counseling suicide” (“Assisted Suicide,” 2010, para. 1-7). Several other states such as Alaska, California and Florida “criminalize aiding, abetting, and/or assisting suicide” (“Assisted Suicide,” 2010, para. 8). I am a Georgian and our law states that any involvement in an assisted suicide is a felony. The main conflict of assisted suicide...
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...or not, this scenario existed in real life. This scenario describes Physician-Assisted Suicide. Physician-Assisted Suicide is currently legal in a few states. There is currently an on going debate to extend its legality to more states and eventually the entire United States. Many people each year are diagnosed with a terminal illness. They are forced to suffer and live in pain until they eventually die naturally. For some people, this could be years, even decades of suffering. This is a long time of suffering that could be avoided. Physician-Assisted Suicide helps these people. People can be put out of their pain and misery. This is highly controversial. Some believe these doctors are murderers. Others call these doctors a saving grace. This is a practice with many ethical questions. Hopefully, after research, I will be able to answer these ethical questions. There are a few other questions that I hope to answer. On being, the states allow Physician-Assisted Suicide. Also, what is New Jersey’s stand on this practice? Lastly, what are the guidelines and requirements to be eligible? As defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Physician Assisted Suicide is...
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...Arguments Physician Assisted suicide or euthanasia, is also distinguished as mercy killing. Euthanasia is the act to place a person to death devoid of pain or permitting a person to die, as by persistence of severe medical measures, a person distressed from a, precise terminal painful, disease or circumstance (Beauchamp, 1999). Physician Assisted suicide is the exercise of killing or taking somebody’s life. A lot of doctors and people feel that in these distinct conditions it is the finest thing to do, consecutively to sustain a person from hurt and suffering. The actuality that euthanasia or physician assisted suicide is the ending life of a person brings with reference to the issue should it be legal or illegal (McDougall, 2000)? People's sovereignty or self-determination is a significant perception in the debate on make lawful euthanasia. Proponents dispute that the prohibition on euthanasia inflicts too great a restriction on the person's capacity for directing the end of her or his life and what nature death will take. On the other hand, Opponents, dispute that self-determination would be fake autonomy with value to euthanasia, or that self-determination concerning euthanasia must not weigh additional profoundly than the law of not killing. Euthanasia is identified as the practice of intentionally ending a life which liberates an individual from a terminal disease or unbearable suffering. Should Euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide be made legal? Arguments...
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...Alexandra Chase DiLonardo RS 282 Film Reflection How To Die In Oregon The Right To Choose “And what will this medication do?” “It will kill me and make me happy.” These chilling lines of the opening scene of How To Die In Oregon truly relays the message of how grateful the ailed residents of Oregon are for the death with dignity law. We are met with a man named Roger, who seems more than eager to receive the medication that will kill him, as he is surrounded by a family that seemingly supports his decision. The entire film is focused on the ethical dilemma on physician assisted suicide; and how a patients decision affects the people surrounding them. It is no surprise there is a major ethical debate regarding the idea and action of euthanasia. Although, this is not a black and white issue, there is not precise right and wrong, mainly because each patient, doctor, and family situation is unique on a case by case basis. The most compelling and emotionally charged case in the film is Cody’s story. Cody is suffering from a countless amount of complications in her battle of terminal cancer. Cody acknowledges she doesn't want to die, but since she knows she will, she states “With death with dignity you do have some control over whats going to happen, you can offer that to your family. So it means you can have some good times…and have things be as normal as possible without being focused on when she is going to die because you know that.” It seems that control is a common theme...
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...Physician Assisted Suicide Candace Riffe We all reach that point in our lives when our tickers just doesn’t tick the way they used to. When this happens most of us take many restless trips to our doctors. Time after time of visits, medicines and no cure incite patients begin to lose their will to live. Fortunately, the man from above granted us doctors. Doctors have the power to ease our minds and bodies in times of illness. At the point of no return, when you and your body have completely given up, Physician Assisted Suicide should be an option. I know, suicide sounds absolutely insane. Pick your jaw back up and keep an open mind. There’s a 74 year old male suffering with the 4th stage of pancreatic cancer. He’s retired, his children are grown and his wife is deceased. After all of these years of many doctors’ visits and treatments he’s finally come to peace with the idea of dying. His mind, body and heart could easily be put to rest with just one lethal dose given by a doctor. The idea of assisted suicide sounds absurd to some but does a slow painful death really sound like an appealing alternative? For years, doctors have been prohibited from assisting patients in taking their own lives. Doctors are trained to know when a patient’s days are numbered. Why would it ever be necessary to force someone to endure years of suffering? Wouldn’t it be more ethical to give the patient the option to say when they’ve had enough? The right to die is a given right. Nowhere in the...
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...187 Emotional and Psychological Effects of Physician-Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia on Participating Physicians Kenneth R. Stevens, Jr., M.D., FACR* Abstract: This is a review and evaluation of medical and public literature regarding the reported emotional and psychological effects of participation in physician-assisted suicide (PAS) and euthanasia on the involved physicians. Materials and Methods: Articles in medical journals, legislative investigations and the public press were obtained and reviewed to determine what has been reported regarding the effects on physicians who have been personally involved in PAS and euthanasia. Results and Discussion: The physician is centrally involved in PAS and euthanasia, and the emotional and psychological effects on the participating physician can be substantial. The shift away from the fundamental values of medicine to heal and promote human wholeness can have significant effects on many participating physicians. Doctors describe being profoundly adversely affected, being shocked by the suddenness of the death, being caught up in the patient’s drive for assisted suicide, having a sense of powerlessness, and feeling isolated. There is evidence of pressure on and intimidation of doctors by some patients to assist in suicide. The effect of countertransference in the doctor-patient relationship may influence physician involvement in PAS and euthanasia. Conclusion: Many doctors who have participated in euthanasia and/or ...
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...Physician Assisted Suicide/Euthanasia: Shouldn't We Have That Choice? Everest University Online – Tampa/Brandon Abstract Physician-assisted suicide/euthanasia has been a heated debate amongst many people and physicians since the 5th century. Most people do not think about their death or how and when they would like to die, if they were terminally ill. Until people start speaking up about their wishes about how and when they want to die, they will continue to slowly fade away and be in pain during that process. There really needs to be someone to step up and finish where Dr. Kevorkian was forced to stop helping people. There are hundreds, if not thousands of people that die every single day, and those people end up suffering because there is nothing, except conventional pain medications, that ease their pain while dying. While these pain medications do help sometimes, people are still suffering, waiting, and dying a slow death. This is why doctor assisted suicide/euthanasia should be legalized because at the end of their lives, most people do not want to suffer. Shouldn't we be Able to Choose how and When to Die? Have you ever thought about the way you would want to die if you were terminally ill? Most people do not think about things like that. However, if you could actually choose how and when you wanted to die, what choice would you make? If you had a terminal illness and knew that you were going to die very soon, would you want your family to watch you be in pain...
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...Physician Assisted Suicide: Why It Should Not Be Legalized Samantha Davis PHI 208 Ethics and Moral Reasoning Prof. Paige Erickson November 30, 2015 When considering what physician assisted suicide is and what the long term effects could be of legalizing it in all fifty (50) states, one would need to ask if a physician should be given the right to administer a lethal dose of medication to a patient with the sole intent of ending said patient’s life? In 2006 the United States Supreme Court held in “Gonzalez v. Oregon (2006) that the Federal Controlled Substances Act does not allow the U.S. Attorney General to prohibit doctors from prescribing regulated drugs for use in PAS (Physician Assisted Suicide)” (Gloth, n.d.). There are many people that feel as if there is nothing morally wrong or right with “killing” or “allowing” someone to die so to speak, by way of a lethal dose of medication or injection. Physician assisted suicide is a means to bring an end to a terminally or chronically ill patient’s life by administering some form of medication either by injection or by mouth. While this could be considered one of the most pain free options, it is still not a viable reason to commit suicide. A Utilitarian would argue that by doing what causes the greatest happiness to a person should be done. When looking at physician assisted suicide from this view it is easily understood that PAS (Physician Assisted Suicide) is a means to an end, an end of a life. By forcing an end to the...
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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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...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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