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Argumentative Essay: Jack Kevorkian Assisted Suicide

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Jack Kevorkian was a medical pathologist who willfully assisted in patient suicides, which increased the talk on hospice care and the "right to die" legislative action. Dr. Kevorkian argued for the right of the terminally ill to choose how they die, and he also challenged social taboos about disease and dying. Whether you agree or disagree with what Dr. Kevorkian did, he helped the growth of hospice care in the United States and caused a number of doctors to be more sympathetic to those who were terminally ill and had severe pain, causing them to be more willing to prescribe medication to relieve it. Dr. Kevorkian ignited the discussion about assisted suicide, but there are still many questions that have to be asked about assisted suicide, …show more content…

It is legal in five of the fifty states of the United States, which includes California, Montana, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. In Montana a decision is given to individuals through a court decision, individuals are required to have a terminal illness as well and a prognosis of six months or less to live. In California, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington assisted suicide are mandated by state law. The exact method differs between states, but mainly involves a prescription from a licensed physician approved by the state (or court) in which the patient is a resident (Physician-Assisted Suicide Fast …show more content…

“The Hippocratic Oath is a moral code of ethical conduct and practice in medicine, and was established by Hippocrates. It states “First do no harm.” And “I will give no deadly medicine to anyone if asked, nor suggest any such counsel.” which both clearly conflicts with a physician offering or administering a lethal injection.”(Tyson). Although the Hippocratic Oath is held sacred by doctors today, we must keep in mind that it is one of the oldest binding documents in history and has been adapted many times. Does the Hippocratic Oath address the realities of a modern medical world? Is the oath's still relevant today? The Hippocratic Oath lays out that doctors must have ethics, what’s more ethical than putting a person out of their misery. A fully component terminally ill person can’t consent to assisted suicide because of an oath that was written thousands of years ago. How that makes any sense baffles me. A document that was written in the 6th century is not still relevant in the 21th century. The Hippocratic Oath lays out ethics for doctors to follow, but the ethics it lays out does not match the changing of society and the technology that has been brought with that

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According to Julie Rovner, Kevorkian was known as Dr. Death and allegedly assisted in more than 130 suicides (Rovner, 1999, para. 3). His method of assisted suicide would be providing his patients with means by which they could kill themselves using a machine that delivered a lethal dose of carbon monoxide (Rovner, 1999, para. 5). He would never get charged for murder in his practices because ultimately it was the patient 's choice whether or not to go through with it. Until one day

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The Hippocratic Oath is one of the oldest binding documents in history. It has been revised and renewed many different times. The classical version has newly medical graduates swear to gods and goddesses. It states that dietetic measures will be given to the sick and a knife will never be used. That sick houses will be visited and deathly drugs, including abortions, will not be given to anyone.

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The oath created by Hippocrates known as the ‘Hippocratic Oath’ states the obligations and the correct conduct of a doctor. It is taken during the studies of a medical student at medical school (Early World History Blogger). The well-known ‘Hippocratic Oath’ is valued all around the world. It details the values and responsibilities of physicians at all times (Dawson). The ‘Hippocratic Oath’ is sworn by physicians as of today and the main principle to 'work with purity and with holiness' (Hippocrates) is correlated to our modern values.

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Based on these biomedical ethics guidelines, physician assisted suicide can be argued as unethical. For physician-assisted suicide to occur, a physician must prescribe lethal medication to a terminally ill patient. Judges on this case argue "the distribution of prescriptions for lethal dosages of

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Notably, “Physician-assisted suicide differs from euthanasia, which is defined as the act of assisting people with their death in order to end their suffering, but without the backing of a controlling legal authority.” (CNN par. 3) For this reason, some could make a case that assisted suicide is nothing more than a qualified physician helping a patient willingly end his life, no harm, no foul; however, it is rarely considered that all physicians take an oath that they will do all in their power to care for their patients and give them what they need to heal, not what they need to die. Should this oath be disregarded if the patient wishes to die?

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Although Assisted suicide is illegal in most states, it is well known to help many patients, however opposing sides sees the impact it has on family and medical physicians who think it is unethical. Physician assisted suicide is for those who have life threatning illnesses and who do not have much time to live. However, from a legal standpoint, Physician assisted suicide does not include active

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Jack Kevorkian’s case opened the eyes of the people and his actions had lasting effects on the Nation. According to the existing Hippocratic Oath, “an oath or promise all physicians must swear to uphold regarding the ethical practices of the medical profession.” (“Assisted Suicide”) This oath was a guide in many states decisions regarding assisted suicide cases. In 1997, the Supreme Court banned assisted suicide laws in New York and Washington.

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It discusses the tri-relationship among the doctor, patient and the illness that was made. The oath was modernized and became known as the Declaration of Geneva. This shows that the oath was very important in medicine and always played a huge role. A section of the oath discusses the idea of do no harm but instead be of benefit. Hippocrates stated, "Also I will, according to my ability and judgment, prescribe a regimen for the health of the sick; but I will utterly reject harm and mischief”.

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While assisted suicide is not as controversial a topic as abortion or gun control, it is quite controversial nonetheless. The idea that a medically licensed doctor can help someone end their life, the exact opposite of their job description, is mind boggling. Many people feel as though this is wrong and religiously a sin, but others feel as though it is every person’s decision how they live and, in this case, how they end their lives. Those who are for physician-assisted suicide have probably had some sort of contact with it, whereas those who are so against it, probably have no reason to try to understand why someone may want to take their own life this way.

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This is carried into what is now known as HIPPA or Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Although not all of the Hippocratic oath remains the same due to different “scientific, economic, political, and social changes, a world of legalized abortion, physician-assisted suicide, and pestilences unheard of in Hippocrates' time,” it is still widely used today. Changing the oath to fit the needs of those that are found ill today is important, although some physicians say it should be left completely and

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Physician assisted suicide has been an intensely debated problem for years but if used properly, could be an effective way to help those who are suffering at the end of their life. Countless people have been advocating for physician assisted suicide for years and the most famous advocate for assisted suicide was Dr. Jack Kevorkian. He was a pathologist but received the nickname Dr. Death after it was estimated that between 1990 and 1999 he assisted 130 terminally ill individuals in their assisted suicides (“Jack Kevorkian”). Dr. Kevorkian is considered a crusader for physician

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I will give no deadly medicine to anyone if asked, nor suggest any such advice…” Doctors still take this oath when becoming doctors. The oath sets the principles of the entire field of medicine. Without it, we wouldn’t have medicine in the way that we do

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To build this connection, educators encourage the students to move from their home language through to the use of less context-complicated literate discourses as required by the modern-day school curriculum. To build these connections, educators must ensure they observe the language skills of their students and model what language the students should be using in the classroom. Educators must acknowledge the vocabulary, ideas and knowledge base of their students. They then must encourage the code-switching student to interact, converse with, and learn more from their peers and educators (Villegas & Lucas, 2007).

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One of the most interesting ethical codes in modern times is in the medical field. The Hippocratic Oath is one of the earliest manuscripts in known history. The Hippocratic Oath obliges a newly minted physician to swear upon a number of Greek healing gods that he/she will follow the ethical standards of the profession. I’m concerned that this oath doesn’t have the same significance and respect, as in years past. The modern version of the oath is only a shadow of the original oath.

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All healthcare providers follow the Hippocratic Oath that has been used for centuries to set out guidelines for our doctors and nurses and in the original version it states “I will not give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect”. In the modern version it states “Above all, I must not play God”. Just in these two sentences all caretakers partaking in this practice have directly broken their promise. Also religion and the role of God is completely taken advantage of when the patient decides to end their life themselves. Julia Angelotti’s views concor with mine when she says that breaking the Hippocratic oath is “immoral” and “probably illegal” (Angelotti).

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