ipl-logo

Argumentative Essay On Assisted Suicide

1218 Words5 Pages

It is evident that people who are opposed to assisted suicide make some good claims. However, they are not focused on the big picture. Although the opposition does not say so directly, they apparently assume people should not have a choice on whether or not they die. To begin with,Smith (2008) observed there are two foundations to assisted suicide. The first foundation is self-determination and the right of personal autonomy. Smith’s point is that people should have the right to make their own choices. Surely, the right to choose when to die is a basic human right, and it is inhumane to force someone to live with intolerable pain if they feel ready to die. Interestingly, if someone is forced to die, it is called murder, but when someone chooses …show more content…

Since the first court case of assisted suicide was allowed in the Netherlands, doctors have gone from killing the terminally ill to anyone who asks for it (Smith, 2008). Smith observes that the Dutch handled the situation atrociously as they allowed the killing of people without any punishments from the government. Clearly, since the Dutch never made regulations about assisted suicide it got out of hand. Even though the Dutch handled the situation extremely poorly, they still fulfilled the basic idea that supporters of assisted suicide believe: the right to die in the way the patient wishes. Evidently, society can see how laws are so important for assisted suicide, so it does not get out of hand. Undoubtedly, if it is not addressed, patients can request lethal medication for any reason and for this reason, it is pivotal to limit who should be eligible to commit assisted suicide so it does not get out of control. On the other hand, Oregon is stepping in the right direction in making laws for assisted suicide. Since Oregons legalization of assisted suicide, few have used it. One in six inquire about assisted suicide, but only one in one thousand of those go through with the act (Lee, 2015). To point out, Lee argues that assisted suicide can give terminal patients comfort. Seemingly, these patients may have to fear they will have to go through a painful and long death. Henseforth, assisted suicide can alleviate the fear people feel about death. Surely, even the thought of having a painless way to die can make the end of one’s life better. Assumingly, people close to their death think about it more and more. Certainly, these people fear they will lose all of their function and do not want their family to remember them like that. To point out, the terminally ill may feel like they have no control over

Show More
Related
1039 Words | 5 Pages

Freedman worries about the conceptual slippery slope associated with physician assisted suicide. Ultimately, he believes that allowing physician assisted suicide will lead to the approval of euthanasia (154). In many situations it is unclear how to deal with requested physician suicide, especially in cases where the patient has a physical disability. In such cases, it is difficult or impossible for a patient to self-administer the lethal dose of medication to end his or her own life. It therefore rules out physician assisted suicide, but denying the patient the right to end his or her own life as they choose is against the charter of rights and undermines his or her autonomy (155).

Read More
191 Words | 1 Pages

In the Newsweek article, “Physician-Assisted Suicide Is Always Wrong,” by Ryan Anderson, it is stated that the legalization of assisted suicide “would be a grave mistake.” Anderson provides a few examples of why assisted suicide is detrimental. One, he states it leads to an endangerment of the weak and disenfranchised in societies. His outlook is that the purported safeguards of eliminating risk has mainly been nonexistent, which in some countries like the Netherlands who has legalized physician assisted suicide (PSA), has lead to doctors administering lethal injections to patients without request. Two, Anderson, sees assisted suicide as a compromise in the practice of medicine.

Read More
1897 Words | 8 Pages

Though, in this paper, I have addressed several points that Dennis Plaisted has presented on why we should not legalize physician assisted suicide due to the issues with autonomy that convince the public that the state does not care enough to preserve the lives of those with less than six months to live. I argued that the limits of who and when an ill patient may be allowed to receive PAS are present for the state to relieve the pain of the ill who wish to have control over their death, and that it is only an alternative option for those patients. I considered a counterargument to my criticism, which argues that the state and doctors shouldn’t allow for PAS, as it gives the impression that the state does not care about the lives of the terminally ill. Just as well, the reputation of doctors as healers would be compromised if they supported this form of treatment. However, I explained that the quality of life is more valuable than forcing someone who is ill to suffer until their natural death.

Read More
677 Words | 3 Pages

For this reason, they contend, dying people should have the right to control the timing of their death and should be permitted to obtain a doctor's help in doing so.” Terminally ill people who do not have the option of physician assisted suicide have to go through an extremely painful and slow death. They should have the right to control when they can be put out of their misery. Nobody should be forced to suffer, and PAS is a relief from suffering. Accoding to “Physician-Assisted Suicide Should Be Legalized”, “The physician's obligations are many but, when cure is impossible and palliation has failed to achieve its objectives, there is always a residual obligation to relieve suffering.

Read More
2742 Words | 11 Pages

Assisted death is a version of voluntary active euthanasia, which is different from the withdrawal of life-support, a passive type of euthanasia. The health professional prescribes the terminally ill patient a medication that will allow them to end their life immediately in an environment chosen by them. To date, physician-assisted suicide is legal in Vermont, Montana, Oregon and Washington and other places around the world. Concerning the debate over this issue, some individuals believe that patients considered to be terminally ill or in extreme pain have the right to decide their death, and in doing so, receive the help of a doctor. On the contrary, others argue that patients should not be allowed to choose death with the help of a health

Read More
846 Words | 4 Pages

When a terminally ill patient undergoes long and grueling unsuccessful treatments, the patient may lose a sense of hope for living and accept their death. Then they may go on to wanting control over their death and leading a patient to pursue PAS. Terminally ill patients are usually weak, tired, and uncomfortable. These are some of the main factors that qualify a patient for PAS because they interfere and prevent the patient from having a good quality of life. In addition, a patient may request PAS to lessen the financial burden of unnecessary medical procedures.

Read More
267 Words | 2 Pages

Physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia has been one of the most debated subjects in the past years. There are resilient advocates on both sides of the debate for and against physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia. Advocates of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide believe it is a person ’s right to die when faced with terminal illness rather than suffer through to an unpleasant demise. Whereas, opponents contend that euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide is not only equivalent of murder, but it is ethically and morally incorrect.

Read More
1176 Words | 5 Pages

A New York court recently ruled physician assisted suicide as illegal, arguing that it is not a fundamental right of the patient. I agree with this ruling, and will argue that supporting physician-assisted suicide cannot be ethically justified and violates several

Read More
820 Words | 4 Pages

Physician-assisted suicide first became legal on November 8, 1994 in Oregon. This began the first movement, until Washington took part in this life-altering procedure on November 4, 2008. About a year later Montana agreed with legalizing this procedure. It did not stop growing there, Vermont then reformed on May 20, 2013 (Anderson).”

Read More
838 Words | 4 Pages

The main purpose of this chapter is to identify the arguments in favour and against assisted dying and to set out a framework of safeguards that would accompany any changes in legislation. This chapter will help show how the concerns regarding the legalisation of assisted dying are outweighed by the arguments in favour of a change in legislation. One of the strongest and most compelling arguments in favour of assisted dying draws on the importance of autonomy and individual liberty; in a liberal state individual freedoms must be respected, “the right to determine what shall be done with one’s own body is a fundamental right in our society” (Tiensuu,2015, p259). In the UK, people generally have the right to make their own decisions about how

Read More
647 Words | 3 Pages

Unlike Oregon, in most legal jurisdictions of physician assisted suicide, patients must have had been diagnosed terminally ill and given a certain time of life to be eligible for the usage of the practice. Most jurisdictions set these requirements so the practice isn’t used wrongfully and only patients experiencing crucial pain would be eligible. Although how patients who are not declared terminally ill can experience more pain anguish then those whom are declared terminally ill. A 2016 study by Emily Lund found that, “people view suicide as more acceptable for those with terminal cancer or nonterminal chronic pain”. This finding proves that even patients who are not terminally ill can experience the same equivalency of pain.

Read More
477 Words | 2 Pages

Especially because suicide is not illegal, but assisted suicide has been controversial and has been tried to be outlawed many times. But the state of Oregon has become a model for these specific situations and how it is

Read More
1445 Words | 6 Pages

For the terminally ill the decision ending their lives with compassion should be a fundamental

Read More
1321 Words | 6 Pages

The Right to Die has been taking effect in many states and is rapidly spreading around the world. Patients who have life threatening conditions usually choose to die quickly with the help of their physicians. Many people question this right because of its inhumane authority. Euthanasia or assisted suicide are done by physicians to end the lives of their patients only in Oregon, Washington, Vermont, Montana, New Mexico and soon California that have the Right to Die so that patients don’t have to live with depression, cancer and immobility would rather die quick in peace.

Read More
1016 Words | 5 Pages

In a few nations there is a divisive open discussion over the ethical, moral, and legitimate issues of euthanasia. The individuals who are against euthanasia may contend for the holiness of life, while defenders of euthanasia rights accentuate mitigating enduring, substantial respectability, determination toward oneself, and individual autonomy. Jurisdictions where euthanasia or supported suicide is legitimate incorporate the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Estonia, Albania, and the US states of Washington. CLASSIFICATION OF EUTHANASIA Euthanasia may be characterized consistent with if an individual

Read More

More about Argumentative Essay On Assisted Suicide

Related Topics

Open Document