Argumentative Essay On Physician Assisted Suicide

Bailey Owens

English 111 002

Physician-Assisted Suicide. The choice to die.

In Oregon, physician-assisted suicide occurs when a physician assists in the act of a patient's death by providing life-ending medication for them to take independently. This act allows terminally ill residents to receive a prescription for a lethal medication that will cause their bodies to shut down and allows them to physician-assisted suicides without further pain and suffering from their ailments. To receive this medication certain requirements have to be met by the patient. The patient has to be an adult who is capable and of sound mind to make this decision and must be terminally ill with expected impending death within 6 months. To receive

Some say that physician-assisted suicide is an unethical practice that causes harm to patients. Others say that physician-assisted suicide is going to be used unethically and pushed onto those who may not have other options. Although physician-assisted suicide has been thought to contradict medical ethics, the practice's success in Oregon has shown this to be a beneficial form of palliative care. Evidence from Oregon demonstrates that this practice can be used ethically. In addition, physicians can do less harm by abbreviating the dying process. The claims that physician-assisted suicide is used unethically have been disproved by overwhelming evidence that it can be an ethical process. The evidence has been collected from many reliable sources in Oregon and analyzes both sides of the

Physician-assisted suicide is exactly as it says, assisted suicide, the doctor does not commit the final act. When the doctor is not the one causing direct harm it is up to the person to carry autonomy over their body and choose what they believe is right. The patient could choose to commit the act on their own anyways without the assistance of a physician. If a patient is suffering why not let them end their suffering? Physician-assisted suicide may make patients feel they can gain control over something. Since an individual cannot have control over their illness they deserve to control their death. Besides the fact that autonomy is a human right, the patient can decide that they don't want to take the medication after it is prescribed and that is their right to do so. The doctor is simply providing them options as they are required under their oath, the role of a doctor is to provide care and comfort to their patients. If this is their role and a terminal patient, who is suffering immense amounts of pain from their illness, has exacerbated all options for other forms of palliative care, is it more ethical to prescribe them a medication that the patient will take at will that kills them, or to let them suffer in pain for the final months, weeks, and or days of their life? The oath a doctor takes does not cover tricky situations such as this, but they do make an oath to do no harm. What is more harmful,