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Argumentative Essay On Physician Assisted Suicide

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Physician Assisted-Suicide Should we allow Physician Assisted-Suicide for people who are terminally ill with conditions like cancer and aids?
It is quite understandable not to want your loved ones to suffer, however taking your own life goes against what is right under God. States like California has become the fourth state to pass legislation on physician assisted-suicide (Retrieved from California Governor Signs Physician Assisted-Bill). Governor Jerry Brown signed the “End of Life Act” into law in October of 2015. However according to the ethical aspects of PAS, “many faith groups within Christian, Muslims, Jewish and other religions believe that God gave life therefore only God should take it away.” Therefore regardless …show more content…

There are quite a few slippery slopes in reference to deontology and physician assisted suicide. Making sure that a love one is actually terminally ill, in their right mind and not being tricked by Physicians is vital. Death should not be only option. Like utilitarianism, which focuses on acts that are good if it brings more happiness or benefits. Deontology on the other hand is doing the right thing. An example could be Kant’s categorical imperative in the formulation that we should treat people as ends in themselves and not means to our ends. In other words, we must respect their wishes (Kant, 2008). There are no exceptions but what a person should do. Even though morally committing suicide is something I don’t agree with, in sake of my loved one I would agree because it’s something that they are wanting. Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, always atthe same time as an end and never merely as a means to an end (Kant,

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Physician-assisted suicide should be legal because it is a compassionate response to relieve the suffering of a dying patient. California should pass the Death With Dignity Act, despite the negative connotations associated with physician-assited deaths. Instead of prolonging the suffering experienced by these patients, the patients should have the opportunity to end their lives on their own terms, peacefully and quietly. Jack Kervorkian coined the term “Death Doctor. He was a physician who abused his power and “assisted with more than 130 suicides.

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Sometimes the patient and Physician agree that suicide is in the patient’s best interest. Thus Physician-Assisted Suicide is morally permissible. Objections:

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The medical field is filled with opportunities and procedures that are used to help improve a patient’s standard of living and allow them to be as comfortable as possible. Physician assisted suicide (PAS) is a method, if permitted by the government, that can be employed by physicians across the world as a way to ease a patient’s pain and suffering when all else fails. PAS is, “The voluntary termination of one's own life by administration of a lethal substance with the direct or indirect assistance of a physician.”-Medicinenet.com. This procedure would be the patient’s decision and would allow the patient to end their lives in a more peaceful and comfortable way, rather than suffering until the illness takes over completely. Physician assisted suicide should be permitted by the government because it allows patients to end their suffering and to pass with dignity, save their families and the hospital money, and it allows doctors to preserve vital organs to save

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The right to die is moral and just and needs to be legalized in more states in order to help people with a very low quality in life, to help people save money on medical bills, and let people decide their own fate. Physician assisted suicide is legal in only few states: Montana, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, Washington DC, California, and Colorado. Many other states have considered enacting this right, but have received stiff opposition from religion, anti-abortion, and disability rights groups. Courts have made it legal to refuse life prolonging treatment or “pulling the plug” on life support, but the right to request medical assistance to speed dying has been argued. Many of the protests on this topic have come from people who are religious and pro-life, saying that doctors should focus on relief and curing of patients and not ending

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Death With Dignity in California Facing the diagnosis of a terminal illness is an incredibly personal experience for many individuals. Those who suffer from the same illness may experience it in different ways or process their emotions differently as an individual contemplating their own mortality. How a person decides to deal with their diagnosis, even wanting to end their own lives before allowing illness to take it, is a choice that inherently belongs to the individual. While there are many ethical and professional dilemmas to contemplate when considering physician-assisted suicide, the choice to live or die should ultimately come down to the patient.

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Looking on the other end of the spectrum, what in case if the patient did not have terminal illness. For instance, a patient who is born deaf and blind. Even though he or she might have longer life span or not be bed bound, those patients might be suffering everyday and wish to end their life sooner rather than live a miserable and unsatisfying lifestyle. Thus, people with non-terminal illness should have the option as well to decide if they would like to end their life via Physician-assisted suicide.

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Physician Assisted Suicide Physician-assisted suicide is a very widely debated in the entire world. This is the act of a doctor helping a mentally competent terminal patient end their life. Very few countries and even fewer states in the US have decriminalized it and made it a legal action doctors can take without losing their license or being charged with murder. Many people agree and disagree with this ethical issue: Should physician-assisted suicide become legal to terminal patients?

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Most of these statements come from religious persons or the physicians themselves. They claim that not only is it morally unjust but it is considered murder, “Today, nearly all states prohibit assisted suicide and euthanasia. In Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio, assisting suicide is considered murder.” (Raed Gonzalez, J.D., LL.M candidate) For religious people assisted suicide goes against the laws of God.

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A doctor intentionally taking the lives of one of their patients? There is massive support for these types of programs for their ability to reduce suffering, lower healthcare costs for the terminally ill and give people control of their lives. On the other side of the argument, it removes any hope from an already sad situation, gives too much possibility for misuse and can be considered immoral under the Hippocratic Oath medical providers must take. Background and History There are two types of assisted suicide, passive and active.

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Texas is known as the state with the largest population of inmates killed through the Death Penalty. Inmates are being killed every day without their consent, yet this act is considered correct and just. On the other hand, terminally ill patients who wish to end their suffering life are not allowed by the government. It seems that the government does not have a clear stance on what is considered a life. I believe that Texas government officials should reconsider and examine these laws that challenge the rights of terminal ill

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Aid in dying is no more a suicide than other forms of hastening death, and the California End of Life Option Act clearly states that actions taken within that act are not a suicide or assisted suicide. And such language has been rejected by the American Public Health Association, the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, the American Medical Women’s Association and the American Medical Student Association, among others. These are dying patients.

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In recent years California’s legislation has been debating over whether to have an assisted suicide bill (The Editorial Board, 2015, September). Oregon passed a bill back in 1997 allowing the assisted suicide (The Editorial Board, 2015, September). Now some lawmakers are urging others to agree and pass the act, sending the bill to the governor of California (The Editorial Board, 2015, September). California’s lawmakers have seen at least 4 bills come through their legislation like this one since 1995, about the same time Oregon was discussing theirs (The Editorial Board, 2015, September). For many people with terminally illness this gives them the right or freedom to “die with dignity” within their own home (The Editorial Board, 2015, September).

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For example, if one were to lie, they would be following the maxim, “It is morally permissible to lie.” As this maxim would be self-defeating and therefore unable to be adopted universally, Kant believes one should never lie. Similarly, other maxims outlined in his writing create Categorical Imperatives prohibiting theft and

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The first formulation states: “act only according to that maxim whereby you can, at the same time, will that it should become a universal law.” This means that one will not allow the other to do something that he/ she is not willing to accomplish. Basically, you are not allowed to make exceptions for yourself. For example, if you expect other people to keep their promises, then you are obligated to keep your own promises.

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However, the statement “Kant argues that we should never act based on hypothetical imperatives” is false. Kant believes that hypothetical imperatives can be applied rarely, in certain situations. The principle of universalizability states that if one act is correct then another act, in an identical situation, should be correct too. Treating others how you would like to be treated is the golden rule, so according to the principle of universalizability if person A treats person B one way, it only makes sense for person B to treat person A that way.

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