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Argumentative Essay On Physician Assisted Suicide

788 Words4 Pages

Physician-Assisted Suicide: A Bioethical Conundrum
Brittany Maynard, a 29-year-old Oregon resident diagnosed with Stage IV brain cancer, has scheduled her death for November 1, 2014. Unable to bear the thought of a natural death, Maynard’s physician wrote a prescription that will end her life (Bever, 2014). In the United States, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington have decriminalized physician-assisted suicide (Eckholm, 2014). Oregon’s so-called, Death with Dignity Act, implies the natural act of dying is in fact, undignified. Although proponents of the right-to-die eschew the term suicide, taking a lethal dose of physician-prescribed medication, cannot be prettied-up to mean anything other than suicide. While some believe …show more content…

Moreover, witnessing the decline and suffering of the dying person is distressing for both the family and physicians. However, choosing to end a life through physician-assisted suicide (PAS) can bring added grief to the family, and for the medical community, feelings of guilt for violating the Hippocratic Oath’s dictum of ‘First, do no harm.’ Decriminalizing physician-assisted suicide obliterates this long-held ethical tenant. For this reason, in a poll of more than 5,000 physicians, 82% stated physician-assisted suicide should not be legal (New England Journal of Medicine, 2013). Certainly, supporters of euthanasia point out it is a physician’s duty to treat pain and suffering; however, to prescribe death as a reasonable treatment undermines the role of the physician as a …show more content…

This argument is fallacious, as life is not a lone event, but involves a community of family and friends. To state otherwise and end life solely out of fear is a deeply flawed message. Despite this, addressing the pain and anxiety experienced during the dying process is paramount to arguing against physician-assisted suicide. This alternative is hospice care, where the principles of autonomy, benevolence, and nonmaleficence allow terminally ill individuals to be active participants in their final journey. According to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (2014), hospice is optimum for those facing a life-limiting illness, as it provides medical care, pain management, and emotional and spiritual support according to the wishes and needs of the patient. When patients seek PAS, the benefits of hospice are lost in the quest for a quick end to their discomfort. In a direct condemnation of PAS, Byock (2014, pg. 1) stated, “The difference between what I do and euthanasia is that palliative care does whatever is necessary to alleviate the suffering while euthanasia is focused on eliminating the

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In current society a debate on a controversial topic is rocking the nation. The debate of the Right to Die has been put back on the spotlight after an advocate for the cause made the choice to end her own life after being diagnosed with a terminal disease. The Right to Die is a campaign which supports every individual's choice to die when faced with a terminal disease. A specific form is called Physician Assisted Suicide which was the way the advocate chose to die. A Physician Assisted Suicide is when a physician prescribes a competent patient a lethal dose of drugs so he/she may use to intentionally end their own life whenever they see fit.

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Only those who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness or otherwise diagnosed with a condition that will inflict intense, debilitating, and chronic pain with very little to no chance of a cure should be able to volunteer for physician-assisted suicide. According to Lois Snyder-Sulmasy and Paul S. Mueller (2017), “Ethical arguments in support of physician-assisted suicide highlight the principle of respect for patient autonomy and a broad interpretation of physician’s duty to relieve suffering. Proponents view physician-assisted suicide as an act of compassion that respects patient choice and fulfills an obligation of nonabandonment” (p. 577). The premise here is that the death process has already been initiated in those that have a terminal illness or in those that are experiencing the worst pain imaginable. Because the process is irreversible, at least in the present day, physician-assisted suicide should not only be legalized, the terminology should be changed as well.

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It is an option that does not guarantee ethical outcomes and has been criticized for being unable to prevent individuals with depression from obtaining a lethal means (Shibata, 2017). Our society needs to respect and uphold the sanctity of life and commit to a more effective and accessible palliative care and hospice to the terminally ill. Improved palliative care should be created because life is sacred and should never be ended by a direct human act and the law does not give an individual a constitutional “right to assistance in dying” (Shibata, 2017). The role of the physician needs to be preserved to maintain a trustful physician-patient relationship and not one of an agent of hastened death. Physicians are supposed to save lives and abide by their Hippocratic Oath to do no harm and not assist in the dying process.

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The doctor can not actually give the patient the prescription since that would be considered euthanasia. The patient must take the pill on his own. The act of Physician assisted suicide should

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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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Physician-assisted suicide is a very controversial topic in today’s society. Physician-assisted suicide is defined as an action performed by the physician at the request of the patient to end the patient’s life with certain medical procedures. The legalization of physician-assisted suicide should not be passed in the United States because it is not morally acceptable in the society, leads to misunderstanding of a physician’s duty and increases mental suffering of both patient’s family and doctor. Physician-assisted suicide should not be legalized since the action itself is not justified morally. It is never morally acceptable for the society to give up on its people’s lives.

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When Suicide Is the Best Option Physician-assisted suicide is the voluntary termination of one’s own life by administration of a lethal substance with direct, or indirect assistance of a physician. This year approximately 1,228,600 people are expected to be diagnosed with cancer. Of those diagnosed 564,800 are expected to die. Why should these people have to suffer in pain before they die? Fatally ill people should be able to have the right to decide to end their pain.

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Many people will believe that this ethical issue should be legal all over the United States. Oregon, California, Colorado, Vermont, Washington, and D.C all have legalized the process of allowing a terminally ill patient painlessly end their lives with the approval of their doctor. Oregon runs a pro-assisted suicide group called “Death with Dignity”. According to their website, “The Death with Dignity process is robust: Two physicians must confirm the patient’s residency, diagnosis, prognosis, mental competence, and voluntariness of the request. Two waiting periods, the first between the oral requests, the second between receiving and filling the prescription, are required.”

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The American College of Physicians states, “the organization of 152,000 medical professionals stands against the legalization of physician-assisted suicide”. The organization is calling this act “the practice of which raises ethical, clinical, and other concerns”. (“Fewer Doctors Support Assisted Suicide Poll Says”) On the other hand, the number of physicians who support physician-assisted suicide is increasing. In 2010 forty-six percent of physicians were pro-euthanasia.

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Introduction When there are no more options and death and disease are inevitably going to take over, how far should one go to be sure they die on their own terms? Physician-assisted suicide is a topic that has been debated over since the early 1980’s. Suicide itself is a very controversial topic; the controversy gets worse when involving a physician, who’s duty is to preserve life. Suicide is the general definition of the intention of taking/terminating one’s own life.

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Some suffer more than others, people experience death differently due to different causes of death. Moreover, in health care, physicians experience difficult situations that require ethical decisions. Patients at the end of life process do not always have the capability to make decisions for themselves. The burden to make medical decisions is left to families and physician’s. Some cases are so intense, because patients voluntarily request assisted suicide.

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A very controversial topic lately is that of euthanasia. Physician assisted suicide is a very debatable ethical issue because people have different morals. I argue that in some cases it is ethical and others it is not. I believe that if someone is going to die, that there is absolutely no cure available that if they want to die via physician assisted suicide that is their choice. One of the main reasons that people chose to die via PAS is because they are in pain and don’t want their families to see them miserable.

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Although the physician assisted suicide has been controversial, Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act was enacted late October 1997. Because of this physicians can prescribe lethal doses of medication that terminally-ill patients can self-inject. That is how assisted suicide has legally developed in the state of Oregon. And if this law was enacted, it is because it is meant for the public’s best interest. As both sides of the debate have developed, how exactly has this been justifiable by both laws and ethics?

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Introduction Assisted suicide is an ethical matter that has been the center of great debate. There are arguments to both sides as to why this should or should not be put into law in more states. The ethical issues come from people believing that this is murder or that it is against their religious beliefs. Currently 6 out of the fifty states, and Washington D.C., allow physician-assisted suicide. There are currently no assisted suicide federal laws.

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Doctors may choose to participate or may opt out, but either way, they will need to know how to go about it” (Hallenbeck 1). This reinforces the fact that assisted suicide is humane because no one is being forced to do anything they do not believe in. Now, what happens to the patient if their doctor refuses to help them end their

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