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Argumentative Essay: The Death With Dignity Act

634 Words3 Pages

When many people think of euthanasia they think of doctors allowing their patients to die. Although euthanasia is the most commonly known way patients die by their own decision there is also the option of the Death with Dignity Act. This may not be available in every state and be just as controversial, this option is by far the most superior to typical euthanasia ways. Euthanasia is considered to be administered two different ways, by active euthanasia, which is when the doctor of a patient performs a “mercy killing” which “refers to ending the life of a person (or animal) who is suffering greatly and has no chance of recovery.” (Donatelle) The second would be passive euthanasia is when there is “internal withholding of treatment that …show more content…

The one down fall is that not many states have adopted this act yet. There are rules and regulations that have to be followed in order to follow through with it. It states that you must be “18 years of age or older, a resident of Oregon, capable of making and communicating health care decisions for him/herself, and diagnosed with a terminal illness that will lead to death within six (6) months. It is up to the attending physician to determine whether these criteria have been met.” (oregan.gov) They also require there to be two witnesses when the form is filled out, one of which cannot be a beneficiary of the state. From then on there is a fifteen day waiting period and then the doctor will write a prescription for a lethal dose of medications that will aid in ending the patient’s life. The key difference between euthanasia and the Death with Dignity Act is that the patient administers the drugs themselves on their own basis and time. Which is why it is considered a better and more logical source to an assisted suicide. It is set up to make sure the patient is mentally healthy enough to make the decision, while taking all legal blame away from the doctor who prescribed the drugs sense the patient fills out and signs a form, with witnesses, there are typically two different doctors who diagnose the patient fifteen days apart, and the patient can back out at any

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The Death with Dignity Act, also known as the Right-to-Die Bill, allows terminally-ill adults grant their wishes to hasten their death in some states where it is legalized. These patients that are mentally capable of making their own decisions have the right to voluntarily request and receive a prescription medication to end their suffering sooner. Oregon, Washington, Vermont, and California are the only states that practice the Death with Dignity Act. Oregon voters approved Death with Dignity Act in 1994 and went into effect in 1997. Washington implemented the same act in 2008 followed by Vermont in 2013 which is the first state to pass through legislative process.

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The Death with Dignity Act is a law that allows people, with terminally ill medical conditions, to be able to end their own life when they know it is time. The only three states where this is legal are Oregon, Washington, and

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Physician-assisted suicide is suicide by a patient facilitated by means (as a drug prescription) or by information (as an indication of a lethal dosage) provided by a physician aware of the patient's intent (Merriam). This can also be confused with euthanasia, but euthanasia is “the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals (as persons or domestic animals) in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy” (Merriam). There are two types of euthanasia, active and passive. Active euthanasia is when a medication is given intentionally to cause patient death with their consent (Merriam). On the other hand, passive euthanasia is “letting a patient die” by removing life-sustaining support, or withholding treatment (“What”).

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These conditions include the patient having to get “two doctors to agree, before prescribing the drugs, that a patient has six months or less to live” (NPR). This law also requires that the patient requests a prescription “...for an aid-in-dying drug without influence from others. ”(CCCC). For these reasons, the fear that people who opt for physician assisted suicide are unable to truly choose death for themselves is misplaced. People who qualify for death with dignity should not have to fear a doctor turning them down when what they are requesting is

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“Adult residents of Oregon (18 years or older), who are terminally ill can make a request to a licensed physician in Oregon for lethal medication. The request must be made orally and must be made in writing, it needs to be signed and dated by the patient and the patient needs two witnesses. The oral request must be repeated no less than fifteen days after the initial request.” (Lewis p. 128, 129). Another state that allows physician assisted suicide is Washington.

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According to the official report on deaths under “Death with Dignity Act”. It states that,”The number of prescriptions written has increased each year since the Oregon Act went into effect. The “Death with Dignity Act” is an act which allows people with extreme illnesses in Oregon able to be prescribed by their doctors with medication that will kill them without suffer or pain. In Oregon the law has circumstances that you have to meet to be able to ask for assisted suicide. Those are, patients must be 18 years of age, suffering from a terminal illness with a life expectancy of six months or less, the patientś must make two oral requests for assistance in dying, the patient must make one written request for assistance, two physicians must be convinced that the patient is sincere, not acting on a whim, and that the decision is voluntary, the patient must not be influenced by depression, they must be informed of :feasible alternatives¨ such as hospice care and pain control and they must wait 15 days between the verbal

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The possible legalization of euthanasia can cause a great disturbance in how people view life and death and the simplicity of how they would treat it. "There are many fairly severely handicapped people for whom a simple, affectionate life is possible." (Foot, p. 94) As demonstrated, the decision of terminating a person 's life is a very fragile and difficult one, emotionally and mentally. Nevertheless, it’s a choice we can make if it is passive euthanasia being expressed.

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However, there is hope of a peaceful death for these patients that exists in a controversial law being considered by many states throughout the country. It is known as the Death with Dignity Act. This law gives terminally ill patients the option of ending their own life in a painless manner at a time and place of their choosing by

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Involuntary passive euthanasia is when life-supporting therapy is withheld from the patient against their wishes. non-voluntary euthanasia is if a patient has a life threating illness and cannot communicate with the doctors and the doctors think withdrawing the patient from life supporting therapy is the best choice. For the most part, passive euthanasia is legal and usually

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Although that is moral, because of the limited states where euthanasia is legal, many of those patients may have a hard time finding another willing doctor, especially one they are comfortable with. With this legislation, both doctors and patients will be protected from any harm while exploring the option of euthanasia and assisted

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Becoming terminally ill is a tragedy for anyone, no matter what age. Imagine hearing that you have six months or less to live, with the last of your dying days potentially filled with pain and suffering. Imaging making the decision to endure medical treatment that will leave you bedridden, weak, helpless and without any quality of life. The thought itself is frightening and convinces me more than ever that Death with Dignity, a law that allows an attending physician to prescribe a lethal dose of medication to a terminally ill patient, be passed and legalized in each state for those who meet the set requirements and are mentally competent to make such decisions. Washington, Vermont and Oregon are the only three states in the U.S to have enacted

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With most websites that have a definition for the right to die, there are a few that don’t have a definition. It is still a relatively new and there is a right to die moment that allows terminally ill patients to take their life. This particular organization called Hemock Society which mission is to also have laws for physicians-assisted suicide. As of April 24, 2017 there are only six states that allow the death with dignity. The first state to legalize physicians-assisted suicide is Oregon and the second is

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Euthanasia is usually used to refer to active euthanasia, and in this sense, euthanasia is usually considered to be criminal homicide, but voluntary, passive euthanasia is widely non-criminal. Voluntary Euthanasia is conducted with the consent of the patient while Involuntary Euthanasia is conducted against the will of the patient. Beginning with the philosophical aspects of euthanasia we must first understand the importance of the sanctity of life. Human life is sacred because God made humankind in His own image, and that each individual human

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INTRODUCTION Euthanasia alludes to the act of deliberately close a life keeping in mind the end goal to assuage torment and enduring. There are different euthanasia laws in each country. The British House of Lords Select Committee on Medical Ethics defines euthanasia as "a deliberate intervention undertaken with the express intention of ending a life, to relieve intractable suffering".[1] In the Netherlands, euthanasia is understood as "termination of life by a doctor at the request of a patient"". Euthanasia is sorted in diverse ways, which incorporate voluntary, non-voluntary, or automatic.

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The act of euthanasia, whether active or passive, is heavily obstructed in the medical field. Through medical ethics, the act of passive euthanasia is condoned by withholding treatment and thus, allowing the patient to die. Without any direct contact with the patient, the doctor is not considered as the cause of death. Thus, the medical field views passive euthanasia as of lesser and more permissible value in comparison to active euthanasia. In the statement made by the House of Delegates of the American Medical Association, they perceive this as contrary to mercy killing, as it is, the cessation of the employment of extraordinary means to prolong the life of the body when there is irrefutable evidence that biological death is imminent is the decision of the patient and/or his immediate family.

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