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Arguments Against Physician Assisted Suicide

1065 Words5 Pages

Physician Assisted Suicide: Murder or Compassion? One of the hardest and most justifiable situations taking place in the health care field right now is whether it is acceptable to permit physician assisted suicide. There are many ethical issues that cause this act to be controversial, especially since it deals with willingly terminating someone’s life. This form of euthanasia allows doctors to give patients medication to help end their life. Though illegal in most states, there is a large debate going on about legalizing physician assisted suicide. Both advocates for and against physician assisted suicide have realistic reasons behind their feelings and facts, but ethical issues will be present either way. In the states that physician assisted …show more content…

People who are against physician assisted suicide often argue that those who want to end their life through euthanasia are often just calling for a “cry for help” as psychiatrists say (Ahmed). Advocates for euthanasia often say that there must be some sort of psychiatric evaluation before any other steps are taken. There was a study done that proved that many of those who were considering or committed suicide before, had some sort of physiatrist disorder (Ahmed). Out of the many people who had attempted suicide before in this study, 75% of them were unsure about whether they wanted to end their lives (Ahmed). Studies also show that those who do attempt suicide are mostly mentally ill (Ahmed). These are all reasons as to why people believe that it is hard to people to make a mentally sound decision to not live any longer, therefore needing a psychiatric evaluation. This is why it is said that before any actions like this are taken, there must be more research done to see how humans make judgement calls …show more content…

They may not want to fight back at that time in their lives or have any energy to do so. Sometimes the elderly can feel lonely and depressed because they do not want to burden their family members for any longer. Going along with family members, some elderly feel guilty for burdening their family with medical bills so they think that this is good way to go and reduce the money load on them. Ronald Dworkin, author of Life’s Dominion, says that “many people . . . want to save their relatives the expense of keeping them pointlessly alive . . .” (De La Torre). They can also feel like they are a burden to society. Doctors and nurses are supposed to be able to determine whether or not they believe an elderly person is wanting assisted suicide due to the pressure of other family

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Physician assisted suicide is by far one of the most controversial topics that has arose in the last decade. As such, there are many moral and ethical arguments both for and against the act of physician assisted suicide. Because of this, it is important to explore in detail the arguments made both in favor and against physician assisted suicide so that one can better grasp what exactly this sort of act entails. In his book “Understanding Assisted Suicide: Nine Issues to Consider”, Seattle University School of Law professor John B. Mitchell highlights many key points of why physician assisted suicide should be legalized.

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Based on these biomedical ethics guidelines, physician assisted suicide can be argued as unethical. For physician-assisted suicide to occur, a physician must prescribe lethal medication to a terminally ill patient. Judges on this case argue "the distribution of prescriptions for lethal dosages of

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Currently physician assisted suicide is only legal in 7 states within the United states. Those for the legalization of physician assisted suicide are also thinking about this situation in an ethical manner. They believe that patients have the right to say whether or not it is their time to go. If a patient is suffering or hooked up to multiple ventilators and machines while lying in a hospital bed, then they should have the right to legally let a doctor help them die through their authority. When considering the idea of legalizing it, people like to make you think about the idea of you being in that person’s shoes.

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Physician Assisted Suicide Argumentative Essay

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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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