Assisted suicide is “suicide with help from another person (such as a doctor) to end suffering from severe physical illness” (Merriam-Webster).This is a controversial topic because it can both benefit and harm. Psychologist must “Respect for People’s Rights and Dignity” Principle E of the APA Code of Ethics states that “Psychologists respect the dignity and worth of all people, and the rights of individuals to privacy, confidentiality, and self-determination”(APA Code of Ethics). Some patients a psychologist may work with might wish to use assisted suicide as an option to end their life. There is a dilemma between how a psychologist is ethically required to act professionally and what their patients may want or need. Psychologists have to consider other factors. Some things they must consider include mental states of the patient and caregiver, the patient may be pressured to ask for their own death, the patient may be able to recover from illness, the patient may just be depressed, assisted suicide is illegal in most states, religious reasoning, the competence of patient, and the must keep honest records at all times.
Principle E of the APA Code of Ethics is “Respect for
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Suffering and watching someone close to you suffer can rob a person of peace or pleasure. In a study by Foley 1991 “Uncontrolled pain and multiple adverse symptoms compel some cancer patients with advanced disease to consider suicide or to request physician-assisted suicide as their only option”. This article also discussed that numerous studies have described the educational, attitudinal, and legislative barriers that exist and prevent patients from receiving acceptable pain and symptom management during their illness. Lack of knowledge about the use of painkiller, paired with the lack treating the psychological complications of cancer, are examples of such educational barriers