Essay On Legalizing Physician Assisted Suicide

In the United States 5 out of the 50 states have legalized physician assisted suicide (CNN). Legalizing PAS will be beneficial to the terminally ill and their families. It will also give the terminally ill a chance to die on their own. Religion and moral standards have stopped the legalization of Physician-Assisted Suicide, but legalizing Physician-Assisted Suicide would help the suffering end for the terminally ill, they would be able to make the choice on when and how their life ends, and PAS lowers healthcare costs for the patient. Firstly, why make the terminally ill suffer, when they can end their pain? As said by Timothy Quill and Jane Greenlaw, “If a patient’s pain and suffering cannot be sufficiently relieved with state-of-the-art palliative care, then the physician has an obligation to do everything within his or her power to relieve that suffering, even to the point of hastening death if there are no realistic alternatives acceptable to the patient”. If the option to end one’s life is available by a doctor’s aid then America should help end the suffering “without using extreme medical measures” (De La Torre). Legalize PAS to end suffering of the terminally ill.

Many patients that request assistance with suicide is because they want to die on their own circumstances, whether that be at home or the patient wanting to die on a certain day. Most patients choose this option because to them living is pointless (Jackson). Knowing you’re going to die and be in pain isn’t easy. “Many terminally ill patients are in favor of physician assisted suicide and also euthanasia because it stops both the emotional and physical pain from getting intolerable (Wilson). The patient can decide when they want to die instead of waiting for the pain to worsen and for the body to shut