Ethical Arguments Against Physician Assisted Suicide

Physician Assisted Suicide Your loved one has a terminal illness and has been suffering from immense pain for a long time. They are tired of a constant hopeless feeling and did not plan on passing away this way. Your loved one tells you they wish there was a way to end their suffering quickly and painlessly. Unfortunately, Physician Assisted Suicide is not an option in the state you live in. Would you consider it if it was? PAS is only available in five states and Washington D.C in the United States. It is defined as the act of a doctor providing resources to end a life with full knowledge of the patient's intentions. Physician Assisted Suicide is in fact a morally acceptable option that should be offered in every state. Physician Assisted

A valid argument is the belief that it may be a gateway to non-terminal patients’ deaths. Allowing cancer patients, for example, to receive Physician Assisted Suicide may lead to mentally ill patients receiving it as well according to Balanced Politics. It claims, “Any loosening of the assisted-suicide laws could eventually lead to abuses of the privilege. For example, patients who want to die for psychological or emotional reasons could convince doctors to help them end their lives. Attitudes would loosen to the point that certain states may decide that any person can commit suicide at any time”(Messerli). This is untrue in the fact that there are laws against this very instance. Requirements such as having a terminal illness will prevent Physician Assisted Suicide purpose from being abused. Another argument is that there are ways to control pain rather than suicide. Michael Gloth, III, M.D., explains why Physician Assisted Suicide is wrong in his article, “Physician Assisted Suicide: The Wrong Approach to End of Life Care.” He states, “Advances in pain management now make it possible to control pain effectively in dying patients; only rarely is it necessary to induce sleep to relieve pain or distress in the final stage of dying.” Not only is pain not completely controlled, a person’s dignity is being stolen as they wait for death hooked up to machines. As many have experienced, pain can almost never be controlled waiting for the last