Ethical Arguments Against Physician Assisted Suicide

Abstract Physician-assisted suicide is the idea that a physician can either administer a treatment, or otherwise forego a necessary treatment, to end the life of a person that is either suffering from a terminal illness or otherwise has been relegated to a life of excruciating pain and suffering. Although there are many different types of physician-assisted suicide, this paper discusses the implications of the legalization of voluntary-passive physician-assisted suicide, which means that a patient must willingly and knowingly request stop all life-saving treatment or acquire prescribed medications to end their life. The argument for this concept is based on the sanctity of life and mitigation of pain and suffering. Counterarguments include

Only those who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness or otherwise diagnosed with a condition that will inflict intense, debilitating, and chronic pain with very little to no chance of a cure should be able to volunteer for physician-assisted suicide. According to Lois Snyder-Sulmasy and Paul S. Mueller (2017), “Ethical arguments in support of physician-assisted suicide highlight the principle of respect for patient autonomy and a broad interpretation of physician’s duty to relieve suffering. Proponents view physician-assisted suicide as an act of compassion that respects patient choice and fulfills an obligation of nonabandonment” (p. 577). The premise here is that the death process has already been initiated in those that have a terminal illness or in those that are experiencing the worst pain imaginable. Because the process is irreversible, at least in the present day, physician-assisted suicide should not only be legalized, the terminology should be changed as well. Although the popular term for such an act is physician-assisted “suicide”, in reality, it is no so much suicide as it is granting the last wish of a dying person. According to Browne Lewis

People against physician-assisted suicide believe that once it becomes legalized, a door will open for other possible ways in which it may be utilized. Patients who may be experiencing a significant amount of pain and suffering, but who are not considered terminal, could request to undergo physician-assisted suicide. According to Shara M. Johnson et al. (2014),

There is a fear that legalizing PAS [Physician-Assisted Suicide] will lead to a slippery slope in which euthanasia and assisted death for patients not suffering from a terminal illness will also become legal. In fact, White and Callahan proposed that ‘the most disastrous long-term effect of legal PAS would be to legitimate suicide as a socially acceptable way of dealing with pain and suffering of life and the end of life’ (p.