Ethical Issues Doctor Assisted Suicide

The bioethics of medical procedures have long been a controversial topic, but never more debated than the ethics of doctor-assisted suicide. Doctor-assisted suicide otherwise known as DAS is the voluntary ending of one’s life with the administration of a lethal drug, with the direct or indirect assistance of a physician. To clarify, indirect DAS is when the patient does the final stage to euthanize oneself. Direct DAS occurs when another individual is given consent to do the final stage of administering the lethal substance to the patient, either a physician or nurse. DNR orders (do not resuscitate) are considered a passive form of Direct DAS. In Canada, suicide itself was extracted from the criminal code in 1972, whilst doctor-assisted suicide

Next, an overdose of a sleeping drug is given mixed in orange juice as a powder. Most commonly, barbiturate or secobarbital is the chosen drug. The patient then falls asleep, and within an hour, the breathing stops and the heart stops working, resulting in death. Many ethical issues are brought up about doctor-assisted including whether it affects the quality of life and do humans really have the right to end their lives at their own hands. However, a recent Canadian poll shows that 90% of Canadians support the concept of assisted death. The legalization of voluntary doctor-assisted suicide is of great importance to the Canadian legal system, because it makes economic sense, protects the rights of Canadians, and the quality of life is increased.

The legalization of doctor-assisted suicide makes economic sense because it frees up valuable resources, uplifts financial burden on families, and healthcare costs will be alleviated for the government. Canada has a universal healthcare system, which supports palliative care for terminally ill patients. The costs to care for these patients can end up being costly for the state and the families

The legal system is in place not only to protect our rights and administer justice, but to increase the quality of life in a society. By legalizing doctor-assisted suicide, the quality of life increases. First, more lives can be saved with the legalization of doctor-assisted suicide. Many diseases such as cancers can take away use of certain organs. By detecting incurable cancers earlier, it is possible to harvest organs such as kidneys (cancer.org, 2014). If the cancer is going to spread quickly and chances of survival are slim, a patient can choose to end their life to stop the cancer from spreading to the vital organs so they can still donate them. By doing this, more people in need of organs can receive organs, resulting in more lives saved. Furthermore, if less money is going toward trying to extend the life of terminally ill patients, and instead goes toward saving the lives of those who can be saved to live a longer life, it makes ethical sense to have doctor-assisted suicide to allow those patients to pass on. Second, legalization of DAS will allow patients to be at ease knowing they can leave the pain. Many diseases such as dementia can cause severe permanent