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Kevorkian Assisted Suicide Case Study

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For the family members watching their love one go through the pain of a terminal illness it can be very horrific. Even though we may have lifesaving technology, the technology or medicine is not always affordable. With this knowledge a lot of terminally ill patients’ hospitable cost increase exponentially with every day. "The cost of maintenance of [a dying] ... It has been estimated that between two thousand and ten thousand dollars a month" (Dworkin 187). The cost to keep these patients is cringe worthy and there are very few patients that are wealthy enough to sustain the costs. For those who are not wealthy the cost and burden of debt falls onto love ones. Most family members do not usually think of the costs while they are still on this earth but when they pass away they are left with a huge hospital bill, sometimes leaving people bankrupt. Ronald Dworkin, author of Power for Life, said that "most patients want to spare there love ones with burdens of keeping them alive (193). In allowing these patients to make the choice of ending their lives one can save their loved ones obscene amounts of money and alleviate a …show more content…

Both patient and non-patient alike many people believe in the inherent right to assistant suicide that each individual possess. Dr. Kevorkian 's attorney expresses his frustration with the idea of banning Physician assistant suicide saying, "a law that does not make anyone do anything, which gives people the right to decide, and prevents the state of you for trying to exercise their freedom to be free, violates the constitutional rights of another person is crazy "(cited. 364 cotton). People with these illnesses should be allowed to die with pride. These people will know longer have to wait for their inevitable death but can make one last, free choice. Dworkin said, "Whatever view we take on, we want the right to decide for ourselves..."

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One of the main objections to autonomy-based justifications of physician-assisted suicide (PAS) that Gill talks about is that many people believe it does not promote autonomy, but instead is actually taking it away (366). First, it is important to clarify what autonomy means. According to Gill, it is the ability of a person to make big decisions regarding their own life (369). Opponents of PAS argue that it takes away a person’s ability to make these big decisions and so it is intrinsically wrong for them to choose to take their own life.

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he child's maternal grandmother stated Anna has a history of domestic violence, drug use, and suicidal ideation. The reporter stated Anna has been diagnosed as bipolar and is currently on suicide watch by local law enforcement. Tamara stated Anna was recently released from jail and had plans to spend time with the victim and the reporter while she gets back on track and pick up her medications. Anna left the home on 10/20/15 and has not returned and the reporter has received text messages from Anna stating plans to take her life and heard from others that at this time Anna may be suicidal and plans to come pick up Addyson. Tamara stated she's had custody of Addyson all her life and contacted her lawyer; Ms. Wright's lawyer told her there was

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Certainly, it is cheaper to give one dose of pills that end a suffering patient’s life than to keep them alive with whatever means physicians must use. As a matter of fact, William E Barlow, PhD (2009) claims that medical care for cancer alone is estimated to have cost the United States 89 billion dollars in 2007 (p. S33). This number would not be so high if we allowed people to have terminal cancer to put an end to their suffering. Again, this only takes cancer into consideration; there are numerous other terminal diseases that lead to nothing but suffering during the last few months of one’s life.

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Terminally ill patients are some of the most financially unstable people. The patients have to deal with the illness and all the bills. Most of the responsibility is put on the families “With often increasing levels of supportive care during the last six months of life, they are entitled to faster provision and higher level of financial benefits than other patients. Written support from a doctor using a DS1500 form fast-tracks applications for Attendance Allowance or Disability Living Allowance, without questioning the level of care needed or stipulating the length of time a patient has to have been ill before qualifying for assistance”(bjcardio). While the government and hospital can help a little most of the financial responsibility is left on the family.

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Jack Kevorkian was a compassionate doctor who believed in his patients’ rights to choose physician assisted suicide and some say he was hero while others called him a monster or Dr. Death. He assisted 130 terminally ill patients to voluntarily end their own lives with dignity, peace, and at their own time to avoid severe pain, humiliation, and added stress to the patients’ family members. He believed it was the patients’ choice to end their life on their own terms without the government or insurance companies intruding, or a physician’s “keep a patient alive at all costs” mentality. “Lethal injection is now the main method of execution in all but two states due to our desire for the worst of the worst to die in a dignified manner, yet we want the terminally ill to endure suffering, pain, humiliation, and the erosion of their estate without giving them an opportunity to choose the time and method of their death?” Dr. Kevorkian believed a great start for Congress to enact a law providing any terminally ill patient the ability to seek a humane, dignified death by lethal injection.

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It is not fair that the families of these patients cannot get their loved ones proper treatment without their consent. Although it is understandable that the patient should have rights, but it also important to remember that

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Should Physician-Assisted Suicide be Encouraged? For several years, physicians and patients have argued that a legal form of suicide should be legalized. Many of the patients who support this idea are in critical condition and for many of the physicians, this is their last resort. While some support this idea, others argue that this is not a logical stance to take. The concept that has swept and divided the nation is perceived as “Assisted Suicide”.

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Most people would never contemplate whether or not to end their family pet’s suffering, so why can’t people be as sympathetic to their family and friends? In today’s society, the legalization of physician-assisted suicide is one of the most debatable topics. The debates on physician-assisted suicide go back and forth between whether or not patients, specifically terminally ill patients, should have the right to die with the aid of doctors. Opponents believe physician-assisted suicide is morally and ethically wrong for patients to end their lives, and they believe it violates basic medical standards. However, proponents of physician-assisted suicide believe it is a humane and safe way for terminally ill patients to resolve their agony.

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According to the video, Meredith Snedeker’s mother “though she received $40,000 worth of care in her last two months of life, not one of her 25 doctors sat down with Dorothy Glass and her family and discussed how she wanted to die” (The Costs of Dying: End-of-Life-Care 12:39). In other words, another reform in the goal to balance cost and care could be to simply ask the patient what she or he

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In this case, and many others worldwide, physician assisted suicide is morally permissible at all ages for anyone with a terminal illness with a prognosis of 6 months. This is supported by act based utilitarianism and the idea of maximizing pleasure and reducing pain and suffering on an individual circumstance. By allowing a terminal patient to die a less painful death, in control of the situation, and with dignity, the patient will have amplified

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Death is a natural process that will be experienced by everyone at some point, desirably at the end of a long, well lived life. The reality is that no one knows when that time will come or how it will happen. Unfortunately, for the terminally ill, death is in the near future and it is a sobering reality. Therefore, when that time comes, people need to know that they will have options, and the assurance that death does not have to be an agonizing end. They can choose to endure the annihilating pain that comes with the disease and allow it to take its natural course or choose to put an end to it, surrounded by those who love them.

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Physician assisted suicide has been an intensely debated problem for years but if used properly, could be an effective way to help those who are suffering at the end of their life. Countless people have been advocating for physician assisted suicide for years and the most famous advocate for assisted suicide was Dr. Jack Kevorkian. He was a pathologist but received the nickname Dr. Death after it was estimated that between 1990 and 1999 he assisted 130 terminally ill individuals in their assisted suicides (“Jack Kevorkian”). Dr. Kevorkian is considered a crusader for physician

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Patients have the right to the kind of treatment they want. 3) Conclusion a) Physician assisted suicide can help treat the terminally ill how they would like to be treated. b) The long history of assisted suicide speaks for itself in the matter of if it should be legal or

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From an economic standpoint, euthanasia is a brilliant alternative. Though many see it as unethical, it may be relieving for the victims to know that once they’ve passed they’re no longer considered burdens to their families. Though harsh, keeping a terminally ill person alive for a year costs no less than $55,000, dying in a dignified way is their last resort when they know their condition is not going to improve. Many patients with incurable diseases have stated that the lengthy and expensive time and operations granted by their families are not worth the few extra months they get of spending time on Earth.

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