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Physician-Assisted-Suicide Analysis

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Death is an inevitable destination for living species. It is something we all have to face, to accept, and even to embrace. However, what if you are just waiting for death to come? Hooked up to countless machines, John Wallace wanted to speed up his process of dying. He is a 72-years-old man suffering from metastatic pancreatic cancer. Despite his treatment of palliative chemotherapy, his cancer has progressed. He suffers from little appetite, jaundice, constipation and abdominal pain and he takes countless narcotics. Yet, those treatments are not a permanent solution. The doctors have given him no chance of survival with their current abilities; death is imminent. Wallace developed a strong desire to die with dignity and without suffering. After careful consideration, Wallace discusses his desire for Physician-Assisted-Suicide (PAS) with his family and doctor. PAS is the voluntary termination of one’s own life by administration of a lethal substance with the direct or indirect assistance of a physician (CITE). However, PAS …show more content…

Of necessity, moral standards may change as a result of society development. An example of this is globalization. Globalization is the increasingly closer integration of countries and peoples of the world brought about by the advancement in technology knowledge. Many scholars including Dr.Sylvain Ethrenfeld points out globalization reshapes our moral values. He supports his argument in illustrating how world trade changes government policies and moral standards in treatment of workers, illustrated by the US minimum wage. Bioethicist, Tom Beauchamp argues that increasing diversity alters modern moral standards and developed the principles of bioethics as guidance for modern moral standards. Similarly, increasing diversity and globalization shifted medical moral standards regarding PAS, changing from unmoral to

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According to Nancy, Randy Niedzielski at age 55 was told that he would not live for very long, there is no guarantee of recovery for his type of cancer, and on top of that, Randy was allergic to morphine and there was no other pain management medication that would help alleviate his pain and suffering. The tumor in his brain pushed against his cranium making his eyes bulged out, he lost the ability to close his eyes and developed double vision. The treatment for brain cancer has many side effects that made it unbearable for him and he suffered from painful muscle contortions. Randy felt like he was trapped in his own body and wanted a way out, he became incontinent. He was not given the option or choice to end his life the way that he wanted;

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1953 Words | 8 Pages

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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642 Words | 3 Pages

The documentary, A Death of One’s Own, explores the end of life complexities that many terminal disease patients have to undergo in deciding on dying and dignity. It features three patients, their families, and caregivers debating the issue of physician-assisted suicide or pain relief than may speed up death. One character, Jim Witcher has ALS and knows the kind of death he is facing and wants to control its timing. Kitty Rayl is suffering from terminal cancer and wants to take advantage of her state’s Death with Dignity Act and take medication to terminate her life. Ricky Tackett, on the other hand, has liver failure and together with his family and caregiver agrees on terminal sedation to relieve his delirium and pain.

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1193 Words | 5 Pages

Lee Johnson, who lived in Oregon, was a retired federal worker who began a subsequent career as a furniture maker. He then developed brain cancer. Although the disease was inevitably going to kill him, he took the necessary precautions intended to extend his life. However, his condition worsened and he became bedridden and endured blurred vision, soreness, and a lot of pain.

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736 Words | 3 Pages

"PB 's dying," my husband mumbled as he hung up the phone. "They 're taking him off life support and moving him to Hospice care, but they don 't expect him to last long." I gave my husband a pep talk, reminding him that his younger brother had escaped death 's grip, many times before, even though the doctors had predicted otherwise. In fact, PB had miraculously eluded death so often that we had compared him to a cat with nine lives. He 'd recovered from life threatening illnesses, deadly accidents, even terminal cancer, so now all we could do is hope and pray he had one of those lives left and that he 'd triumph over the deadly sepsis that ravaged his body.

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1179 Words | 5 Pages

The medical field is filled with opportunities and procedures that are used to help improve a patient’s standard of living and allow them to be as comfortable as possible. Physician assisted suicide (PAS) is a method, if permitted by the government, that can be employed by physicians across the world as a way to ease a patient’s pain and suffering when all else fails. PAS is, “The voluntary termination of one's own life by administration of a lethal substance with the direct or indirect assistance of a physician.”-Medicinenet.com. This procedure would be the patient’s decision and would allow the patient to end their lives in a more peaceful and comfortable way, rather than suffering until the illness takes over completely. Physician assisted suicide should be permitted by the government because it allows patients to end their suffering and to pass with dignity, save their families and the hospital money, and it allows doctors to preserve vital organs to save

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688 Words | 3 Pages

If a illness takes away a person's basic abilities like breathing, or movement and machines are needed to carry out those abilities than that disease has removed the patient’s ability to self-determine, Now add the variable of constant pain and suffering to the point where the patient would consider death the only alternative, Over time these two will result in the loss of the patients hope, they will eventually lose sight of anything other than the cruel reality that they live in, when they could move around and form opinions by themselves will all be distant, the thing that will be most real thing to them will be the state of constant pain that they are in, when a person is in constant pain with no hope death may be the best

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1800 Words | 8 Pages

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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1736 Words | 7 Pages

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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852 Words | 4 Pages

Physician assisted suicide is when a physician provides the means required to commit suicide, including prescribing lethal amounts of harmful drugs to a patient. In the United States alone, there is great controversy about physician assisted suicide. The issue is whether physician assisted suicide is murder or an act of sympathy for the patient. The main point is that terminally ill patients should have a right to physician assisted suicide if it meets their needs and is done properly. Physician assisted suicide is an appropriate action for the terminally ill that want to end their life in peace before it ends at the hands of the terminal disease.

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1461 Words | 6 Pages

In contrast, Kevin Drum, also a California resident and son-in-law to Harry, will not have to face such devastating and cruel choice of dying prematurely because in “2016 California passed the bill in support of assisted suicide” (Drum 30). Drum, who is also suffering from “myeloma” (27) and currently facing the fight for his life, finds comfort in knowing that when the time is right he will not have to die alone. As a result, the passing of the “assisted suicide” (Drum 28) bill will allow people like Drum to be aided by a physician in ending their suffering when the pain is too unbearable. The bill comes too late for Harry but Harry’s case highlights the need for such legislation throughout the nation. Consequently, the passing of this bill provides people with options and the confidence of knowing that when things are too much to handle there will be help available.

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1228 Words | 5 Pages

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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915 Words | 4 Pages

As John Evans was our example that he was not dead till his heartbeat was stopped. Eyewitness said the room smelled like burned flesh and smoke permeated from Mr. Evans body. Embarrass of the process, the officials contacted Governor Wallace for the process to be stopped but it was denied. This was disclosed by the Furman v. Georgia 1972 case that’….. death is a…severe punishment unusual in pain in its

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805 Words | 4 Pages

None of the medical staff can stop the pain that suffocates his mind, none of them can ease his fight for every breath of air, and all of the people around him know that it is only going to get worse. He wishes to end this misery as it is is undeserving of the full life he once lived. Today, US law does not grant people like him the right to end a prolonged suffering and expenses of being kept alive. For these few reasons, people who are terminally ill, should have the right to choose euthanasia.

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522 Words | 3 Pages

The Right to Die 1) Introduction a) Thesis statement: Physician assisted suicide offers patients a choice of getting out of their pain and misery, presents a way to help those who are already dead mentally because of how much a disease has taken over them, proves to be a great option in many states its legal in, and puts the family at ease knowing their love one is out of pain. i) The use of physician assisted death is used in many different countries and some states. ii) Many people who chose this option are fighting a terminal illness.

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