Lauren Kenney Ms. Braswell English 12 9 April 2018 TITLE The hippocratic oath is one of the oldest binding documents in history and is still held sacred by physicians. The document requires physicians “to treat the ill to the best of one's ability, to preserve a patient's privacy, to teach the secrets of medicine to the next generation, and so on”(medicalnet.com). Clearly, the intention of a physician is to keep the patient alive no matter what, although there are some instances where this is not the case. Physician assisted suicide is a contradiction to the hippocratic oath. It allows physicians to administer lethal medication to a patient upon request and good reasoning. Some may argue that this procedure is unjust, but physician …show more content…
It provides a competent patient with a prescription medication to use with the primary intention of ending his or her own life. Physician-assisted suicide has its proponents and its opponents. This procedure is not to be taken lightly. All patients pursuing PAS should be evaluated. It is required that “...a patient's request for assistance with a hastened death should generate a thorough evaluation of the patient's motives and attempts at ameliorating the patient's suffering”(NCBI). This prevents those who may be incompetent or mentally ill from commiting actions that may not be in the best interest of oneself. PAS is ethical when requested among patients for a multitude of reasons, such as illness related experiences, the patient’s sense of self, and their fears about the …show more content…
When a terminally ill patient undergoes long and grueling unsuccessful treatments, the patient may lose a sense of hope for living and accept their death. Then they may go on to wanting control over their death and leading a patient to pursue PAS. Terminally ill patients are usually weak, tired, and uncomfortable. These are some of the main factors that qualify a patient for PAS because they interfere and prevent the patient from having a good quality of life. In addition, a patient may request PAS to lessen the financial burden of unnecessary medical procedures. It saves money for the hospitals and focuses on health of those with a potential to live and have future. It also prevents the stress of a financial burden on family members. By knowing about the their loved ones death beforehand, the family can cut down on medical costs. Since drugs for assisted suicide are far less expensive than the cost of medical care, this means lower insurance premiums and money saved. This may sound cruel but it saves the family, the hospital and the government a lot of money that can be used to help someone else. Lastly, those who commit physician assisted suicide can save the lives of others. Pre-informed deaths help hospitals save the vital organs of the person willing to die and prepare for a successful transplant. Death is unpredictable, but many organs are