ipl-logo

Physician Assisted Suicide Essay

798 Words4 Pages

Physician-assisted suicide is suicide by a patient facilitated by means (as a drug prescription) or by information (as an indication of a lethal dosage) provided by a physician aware of the patient's intent (Merriam). This can also be confused with euthanasia, but euthanasia is “the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals (as persons or domestic animals) in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy” (Merriam). There are two types of euthanasia, active and passive. Active euthanasia is when a medication is given intentionally to cause patient death with their consent (Merriam). On the other hand, passive euthanasia is “letting a patient die” by removing life-sustaining support, or withholding treatment (“What”). Physician-assisted death and euthanasia are both the same in the way that a patient dies but with the former specifically a physician gives the medication. …show more content…

Geertruida Postma, a Dutch physician in the Netherlands, was the first to openly practice a physician-assisted death in 1971. The patient was her mother. She was found guilty of murder, but her penalty only consisted of a one-week suspended jail sentence and a one-year probation. This minimal sentence made other physicians more comfortable to come forward about doing the same (“Euthanasia”). Fast forward 29 years, and in 1990 Jack Kevorkian, also known as “Dr. Death” assisted a woman named Janet Adkins, suffering from Alzheimer’s, end her life. Adkins technically ended her own life but Dr. Kevorkian provided the supplies. He was charged with Adkins murder but the charges were later dropped (Jack). Kevorkian had his medical license suspended, and didn’t have access to medications, but that didn’t stop him. In 1998, Kevorkian broadcasted the lethal injection of Thomas Youk on CBS’s 60 Minutes. He was charged with second-degree murder and received a 25-year sentence. He only served eight years of that sentence and got out on good behavior

Show More
Related

Physician Assisted Suicide Ethical Dilemma Essay

1869 Words | 8 Pages

During voluntary active euthanasia, the physician is directly administering a drug to end the patient’s life, such as an injection, where in PAS, the doctor is prescribing a medication to the patient so that they can autonomously end their own life (Frileux, Lelievre, Sastre, Mullet, & Socrum, 2003, p. 330). While active euthanasia is legal in some countries, it is illegal in all the United States and can result to the conviction of a practicing physician if performed. When

Read More

The Pros And Cons Of Physician Assisted Suicide

500 Words | 2 Pages

Physician-assisted suicide should be legal because it is a compassionate response to relieve the suffering of a dying patient. California should pass the Death With Dignity Act, despite the negative connotations associated with physician-assited deaths. Instead of prolonging the suffering experienced by these patients, the patients should have the opportunity to end their lives on their own terms, peacefully and quietly. Jack Kervorkian coined the term “Death Doctor. He was a physician who abused his power and “assisted with more than 130 suicides.

Read More

Euthanasia Vs. Physician Assisted Suicide

1546 Words | 7 Pages

Threatening to diminish the value of life is very dangerous. Euthanasia, also called mercy killing, is the practice of doctors intentionally ending a terminally ill patient’s life in what is purportedly a gentle and dignified manner. The term originated in ancient Greek and means “easy death.” Doctors perform euthanasia by administering lethal drugs or by withholding treatment that would prolong the patient’s life. Physician-assisted suicide is also a form of euthanasia, but the difference between the two methods is that in euthanasia, doctors end the patient’s life with lethal injections, whereas, in physician-assisted suicide, patients kill themselves with a lethal amount of drugs prescribed by the doctors.

Read More

Physician Assisted Suicide Utilitarianism

1673 Words | 7 Pages

Physician assisted suicide is currently legal in five U.S. states with fifteen more states reviewing it within the next year making it an important topic to look at morally and ethically. Physician assisted suicide is the act of an individual killing themselves with the help of a physician, usually by taking a lethal dose of a drug. It is important to point out that the patient first has to request it and they complete the ultimate act. This differs from euthanasia where the physician is the one who ultimately causes the death. Physician assisted suicide is requested because the patient is enduring tremendous pain and suffering which can only be ended with their death (Vaughn 293).

Read More

Arguments Against Physician Assisted Suicide

1071 Words | 5 Pages

Physician-assisted suicide is the voluntary termination of one's own life by administration of a lethal substance with the direct or indirect assistance of a physician. They provide a competent patient with a prescription for medication for the patient to use with the primary

Read More

Physician Assisted Suicide Argumentative Essay

1451 Words | 6 Pages

In the year 1990, Kevorkian had the first patient to die from assisted suicide. She was a 45 year old Michigan resident with Alzheimer’s disease. Before the disease had spread she had vocalized her want to end her own life with this medical option. Once the Alzheimer’s disease had more rapidly spread is when she followed through with the previous request.

Read More

Pros And Cons Of Legalizing Physician Assisted Suicide

1591 Words | 7 Pages

Physician-assisted suicide also, known as assisted suicide, involves a physician who provides a person with knowledge or means or both to commit suicide. In physician-assisted suicide, the physicians provide counsel about the lethal doses of drug needed to end life, and prescribes such lethal doses or supplies the drug. The physician is involved indirectly in the life ending process in the physician-assisted suicide. There are many issues that have increased concern in response to this controversial topic. If a person wants to end his or her life for any reason is in the state where physician-assisted suicide is illegal, then he or she may have some legal options to hasten his or her death, including cessation of medical treatment and refusing to eat.

Read More

Physician Assisted Suicide Argumentative Essay

1065 Words | 5 Pages

Physician-assisted suicide is an option only given to patients that have a terminal illness as well as a prognosis of less than or six months to live. It work as another opportunity for the patient, a way to release their pain and stress. The patient must be mentally competent and must submit both oral and written requests to his or her attending physician at least 15 days apart. Also, the patient must also be physically able to self-administer the drug. It might sounds similar to euthanasia, however, it is totally different.

Read More

Physician Assisted Suicide Argumentative Essay

1290 Words | 6 Pages

Physician assisted suicide is one of the most complex and critical health care policy issues that doctors and nurses must face and either advocate for or against. What makes it difficult is determining whether or not the patient’s condition is poor enough to be considered eligible for this type of treatment. In 1990, Dr. Jack Kevorkian started a movement of taking this practice forward himself and helping multiple people do what they wanted with their life. Physician assisted suicide (PAS) can be a respectful way for people to be let free of their misery if done at the request of the patient. PAS can be seen as a negative act that doctors and nurses have the power to over use.

Read More

Physician Assisted Suicide Essay

734 Words | 3 Pages

Doctor-assisted suicide is a controversial topic but what people fail to realize is the real facts of it. Physician-assisted suicide, also known as euthanasia, is quite self-explanatory; it is when a terminally ill person has the physician's help to die. It is not legal in all fifty states, and it should be. It is a hard decision to make and can prevent not the suffering of the sick lives, but the family's life, too. Doctor-assisted suicide should be legal, so terminally ill people can end their suffering, to help end their family’s suffering, and a doctor's job is to take care of their patients.

Read More

Physician Assisted Suicide Should Not Be Legalized Essay

1920 Words | 8 Pages

Advocates, such as myself see the fight for physician assisted suicide as moral, just as well as necessary. From a legal, religious and human rights standpoint the legalization of physician assisted suicide is justified for terminally ill patients. Physician assisted suicide is defined as a process in which a physician is allowed to prescribe and deliver lethal doses of medication to a terminally ill patient with the request to die. Euthanasia is

Read More

Essay On Physician Assisted Suicide

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.

Read More

Physician Assisted Suicide Argumentative Essay

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

Read More

Argumentative Essay On Euthanasia

1836 Words | 8 Pages

The difference between these two methods is that with euthanasia the physician actively administers a lethal dose of medicine to the patient, usually a sedative or pain killers. Physician assisted death is where the patient is given the dose to take with them and self-administer at a time they feel to be appropriate, usually when family is able to be present. Being taken off of life saving treatment or denied food or liquids, is considered to be passive euthanasia. No one is administering anything lethal to the patient, they are simply allowed to die through denial of

Read More

Persuasive Essay On Euthanasia

1512 Words | 7 Pages

Tulloch Gail from Edinburgh University Press said that Euthanasia can be categorized in two respects. First, if patients have requests for medical help injection for themselves, it is called Voluntary Euthanasia and did not a request from patients, it called Involuntary Euthanasia. Second, if the doctor injected into the patient died, it is called Active Euthanasia but if the doctor lets the patient died by themselves, it is called Passive Euthanasia (2005). However, Euthanasia is also illegal in some countries.

Read More

More about Physician Assisted Suicide Essay

Related Topics

Open Document