An argument from those who are against assisted suicide is that assisted suicide is unethical. Heather Newton, Article Editor for The Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics, argues that assisted suicide is similar to euthanizing. The difference between the two acts is that in assisted suicide the medication is administered by the patient, wherein euthanizing the doctor administers the medication. Also this process can be considered a violation of the Hippocratic Oath that every doctor takes. This oath states “I will give no deadly medicine to anyone if asked, nor suggest any such counsel”(Quffa, Voinea).
Patients seek relief from symptoms as unremitting severe pain, difficulty breathing as like choking and suffocation, nausea and vomiting. A terminally ill patient has the worry and concern about the well-being of their families who are often taking care of the dying loved one and paying the expensive bills for their treatments (The Positive Aspects of Physician Assisted Suicide). There are some people that are not for Physician Assisted Suicide because it is against some religion; it demeans the value of human life and they think that doctors are given too much power and it could be wrong and unethical (should an incurably-ill patient be able to commit physician assisted suicide?). People that are not for Physician Assisted Suicide because there is grief involved. Sometimes what is to be a lethal prescription ends up not being so lethal?
Sometimes the patient and Physician agree that suicide is in the patient’s best interest. Thus Physician-Assisted Suicide is morally permissible. Objections:
As the United States continues to grow and develop for the better, multiple issues still challenge and impact the people. Within these numerous issues, physician assisted suicide (PAS) has also been recently tacked onto that list. In today’s society, PAS is commonly debated due to ethical, emotional, and legal reasons involved throughout the topic. Each of these topics consist of a variety of benefits and drawbacks, all of which are constantly bickered about. Through ethical reasoning, emotional testimonials, and legality cases, both those in support of and those who oppose physician assisted suicide create their own arguments from differing viewpoints.
The history of physician assisted suicide is a long one filled with many details, history, and much debate. Being that the topic of a physician being able to euthanize a patient has been around since the first practices started. To illustrate this, it says in the Ancient Hippocratic Oath, which states the conduct and obligations of doctors, holds
“Unfortunately, we live in an age when pledges of duty and fidelity of the kind found in the Oath are fast becoming passé... This is most unfortunate. The author of the Oath... understood that killing is not a medical act” ("Do Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide Violate the Hippocratic Oath?"). The Hippocratic oath provides a foundation for the practices of physicians, and because of this, the notion of physician-assisted suicide is completely counterintuitive to the work of a physician. By becoming a physician, people are promising to do everything in their power in order to help not hurt patients.
Physician assisted suicide should be legal throughout the United States. Assisted suicide should only be legal if the patient requesting it has a terminal illness. A terminal illness means the patient has less than six months to live. When a doctor is asked to help a patient into death, they have many responsibilities that come along with that question.
Another big concern has to do with religious beliefs. A lot of family members believe that if a person commits suicide then there are going straight to Hell, which ultimately makes it harder for family members of certain religions to decide what to do. Physician assisted death is a good thing for patient’s that are in an awful amount of constant pain and have no other way of getting
This argument seems silly because the person is dying in a safe, humane way and the doctor isn’t directly “murdering” the person. The person is giving the doctor permission and they’re helping the person die the way they want to, rather than suffering. There is also another argument saying that it would be unethical for assisted suicide to be legal. This argument can be refuted because it would be more ethical to end someone’s suffering rather them suffer and they would die peacefully. It is more humane than letting the person commit suicide themselves.
According to Merriam-Webster Physician Assisted suicide is defined as “Suicide by a patient facilitated by means or by information provided by a physician aware of the patient’s intent.” The topic of Assisted Suicide has many different viewpoints. One being medical ethics. Going through with the decision to prescribe lethal doses of medication to patients willingly, is seen very unethical to many people. Stated in Gale database most people who are for assisted suicide say it’s the right of the terminally ill person of sound mind to choose the time and manner of their own death (Gale).
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.
Notably, “Physician-assisted suicide differs from euthanasia, which is defined as the act of assisting people with their death in order to end their suffering, but without the backing of a controlling legal authority.” (CNN par. 3) For this reason, some could make a case that assisted suicide is nothing more than a qualified physician helping a patient willingly end his life, no harm, no foul; however, it is rarely considered that all physicians take an oath that they will do all in their power to care for their patients and give them what they need to heal, not what they need to die. Should this oath be disregarded if the patient wishes to die?
Currently physician assisted suicide is only legal in 7 states within the United states. Those for the legalization of physician assisted suicide are also thinking about this situation in an ethical manner. They believe that patients have the right to say whether or not it is their time to go. If a patient is suffering or hooked up to multiple ventilators and machines while lying in a hospital bed, then they should have the right to legally let a doctor help them die through their authority. When considering the idea of legalizing it, people like to make you think about the idea of you being in that person’s shoes.
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
Most of these statements come from religious persons or the physicians themselves. They claim that not only is it morally unjust but it is considered murder, “Today, nearly all states prohibit assisted suicide and euthanasia. In Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio, assisting suicide is considered murder.” (Raed Gonzalez, J.D., LL.M candidate) For religious people assisted suicide goes against the laws of God.
