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Pros And Cons Of Physician Assisted Suicide

1102 Words5 Pages

One of the utmost debated issues in the United States is physician-assisted suicide for the terminally ill. Several people consider it exceedingly unethical and unfair for patients to ask and/or plead for their health care provider to end their life; while others feel it is their right and within their power to be able to choose how and when they die. The supporters of physician-assisted suicide believe it should be legalized because they dread the thought of living dependently on someone else and becoming a burden. They also don't want to go through the suffering and/or excruciating pain caused by the terminal illness. They believe they have a right to a dignified death. Those who disagree with assisted suicide feel it goes against most of …show more content…

Supporters of assisted suicide trust that terminally ill patients have the freedom to end their lives on their terms. This can mean to pass in their homes, if they choose, rather than at a hospital in pain.
Tom Coburn, US Senator, in the consideration of Pain Relief Promotion Act of 1999, stated:
"Do we want doctors deciding who lives and who dies? No, we do not want that. This is a slope, a real slope where we are going to become God. We do not have that power. The Declaration of Independence says that we should have the right to pursue life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Nothing in it says we have the right to pursue death, nothing." (procon)
Many people who oppose assisted suicide are against it because the “right” to assist suicide in suicide, regardless of their medical condition, is not a fundamental liberty protected by the Due Process Clause. Currently there are four states within the nation who have legalized physician assisted-suicide and forty-six states continue to consider physician-assisted suicide illegal and have heavy …show more content…

This argument tends to lead toward whether or not palliative care options are viable. Palliative care is specialized medical care for people with serious illnesses. It focuses on providing patients with relief from the symptoms, pain, and stress of a serious illness. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family. These palliative care units, like Hospice, main mission is to bring comfort and dignity as life nears its end for their patients. A contrasting viewpoint is brought up by Compassion and Choices, the largest choice-in-dying organization in the United States. Compassion and Choices wrote in the "Frequently Asked Questions" portion of their

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