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The Pros And Cons Of Assisted Suicide

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In recent discussions assisting suicide has been brought up, a controversial issue has been whether to make assisting suicide remain illegal or to push it to go against the law. On the one hand, some argue that suicide in general without assistants is illegal, which is correct. On the other hand, however, others argue that assisting suicide can also be used in a court of law as homicide. In sum, then, the issue is assisting suicide as well as with suicide itself should remain illegal; no one should have the courage to take their own life. While some believe assisted suicide should become legal, assisted suicide along with individual suicide is not the way to solve problems, psychiatric help can make a positive and negative impact on a person’s …show more content…

The author of the article ASSISTED SUICIDE quotes “An assisted suicide is one in which a second party, usually a doctor, furnishes drugs and instructions to the person planning to take his or her life. With active euthanasia, it is the doctor who administers the lethal drug dose. Since it is tantamount to homicide, active euthanasia is illegal in every state. But few U.S. doctors who perform it have been brought to trial, and none has ever been convicted and imprisoned” (Assisted Suicide). This author is proving at this very moment it is illegal to perform assisted suicide and can become imprisoned for this action. The article CHOOSING DEATH: ASSISTED SUICIDE-- THREE LIVES, THREE JOURNEYS quotes, “Sometime this decade--perhaps in Oregon or Washington or Michigan--voters will take control at the ballot box, and the first state will open the door to physician-assisted death” (Choosing Death: Assisted Suicide—Three Lives, Three Journeys). The article is simply meaning that within the next few years, certain states will take the action and make assisted suicide legal. It starts with one, then moves to two, then three, then the whole country will have made physician assisted suicide a legal

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Since Oregon began allowing physician-assisted suicide of the terminally ill in 1997, more than seven hundred people have ended their own lives with prescription medications in the state alone (NPR.org). Physician-assisted suicide is not only becoming a topic of controversy in the United States, but foreign countries as well. Supporters of the issue believe that competent people who do not have a chance of longevity should be able to choose their fate. Opponents argue that terminal diagnoses can be inaccurate, or that the person with the illness may not be capable of making informed decisions. Assisted suicide refers to the act of one giving another the “Instructions, means, or capability to bring about their own demise.”

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The right to assisted suicide is a heavily controversial and debated over topic that concerns people all around the United States. The arguments go back and forth about whether a dying patient has the right to end their life with the assistance of a doctor or physician. Some people are against it because of moral and religious reasons. Others are for it because of their compassions and respect for unhappy patients waiting to die naturally. Assisted suicide is prohibited by common law or criminal statute in all 50 U.S. states; medical aid in dying is specifically authorized in 5 states: Oregon, Washington, Vermont, Montana, and California.

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The United States Government has taken a rather laissez-faire approach to an aspect of life that could ease a person’s suffering – Physician Assisted Suicide (PAS) – Euthanasia. In the United States, five states have legalized physician-assisted suicide via legislation of which one requires court ruling for the suicide to be legal. The physician-assisted suicide is illegal in the remaining 46 states. Out of the 46 states, four, including Nevada, have no specific laws regarding assisted suicide or are unclear on the legality of the issue. Nevada has not enacted any law against assisted suicide and does not recognize common law crimes regarding this matter.

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In the Newsweek article, “Physician-Assisted Suicide Is Always Wrong,” by Ryan Anderson, it is stated that the legalization of assisted suicide “would be a grave mistake.” Anderson provides a few examples of why assisted suicide is detrimental. One, he states it leads to an endangerment of the weak and disenfranchised in societies. His outlook is that the purported safeguards of eliminating risk has mainly been nonexistent, which in some countries like the Netherlands who has legalized physician assisted suicide (PSA), has lead to doctors administering lethal injections to patients without request. Two, Anderson, sees assisted suicide as a compromise in the practice of medicine.

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Abstract Physician-assisted suicide is the idea that a physician can either administer a treatment, or otherwise forego a necessary treatment, to end the life of a person that is either suffering from a terminal illness or otherwise has been relegated to a life of excruciating pain and suffering. Although there are many different types of physician-assisted suicide, this paper discusses the implications of the legalization of voluntary-passive physician-assisted suicide, which means that a patient must willingly and knowingly request stop all life-saving treatment or acquire prescribed medications to end their life. The argument for this concept is based on the sanctity of life and mitigation of pain and suffering. Counterarguments include

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Notably, the courts recognize the rights of patients to “die with dignity” however, others see these states encouraging patients to request the lethal injection to not become a burden on others instead of not suffering in pain or even fear of future pain. In this essay, I will focus on the six states law on physician-assisted suicide on the patients terminal condition or disease and whether patients with non-standard reasons such as non-terminal conditions (i.e. pain, disability, depression, free choice, etc.) have the right to end their own lives with physician-assisted suicide by the law.

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Introduction 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 ”. Physician assisted suicide is illegal under the terms of the Suicide Act 1961 and is punishable by up to 14 years' imprisonment. However, more than 100 Britons with terminal or incurable illnesses have gone to the Swiss centre Dignitas to die and none of the relatives and friends involved in the cases has been prosecuted. Despite physician assisted suicide being illegal in Britain, in 1997 the US state of Oregon licensed doctors to supply lethal drugs to terminally ill patients who had less than six months to live, and were acting voluntarily. Up to 2013 there

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The concept associated with Physician Assisted Suicide holds a critical position within the contemporary generation as a number of different perspectives exist based on slippery slope arguments surrounding ethical understanding. Based on my current knowledge, my conceptual ideas, support the pro aspect behind physician assisted suicide for various reasons. For instance, free will and autonomy (Wong, dartmouth.edu) when it comes to life and death, terminal illness that has no possible cure and lastly, being able to provide the assistance in order to end the suffering being experienced by the patient as well as the family if the patient chooses to carry out the euthanasia. Further, individuals within society are permitted to practice natural human rights and should be given the

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Assisted suicide is a tough decision that comes down to what you morally believe in. The author of the article “The right to die” believes that doctor assisted suicide should be legalized in more states than just the four that it is. He approaches the topic from an ethical standpoint, stating its rights and wrongs. This essay will include reasons as to why assisted suicide should be legalized, how the system of death should work and if it is morally right. Only in four states is assisted suicide mandated by state law: Oregon, Washington, Vermont and California.

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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).

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The topic of Physician-assisted suicide, or physician aid-in-dying, is a highly debated topic, especially when it comes down to whether this action be legal or not. The definition of Physician-assisted suicide can be defined as the act of intentionally killing yourself with the aid of a medical professional, such as a physician. The practice of Physician-assisted suicide still remains illegal in forty-five states excluding the states of Oregon, Vermont, Montana, California, and Washington. Although states have tried to make this practice legal, the practice of Physician-assisted suicide has become a crime in most. The practice of Physician-assisted suicide should not be illegal.

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Physician assisted suicide is the ending of a person’s life on his or her own terms. Despite moral stigmas that argue against this right, assisted suicide has already become legal in several states. In the states where this is legal, several criteria must be met to qualify for physician assisted suicide. When treatment and suffering is not prolonged, physician assisted suicide would help the family and friends emotionally and financially. Legalizing physician assisted suicide, would ease the hardships of everyone involved and would protect the dignity of the person while also lessening their suffering and pain.

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Physician assisted suicide is when a person can choose to die on their own free will. The doctor helps the person administer life-ending medication. This is legally used in California, Oregon, Washington, Vermont, Colorado, and Montana. Not only is it widely used throughout the world there are still laws on it like the Death with Dignity Act. While physician assisted suicide and euthanasia is a topic greatly debated around the world, it should be legal in all states because it is a human right to die on their own terms.

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(Pakes, 2005) Physician-assisted suicide should become legal in every state of the U.S. Patients

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