The Pros And Cons Of Physician Assisted Suicide

Suicide, a word that brings grief to the hearts of many. Murder, a word that sets a mental image of terror and fear to one's soul. Yet, why does the term physician-assisted suicide (PAS) or assisted suicide rise to the same level as "murder" or "suicide"? It is one's choice to live their life and “fight the good fight”, unless if they tragically die through an accident or murder. Suicide is also just another excuse for a person to give up on life and render their soul to society's judgments and their false judgments on themselves. However, physician-assisted suicide has no comparison to those terrible terms. Physician-assisted suicide, should not only be a legalized concept in every state in America, but accepted for the patient's progressive

States such as Oregon have implemented PAS since 1997. Health care professionals there have seen it as a happy ending for their patients to end their misery. For example "Jean Gunning's oncologist is Peter Rasmussen, MD, a soft-spoken man who thinks the Oregon law is "just right." He has helped more than a dozen people die. He sees the law as a "way of granting patients control over their own lives. It gives him a good feeling, he says, to help them avoid suffering" (Rollin). Many patients can fight through life and tend to have faith to wait out for their last day, but not everyone has that same capacity and mentality to fight when they are terminally ill. For instance, a patient was inquired about how she shouldn't give up hope yet her response" What kind of hope is there when you have progressive cancer” (Rollin). This patient shows an example of many patients who don’t have the strength to fight cancer and life all at once. At this point, it may sound like suicide for this patient because they are giving up, but it isn't. The fear of knowing your death is approaching seems to be much more frightening than one knowing and mentally preparing for it the right way. Suicide is giving up without putting your all into the fight, which is what most terminally ill patients do not do. It is important to realize that terminally ill patients fought as much as they could and for them to

Due to the rise in the healthcare industry, paying for health care expenses aren't easy. With thousands of dollars going down the drain for a patient to continue to eat and sleep in the hospital, resorting to assisted suicide might be an option they ponder and decide on. Even though it is sad for a patient to want to die based on economic circumstances, some patients, especially the elderly rely on their family's incomes to live, which hurts them more than dying. Having to pay $40 to $100 on a lethal dosage of prescriptions is much better, not only for the family's economic well-being but also because it lifts the burden from the terminally ill patient (Economic Aspects). Just like the Governor of California, who also signed the bill for PAS, admitted he would resort to PAS if he were in excruciating pain (Governor Jerry). Whatever the reason for the patient to take on PAS whether it be because of financial problems, because of constant misery or suffering, or just because they want to die at their time, we need to learn to accept