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The Pros And Cons Of Physician Assisted Suicide

641 Words3 Pages

Physician assisted suicide was first introduced to our society in 1997, when the citizens of Oregan voted to legalize this highly controversial practice (Friedman, 2007). At the time, they passed the “Death with Dignity Act, which allowed a terminally ill person meeting certain criteria to end his or her own life with the help of a doctor” (Friedman, 2007). When a patient meets all the requirements needed to undergo physician assisted suicide, he or she will voluntarily take a lethal dosage of medication at their own discretion. According to the 2006 Eight Annual Report on the Death with Dignity Act, only 17 percent of dying patients in Oregan consider physician assisted suicide, but only 2 percent go through with the procedure. Even though …show more content…

“While the traditonal role of the doctor is to help patients stay healthy and treat them when they get sick, this does not mean that [physician assisted suicide] is unethical” (Nakaya, 2015). These patients are aware of their situation and the amount of time they have remaining, which is why they should have control regarding how and when they pass away, since they know that their death is inevitable. In addition, if people have the right to sign a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) order and abort the child, why is it not legal throughout the nation, for patients with terminal illnesses to have the “right to die”? Physician assisted suicide is analogous to a DNR order since they both allow the patient to decide when they want to withdraw care from a physician. Patients who qualify for physician assisted suicide usually suffer from “severe body wasting, intractable vomiting, unrinary and bowl incontinence, [and] immobility” (Rogatz, 2005). The patients who suffer from these conditions tend to lose their dignity in the process, and in culmination with the constast pain, develop a desire to control how they handle their lives and future medical

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