Is Physician Assisted Suicide A Good Idea - 1464 Words

Is Physician-Assisted Suicide a Good Idea? Imagine having a relative with a terminal illness; perhaps this person feels that his only option is assisted-suicide. Now, put yourself into his shoes. Would you choose to live the rest of your days in pain, or would you choose to die with a sense of dignity? Physician-assisted suicide has been prohibited for many years. Numerous physicians have given their input on the subject, enlightening a multitude of people on the fundamentals of assisted-suicide. Others have stated their opinions on the topic and the way that it violates many people’s moral judgement. Although opposing viewpoints argue that physician assisted suicide is not a beneficial treatment for medical patients, the medicalization of†¦show more content†¦The decision to end the patient’s life through assisted-suicide is a decision â€Å"central to personal dignity and autonomy† (Hallock 1). This decision helps the patient to accept the dying process, knowing that it is not out of his or her hands. The conclusion of going through with the medicalization of the patient’s suicide could help he or she to avoid becoming â€Å"vulnerable to suggestions from family members that they could make everyone s life easier by ending their own† (â€Å"Death† 2) in a more forceful way than perhaps a lethal injection in a hospital. Assisted-suicide is an over-dramatic expression for patient autonomy. Patient autonomy is defined as an â€Å"individual’s right to decide what to do with his or her own body, and the duty of the physician to relieve the patient’s suffering† (Rogatz 1). A patient should certainly have the right to choose what happens to his or her own body, but the life of a patient should not be put solely into the hands of a doctor. If he or she so chooses, physician-assisted suicide should be made available to the terminally ill and should be conceived as a â€Å"personal and intimate decision†. A physician, although it should be their obligation to help a patient, should not feel obligated to be the assistant in a person’s suicide. Assisted suicide is a source of â€Å"empowerment† for the patients, using â€Å"self-determination†, to make them feel as if they have a place in their treatment and to retain their dignity byShow MoreRelatedEuthanasia And Physician Assisted Suicide865 Words   |  4 Pagessubject for people; add in the idea of assisted suicides and there’s an uproar in society. Euthanasia or physician assisted suicide is a very controversial topic in our society today. Physician assisted suicide by definition is â€Å"suicide by a patient facilitated by means (as a drug prescription) or information (as an indication of a lethal dosage) provided by a physician aware of the patient’s intent (Merriam-Webster). There are two modes of looking at assisted suicides; either it’s seen as an absurdRead MorePhysician Assisted Suicide Is Not Considered Admissible949 Words   |  4 PagesPhysician assisted suicide- the voluntary termination of one’s own life by administration of a lethal substance with the direct or indirect assistance of a physician, and euthanasia, the painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable, painful disease are both highly emotional and contentious subjects. Some argue physician assisted suicide (P.A.S.) is admissible for someone who is dying and trying to painlessly break free from the intolerable suffering at the end of their life, and someRead MoreThe Rights Of Physician Assisted Suicide1347 Words   |  6 PagesThe Right to Die By: Antony Makhlouf Antony Makhlouf PHR 102-006 Contemporary Moral Issues Final Paper The Right to Die Physician-assisted suicide, also known as euthanasia, has been a hot topic as of late. If you do not know what this is, physician-assisted suicide is the taking of ones life. This usually occurs when a patient is in a irreversible state, and must live through a tube. With multiple cases occurring in the past, current and the more to occur the in the future, this looksRead MoreAssisted Suicide : Pro Choice Or Anti Life?1130 Words   |  5 PagesPhysician assisted suicide is a topic that promotes debates from all sides. At the core of the physician assisted suicide debate is the idea that people should have the right to commit suicide if they choose to. There are those who feel human beings should have complete control over what happens to their bodies. Then there are those who feel we should strive to save life at all costs. When you add in the idea of a physician who has sworn to do no harm helping a person to end their life, the debateRead MorePhysician Assisted Suicide, When Is I t Acceptable?1709 Words   |  7 PagesPhysician-Assisted Suicide, When is it acceptable? Assisted suicide had raised issues of great importance in the society particularly the most controversial of all, the physician assisted suicide in the health care field. Since Oregon and other states implemented the legalization of physician assisted suicide, the debates continues. The U.S. Supreme Court decisions in 1997 and the Pain Relief Promotion Act of 2000 (H.R. 5544) have kept these topics on the policy of the national agenda, along withRead MorePhysician Assisted Suicide Should Not Harm Than Good864 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction Physician-assisted suicide occurs when a physician facilitates a patient’s death by providing the necessary means and/or information to enable the patient to perform the life-ending act. For example, the physician provides sleeping pills and information about the lethal dose, while aware that the patient may commit suicide (Pullicino, n.d). On the other side, natural death occurs when a patient dies from the consequences of old age or disease. The patient s death may be at least partlyRead MorePhysician Assisted Suicide And The Rights Of Patients1523 Words   |  7 PagesPhysician-assisted suicide needs to be recognized by the federal government to show terminally ill patients that their right to autonomy is not being ignored. The Bill of Rights of Patients was constructed to outline just this. According to the American Cancer Society, â€Å"the American Hospital Association drafted a Patients’ Bill of Rights to inform patients of what they could reasonably expect whi le in the hospital.† One of the notes stated in the Bill of Rights of Patients is the right to autonomyRead MoreThe Case Of Frank Van Den Bleeken1672 Words   |  7 Pagesirrepressible rapist asked to undergo physician assisted suicide in order to end his life. Since Van Den Bleeken was continuing his psychologically unbearable sentence in Belgium, physician assisted suicide was an impending option as it had been made legal in the country back in 2002 (Krugel, 2016). Through ethical analysis, Immanuel Kant, Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill would reach an agreement in which Van Den Bleeken should be restricted his right to physician assisted suicide. The three philosophers hadRead MoreThe Case Of Frank Van Den Bleeken1471 Words   |  6 Pagesrapist asked to undergo physician assisted suicide in order to end his life. Since Van Den Bleeken was living his psychologically unbearable sentence in Belgium, physician assisted suicide was an impending option, as it had been made legal in the country back in 2002 (Krugel, 2016). Through ethical analysis, Immanuel Kant, Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill’s would reach an agreement in which Van Den Bleeken should be restricted from his right to physician assisted suicide. The three philosophersRead MoreThe Right to Commit Physician-Assisted Suicide1685 Words   |  7 PagesThe Right to Commit Physician-Assisted Suicide Physician-assisted suicide is suicide by a patient facilitated by means or information (as a drug prescription or indication of the lethal dosage) provided by a physician who is aware of how the patient intends to use such means or information (â€Å"Physician-assisted suicide†). Physician-assisted suicide should be accessible to the incurably ill patient. Allowing a patient to have this freedom could, for one, bypass tremendous pain and suffering.