The Pros And Cons Of Assisted Suicide

Introduction People have moral and ethical values that assist them in making decisions about their healthcare on a daily basis. What if a person found out that they had a terminal illness and only had months to live? What if those few months would be filled with treatments, pain and suffering, tear filled family members, and high cost medical bills? Physician- assisted suicide remains a debated topic which causes physicians, nurses and those involved to take a look at what they value and what they are willing to do in order to carry out a patient’s wishes.

The concept and ideology behind Physician-Assisted Suicide within the contemporary generation has become an exceptionally sensitive and controversial issue as multiple factors conglomerate to define if Physician-Assisted Suicide is justifiable within the grounds of ethical understanding and moral principles. The idea concerning PAS is based on the grounds of rational and irrational thinking as in if death is a rational choice above all other alternatives (Wittwer 420).

Chuc Tran T. Hollis-GInes ENG 101- Argumentative 23 October 2015 Physician-assisted Suicide The legalization of physician-assisted suicide has became an increasingly debatable topic in the United States today. The practice of assisted suicide pertains to a terminally ill patient who wants to end his or her life along with a physician’s acknowledgement of that patient’s desire to die.

For physicians to perform assisted suicide on their patients, there must be complete clarity on patient wishes, and having a mental illness that produces

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. They provide a competent patient with a prescription for medication for the patient to use with the primary

Assisted Suicide: A Controversial Topic Assisted suicide, also known as physician-assisted death (PAD), has been a topic of controversy for decades. While some argue that PAD should be legalized to grant terminally ill patients the right to die with dignity, others believe it goes against the sanctity of life. This essay will explore the arguments for and against assisted suicide and offer recommendations on how to approach the issue. PAD is Important

There sometimes is a point that a human reaches in degeneration that modern medicines cannot aide or remedy. As described by Lewis Cohen, “Medication such as morphine can help the terminally ill manage pain, but it can’t ameliorate their agony at no longer being the same people that they were before the illness” (Cohen). The unbearable pain and loss of normalcy that accompanies those with terminal illnesses is what pushes them to consider assisted suicide. The mentality is seen simply as “if one is going to die anyway, then why not choose how and when.” Unfortunately, the choice of death for those with incurable circumstances has been twisted into other views and is being misinterpreted as a way for doctors to mercy kill their patients.

Assisted suicide can be explained through using the Utilitarianism Theory that supports physician-assisted suicide. Utilitarianism is by definition the actions that are right if they are useful, benefit the majority of people or promote someone’s happiness (Youngman 2013). Assisted suicide is the want of a patient to be relieved of suffering, thus comparing that to their happiness. The Utilitarianism theory holds true for assisted suicide. The patient wants to feel relief from their suffering thus making them happy.

Current Issues Surrounding Death A hot topic in today’s media and in discussion is the idea of physician assisted suicide and end of life care. There are several legal, ethical, social, and political issues surrounding this idea, which makes it a controversial topic. This paper will discuss some of these issues and explore the idea of physician assisted suicide and end of life care in more detail. Physician assisted suicide is defined as, “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 (Merriam-Webster, 2015).

Should Medically Assisted Suicide Be Legalised? Although medicine in the 21st century has provided people with a variety of illnesses a chance at a “normal” life, there is still a handful of people whose suffering cannot be eradicated. Medically assisted suicide is “when a physician supplies the necessary means and information to facilitate a patient's choice to end his or her life.” [Lydia S. Dugale, Barron H. Lerner and Daniel Callahan, 2019, Pros and Cons of Physician Aid in Dying, PubMed].

Physician assisted suicide is when a physician provides the means required to commit suicide, including prescribing lethal amounts of harmful drugs to a patient. In the United States alone, there is great controversy about physician assisted suicide. The issue is whether physician assisted suicide is murder or an act of sympathy for the patient. The main point is that terminally ill patients should have a right to physician assisted suicide if it meets their needs and is done properly. Physician assisted suicide is an appropriate action for the terminally ill that want to end their life in peace before it ends at the hands of the terminal disease.

Physician Assisted Suicide (PAS) is where a physician helps out critical condition patients who want to end their lives. This work is disputable, with people arguing that it provides patients another option to end their suffering. Although people who oppose Physician Assisted Suicide say it shortens human lives, it should be legalized since it helps people end their lives easily and effectively. Opponents of physician-assisted suicide insist it contravenes the Hippocratic Oath, which forbids doctors to damage or permit harm to their patients.

" Physician Assisted Suicide: An Unbiased Review." PDF. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2016. .

When I was twelve years old, my grandfather passed away after a long, excruciating struggle with lung cancer. He endured months of insufferable agony, which continued until the mercy that came with his dying breath. Looking back on this experience, I am firm in my belief that nobody should have to endure the suffering that my grandfather did. This however, is just one instance in which physician-assisted suicide would have proven beneficial. According to the New York Times, Jerry Brown, who recently signed California’s own assisted suicide law said that if he were ill, it “would be a comfort to consider the options afforded by this bill” (Boffey 1).

Euthanasia is defined as a painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease which is illegal in most countries. Assisted suicide occurs when doctors decide to help a person transition to death with the little pain possible. Assisted suicide goes against all the basic practices of medicine and can affect the nurses or doctors who take a patient's life. Watching a patient struggle can be difficult and the viewing of them struggling. Opponents think it is ethical to end a patient's life.