Physician Assisted Suicide - Essay - 1944 Words

Tara Ford English Comp 111 Physician Assisted Suicide Physician assisted suicide is also called euthanasia. It is a highly debated topic on whether it should be legal or not. Some states have taken different stands on this question, some making it legal to do. I believe that every citizen who is suffering from a degenerative, painful or fatal condition, should have the right to decide if they want the option of a physician assisted suicide. I believe in a society such as ours we should all have the right to die with some kind of dignity. Although there are several debates against this view point, it is not up to anyone else to make decisions of the ill and infirm. As such it should be recognized that â€Å"patients have a right to make†¦show more content†¦By having a doctor writing a prescription to a terminally patient, a doctor can allow the patient to end their life in a safe, effective and painless way. A lot of patients, who are suffering from chronic, painful, fatal conditions that would eventually bring death, have a strong belief that the only way to stop the suffering for them and their family watching them is suicide. Before the thoughts of a physician assisted suicide the patients would attempt suicide on their own, an act which was not as painless or successful as the doctors option to helping out. The option of the doctor’s choice would be much more painless and faster than the patient attempting it on their own. As one study shows, â€Å"Medical illness was a factor in half the suicides in people ages 50 and older and 70 percent of those ages seven years and older. Increased life expectancy, chronic illness, technology advances, and expanded treatment options have all complicated the process of dying† (Mackelprang 315). There is always a good chance that a suicide attempt could go very wrong and have a worse effect on the patient than before the attempt. Although an unsuccessful suicide attempt is a worse case scenario, it should be noted that many suicide attempts are not painless. For patients removing life support, the process is very slow and painful. The suffocation process is not the humane way for any one to have to die. If the patients who were thinking about attempting suicide on their ownShow MoreRelatedPhysician Assisted Suicide Essay1214 Words   |  5 Pagesrelentless pain and agony through physician assisted death? Physician-Assisted Suicide PAS is highly contentious because it induces conflict of several moral and ethical questions such as who is the true director of our lives. Is suicide an individual choice and should the highest priority to humans be alleviating pain or do we suffer for a purpose? Is suicide a purely individual choice? Having analyzed and even experience the effects of physician assisted suicide, I promote and fully support itsRead MoreEssay On Physician Assisted Suicide1549 Words   |  7 PagesWriting Project Worksheet 1. This paper will examine the Washington state policy of physician-assisted suicide. 2. State Info: (characteristics, size, culture, political culture, industries, features, etc. to explain state support of policy) Washington is a state in the northwestern United States with an estimated population of 7,288,000, as of July 1, 2016. Washington’s population is primarily white at 69% (not including Hispanics), with Hispanics comprising 12.4%, Asians 8.6%, and African AmericansRead MoreEssay on Legalizing Physician-Assisted Suicide1871 Words   |  8 PagesPhysician-assisted suicide should be a legal option, if requested, for terminally ill patients. For decades the question has been asked and a clear answer has yet to surface. It was formed out of a profound commitment to the idea that personal end-of-life decisions should be made solely between a patient and a physician. Can someones life be put into an answer? Shouldnt someones decision in life be just that; their decision? When someone has suffered from a car accident, or battled long enoughRead More Physician-Assisted Suicide Essay - Euthanasia Should Not be Legalized793 Words   |  4 Pagessuch a form no longer meets meets the bas ic criteria of human- ness.   (OKeefe, A1)   Under these circumstances only should Euthanasia be practiced and then only passively (pulling the plug).   Dutch Death, Euthanasia, doctor assisted suicide, whatever you want to call it, it should not be legalized.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   People should live their lives for as long as long as it is worth living.   As long as someone can still have experiences and communicate with others, they shouldRead MorePhysician Assisted Suicide Essay1799 Words   |  8 PagesAssisted Suicide A controversial human rights issue in modern society is the right to die, an issue that has much to do with the way that human beings relate to society at large, the notion that a man has ownership of their own body, and the obligations set forth in the Hippocratic oath and medical ethics. Physician assisted suicide, or the right to die as those in the pro-assisted suicide movement call it, divides two very different kinds of people into two camps. One’s opinion on the subjectRead More Physician-Assisted Suicide Essay2768 Words   |  12 PagesPhysician-Assisted Suicide Francis Bacon once said, â€Å"I do not believe that any man fears to be dead, but only the stroke of death.† In other words, people are not afraid to die. Rather, they are afraid of the way in which they are going to die. Today, four centuries of medical progress later, Bacon’s words are truer than ever. Medical advances have allowed physicians to prolong the lives of their patients, or maybe it would be better to say, to prolong their deaths. People areRead MoreArgumentative Essay : Physician Assisted Suicide Essay1095 Words   |  5 PagesArgumentative Essay: Physician Assisted Suicide, Should it be Legalized? Physician assisted suicide is requested by the terminally ill, typically when the pain from the illness is too much to handle and is not manageable through treatments or other medications. Assisted suicide is more of a broad term for helping someone die a good death, physician assisted suicide is where a medical doctor provides information and medication and the patient then administers the medications themselves. EuthanasiaRead MoreEssay on Is Physician Assisted Suicide Ethical?2628 Words   |  11 PagesIs Physician Assisted Suicide Ethical? Theresa Anderson SOC 120 Introduction to Ethics amp; Social Responsibility Instructor: David Jung November 25, 2012 Physician assisted suicide, is this an ethical procedure? Many feel strongly on both sides of this issue. Some states such as Washington and Oregon have made Physician assisted suicide legal. Other states such as Michigan and Massachusetts have put the issue to a vote and the voters have turned down the option. What exactly is physicianRead MorePhysician-Assisted Suicide Essay1038 Words   |  5 Pagesof their patients, or to assist them in ending their lives? Many people may believe that physicians would never perform the latter, but in actuality one practice does so. Physician assisted suicide is the intentional ending of one’s life brought on by lethal substances prescribed by a doctor. In the majority of cases, the patient is terminally ill and simply does not desire to live any longer. Their physician provides the medication necessary to end their life. Many supporters aver that this practiceRead MorePhysician-Assisted Suicide Essay1605 Words   |  7 Pagestheir life, in order to escape the horror. Committing suicide is a traumatizing experience for any and all involved. Life is precious. The chance to live is only given once, and cannot be taken for granted. Preventing even a single life from ending early is imperative and obligatory to everyone. Suicide can never be an option. Why then is it acceptable as an alternative treatment for dire medical conditions? Phy sician-Assisted Suicides have a negative impact on those involved and is unethical