Arguments Against Physician Assisted Suicide

Words: 915
Pages: 4
Open Document
Physician-Assisted Suicide: Support and Opposition Physician-assisted suicide is a method used by patients to terminate his/her own life with lethal medicine that is prescribed by a doctor. The lethal dose of medication is administered by the patient, not the doctor. This method is for patients whom are terminally-ill and no long want to wait to die. Physician-assisted suicide (PAS) is one of the most controversial issues in modern medicine because of the support and opposition surrounding it. Organizations and people that support PAS all have an understanding of what benefits and options it gives to those whom want to end their lives. While there is support, a great deal of controversy surrounds PAS. Religious and ethical reasoning and a …show more content…
According to State-by-state guide to physician-assisted suicide (2017), those states include: California, Vermont, Oregon, Washington Colorado, and Washington, D.C. . The state of Montana has no laws against it (Popik, 2016). Oregon was the pioneer in physician-assisted suicide with the passing of the Death with Dignity Act in September 1994 (State-by-state guide to physician-assisted suicide, 2017). In Oregon, Physician-assisted suicide is not a decision made easily or that is taken lightly. There are many steps that must be taken before a person takes advantage of the Death With Dignity Act. According to Girsh (2002), first the request must come from a terminally ill, mentally capable resident of Oregon. Then the patient must be examined and diagnosed by two doctors. Next, the patient must have a mental-health check and be be presented alternative options. After a time period of fifteen days, the patients can fill the prescription from the doctor two days later. Finally, the patient can take the lethal medicine with or without friends, family, or a doctor present. Although this screening is thorough, one flaw is that is it does not require family members of the patient to be contacted of what their loved ones decision (Girsh, 2002). Many other states have pushed hard to pass laws similar to the Death With Dignity Act. Colorado voted in November 2016 on Initiative 145, known as the "Medical Aid in Dying …show more content…
Compassion & Choices is a group out of the state of Washington that works with medical care providers, churches, and other organizations to offer better end-of-life care. The group also works to ensure that the physician-assisted suicide laws in each state are upheld (About compassion & choices, 2017). In one case, a 62-year-old woman with inoperable lung cancer, and who was living in hospice care, seeked out Compassion & Choices to assist in her death and provide advice. A volunteer group called the Caring Friends program worked with her to make sure she had exhausted all her options, and that she knew the laws. In the state the woman lived, PAS was illegal. After understanding the law and considering her options, the woman then searched for a doctor who, despite criminal action, would prescribe her the lethal drug to end her own life. The doctor who assisted her risked his medical license and broke the law to help the suffering woman. The woman, and Compassion & Choices, knew the legal risks of PAS in states where it is illegal, but yet ….. (Girsh,
Show More

Related Documents: Arguments Against Physician Assisted Suicide

Arguments Against Physician Assisted Suicide

CJ Limpag Mr. Ruiz English 10 25 April 2024 Should Medical Practitioners be Allowed to Perform Medically Assisted Suicide? Suicide is defined as “the act of intentionally causing one’s death” as per the Merriem-Webster dictionary and is a highly controversial topic of debate, most especially within the field of medicine. Specifically, during the process of becoming a doctor, a physician would have to swear what is known as the “Hippocratic Oath”, an oath made by the Greek doctor Hippocrates that…

Words 667 - Pages 3

Arguments Against Physician Assisted Suicide

Physician Assisted Suicide “All I am asking for is a little choice in how I die.” This was said by dying patient Louise Schaefer (It’s Not,). We all know at least one person who is dying from a terminal disease. It could be a family member, a friend, a television character, or even a celebrity. We probably cannot imagine them dying or losing them forever. It would be even worse if they died in pain and suffering. They should be able to go peacefully and not a life in a hospital for the last parts…

Words 1588 - Pages 7

Anna Gorman's Arguments Against Physician Assisted Suicide

Advocates Fight Assisted Suicide Legislation.” Gorman’s article explains the dangers of a proposed legislation in California that would legalize prescriptions for terminally ill patients to end their lives. The bill was passed and will be effective for ten years. In her article, Gorman interviews three different people who believe that physician assisted suicide should remain illegal because no one ought to end their life prematurely. Gorman summarizes the belief that physician assisted suicide should be…

Words 979 - Pages 4

Physician Assisted Suicide Arguments Against Euthanasia

with the life. With euthanasia and physician assisted suicide morality issues arise tangled with legal and policy debates. All terms used to describe killing and dying are often controversial. However according to some, while death is considered to be bad or evil, euthanasia is considered to be good. Nevertheless suicide and euthanasia is not consistent with any medical practice and contradicts physician's oath to provide care to patients. Physician assisted suicide can be described as the decision…

Words 1171 - Pages 5

Essay On Physician Assisted Suicide

Physician Assisted Suicide Physician assisted suicide is willfully and deliberately providing an individual with the information and means or both required to commit suicide, including education about lethal doses of medications, prescribing such lethal doses or providing the drugs (Schafer, 2013). Physician assisted suicide is currently a thoroughly controversial topic of debate within the healthcare community; causing professional and personal dilemmas. The purpose of this paper is to critically…

Words 775 - Pages 4

Pros And Cons Of Physician Assisted Suicide

favor of physician-assisted suicide agree that competent individuals should have control over their own right to die; physician-assisted suicide will alleviate end of life suffering for the patient and his or her loved ones, while decreasing health care costs. They argue that physician-assisted suicide has enough thorough guidelines and regulations in order to prevent abuse of physician-assisted suicide by patients and physicians. However, there are strong arguments against physician-assisted suicide…

Words 134 - Pages 1

Assisted Sucide Essay

Physician Assisted Suicide Should Be Legal Laura Germinario PHI Informal Logic/103 May 7, 2012 Stephen Carter, Ph.D. Physician assisted suicide is the practice of providing a patient with information, medication, and or equipment to use to end their own life. Physician assisted suicide remains a controversial issue both legally and morally (Wolfsast, 2008).The debate on whether to legalize physician assisted suicide has been alive for centuries. Some parts of the world like Australia have legalized…

Words 1695 - Pages 7

Physician Assisted Suicide Persuasive Essay

coming up with an informed argument based on that research, and pushing my audience to see my point of view. I wanted my paper to convince my audience that physician assisted suicide is not a bad thing and it should be legalized. In terms of organization, I started my introductory paragraph explaining what physician assisted suicide is. Many people have misconceptions about physician assisted suicide and believe it is just a way for mentally ill people to commit suicide with ease. This is of course…

Words 751 - Pages 4

Why Is Euthanasia Ethically Wrong

The debate over the legality and ethicality of euthanasia and/or physician-assisted suicide in America was stimulated in the late 1900s by the coverage of Kevorkian’s story in national media. The increasing knowledge of euthanasia led many Americans who might've never heard of the term or the stigma surrounding it to voice their opinion either for or against the procedure. Many pro-euthanasia groups gained popularity around this time including Death with Dignity and The Hemlock Society, these organizations…

Words 420 - Pages 2

To Err Is Human Summary

not and cannot be an argument in favor of physician assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia. Respect of autonomy, gives individuals self-governance and the right to choose one’s own path. In the article the authors explains autonomy as being a concept of bioethics. They make note of the similarities between the definitions of freedom and autonomy. Sjöstrand, Helgesson, Eriksson, and Juth argue that using respect for autonomy as an argument to legalize physician assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia…

Words 711 - Pages 3