Physician Aid in Dying Physician Aid in Dying Physician assisted suicide, now more commonly referred to as physician aid in dying is an available option for terminally ill patients. These ill patients, who are capable of making medical decisions on their own, feel as though they have lived their lives and no longer want to suffer. Although physician aid in dying is only legal in Oregon and Washington, lawmakers want this act of medicine to stop. However; respect for autonomy, compassion, honesty and transparency are reasons that physician aid in dying should be legal in cases where death is certain and consent is from the dying is writing. Decisions about time and circumstances of death are personal.
No one has the right to decide who should live and who should die. This decision is left up to God (or whomever you worship) or fate. By legalizing Physician-Assisted Suicide and making it acceptable, this opens the door for abuse of power, breaches the Hippocratic Oath “I will not administer poison to anyone where asked," and I will "be of benefit, or at least do no harm.” However, compared to the answers given by Physicians in the 1996 survey, it seems that the Hippocratic Oath may already have some grey areas. Physicians are also human, which means they can make mistakes. (Braddock C, 1999) The diagnosing of diseases and their prognosis may be science, but it is not absolute.
Physician assisted-suicide (PAS) is an issue that is very controversial. Some people believe that patients who have no chance of recovery and are dying should have the choice to end their lives sooner instead of suffering. Others believe that physician assisted-suicide is unethical and should
Euthanasia in not lawful in every state, but a select few have passed laws allowing patients to have physician assisted suicide under very specific guidelines. Advance directives and Do Not Resuscitate are legal in every state but according
Owens Lib. 12, March 2008 http://www.ebsohost.com Trende, Sean P. “Bush Administration Wrong on Gun Lawsuit” Human Events 64.4 (2008) 1-12 Academic Search Premiere. Ebscohost. Owens Lib. 11, March 2008.
People who argue with Kevorkian for physician-assisted suicide feel that by helping a patient end his or her life peacefully is helpful to family and friends. Joe Masserli points out main arguments for and against assisted suicide in his political assessment of the subject. He argues equally for and against the topic, which points out many things that go unnoticed by those with bold opinions on assisted suicide. Masserli points out the amount of pain that a patient can be spared from, the fundamental freedom of the right to die, the Death with Dignity Act in Oregon, the reduction of healthcare costs, the freeing of doctor and nurse time, the pain and anguish that a patient’s family can be saved from, the
The Right to Die Marinda Thomas PSYCH/600 8/02/2015 Mrs. Koenig The Right to Die If you aren’t familiar with the “Right to Die” topic, let me say this…it is the new law that went into effect a few years ago 2008 that now allows people with life threatening illness and the elderly the right to die with dignity versus suffering or losing their capabilities. One of the main states who recognizes this is Oregon. I’m sure you have heard about it in the media at some point. If not take a minute and familiarize yourself with it. This “Right to Die” concept is not fully accepted and is viewed as physician assisted-suicide (PAS) in Oregon and the highest resort are the elderly.
“Matricide and the Mother’s Revenge: As I Lay Dying.” As I Lay Dying: Authoritative Text, Backgrounds and Contexts, Criticism. Ed. Michael Gorra. Norton Critical ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2010.
Assisted Suicide: A Person's Right Assisted Suicide has been around for thousands of years dating back to Ancient Greece and Rome (Weikart). Assisted suicide refers to when a terminally ill patient is killed as a way out of the physical and mental pain of their disease. The only place in the United States where physician assisted suicide is legal is In Oregon, where the death with dignity act was passed in 1997 (Stokely). Euthanasia became popular during the 1990's when Dr. Kevorkian would illegally killed terminally ill patients from his home (Stokely). Because each person has basic human rights that cannot be taken away, he or she should be able to make a very private decision about the circumstances and time of his or her own death.
Assisted Suicide Assisted Suicide Kelly Dickinson PHI: 200 Robert Vaughan June 20, 2011 Assisted Suicide 1 The Philosophical issue I have chosen to write about from the topic of ethics Is Assisted Suicide. According to the Medical Dictionary, assisted suicide is a suicide by an individual Helps another