Stephanie Narramore PHIL 2306 November 24, 2014 Physician Assisted Suicide Physician assisted suicide is unethical and should be illegal. Sanctioning physician assisted suicide would violate the rights of physicians as well as violate the physician’s oath. The Hippocratic Oath that physicians take require them to swear upon and uphold specific ethical standards. Physicians have an ethical duty to heal and prolong life. Physician assisted suicide (PAS) is the exact opposite of a physician’s professional duty.
There seem to be two overarching principles supporting the legalization of physician-assisted: autonomy and mercy. I believe that “the principle of autonomy, or self-determination insists that terminally ill patients have the right to extricate themselves from pain and suffering and to control as much as possible at the ends of their lives” (Battin, 1998). Many people that support this issue believe patients living in a state of agony due to terminal illnesses have a right to cease their pain and die with dignity. People have the right to choose between life and death during times of immense pain when death is closely inevitable anyway. Some where you have people against the situation.
The court examined six interests asserted by the state to support it prohibition of assisted suicide. They are as follows; the preservation of life; the prevention of suicide; preventing the influence of third parties; the interests of third parties; protecting the integrity of the medical profession; and concern about adverse consequences ( or the “slippery slope”). However, the court found none of these interests as sufficient to override a competent, terminally ill individual’s liberty interest in committing suicide with a physician’s aid. The court found that most of these interests, apply equally to the refusal of life-sustaining medical treatment, and saw this as legally and ethically indistinguishable from the self-administration of drugs to “hasten inevitable death” (University of Buffalo, 1997). The courts dismissed the idea of risks associated with its decision to legalize physician-assisted suicide, claiming that risks exist and any risks can be eliminated through state law or regulation.
Here opponents point to the historical ethical traditions of medicine. Like Hippocrates for instance, his oath states that “I will not administer poison to anyone where asked” and “Be of benefit, or at least do no harm.” Furthermore, major professional groups (AMA, AGS) oppose assisted death. The overall concern is that linking PAS to the practice of medicine could hard the public’s image of the profession. The last reason that PAS should be illegal is fallibility of the profession. The concern raised here is that the physicians will make mistakes.
This was a huge turning point because this was going to show people how, if this were to actually pass everywhere else in the United States, it could possibly work. This case alone can set the tone of where assisted suicide is going throughout the United States. The Death with Dignity establishes the terms and conditions under which a terminally ill patient can obtain a prescription to end their life where and when as they please. (Glover). A few requirements more than being an Oregon resident is needed by the patient.
Persuasive Speech Format: Two-sided presentation (Pro-Con) Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience that we as free citizens should legalize physician assisted suicide for terminally ill patients. Thesis Statement: We as citizens should legalize assisted suicide based of principles of rights, morals and alternatives for the current way of ending a patient’s sufferings. INTRODUCTION Attention Getter A. Imagine yourself a doctor, a physicist to be more precise. You have a good life, a loving partner, couple kids running around and a decent wage; you’ve accomplished the 1980’s American dream.
The Argument Essay: Yes to Medically Assisted Suicide! Terminally-ill people should have the right to medically assisted suicide. A person should have the choice of deciding whether or not they want to continue living if they know they only have a lifetime of pain and suffering ahead of them. Medically assisted suicide will not be the first choice a patient receives to fight their terminal illness; it will be the last resort if all else is futile. Many people are against medically assisted suicide because they feel it goes against a doctor’s code of ethics but not allowing a patient to have options is unfair to them; let them decide what they want for themselves.
Physician Assisted Suicide: Life or Death Karly Turner SOC 120 April 22, 2013 Physician Assisted Suicide: Life or Death A doctor’s obligation is to provide support and comfort through a terminally ill patient’s process of death. There has been a great deal of discussion over the topic of physician assisted suicide over the past couple of years. While this can be viewed as illegal in many people’s eyes, should terminally ill patient be allowed to determine if they want to live or die? Assisted suicide should be voluntarily made, but the patient must be capable of making that decision. If you are ill and feel nothing but pain should you be forced to live?
The fact is that the government saying that people can choose to end their own lives actually does open up the door for other forms of euthanasia. The best way of preventing government from taking a stance on euthanasia is by making government the absolute defender of life. The government says that the premature taking of a life in any circumstances aside from rare exceptions like self-defense (where a life is being put against another life) is criminal. Whether it is the person ending their own life, getting a physician to do it for them, or ending someone else’s life, it is
The physicians assisted suicide is a means to escaping the painful fate of lying an a bed just watching the clock tick your life away. I believe that physician assisted suicide is something that should be legalized in every state for everyone who has a terminal illness I know that there may be people who would try to use the assisted suicide for their own gain it still the terminally ill an option. It can help them escape the pain of dying slowly; it removes the burden on them and their family, and finally allows them to choose the way they