The Controversy of Physician-Assisted Suicide - 2574 Words

Physician-Assisted Suicide Introduction The issue of physician-assisted suicide has been highly controversial for many years in the United States, and the controversy continues today with no apparent end in sight. The idea that a doctor would assist a voluntary patient with that patients death is repugnant to many people on ethical, moral and philosophical grounds. Still, physician-assisted suicide is legal in Oregon, Montana and Washington State, and in four other states (North Carolina, Utah, Wyoming and Ohio) physician-assisted suicide is not a technically illegal albeit it is not considered a crime. Moreover, when a person has been diagnosed as terminally ill and has reached a point in his or her life where the pain needs to be continually drowned in morphine and there is a vacuum in terms of ones sense of self, who is to say that person does not have a right to take steps necessary to end life? Therein lies the root of the controversy: modern medicine has invented countless remedies for disease and doctors and nurses take oaths to sustain life, but when individuals are in dire physical straits with no hope for a future, do they have the right to make the ultimate decision on life or death? Thesis: Every individual, every doctor and every nurse, must consult their own ethical values and decide whether physician-assisted suicide is right or wrong. This paper approaches the controversy using, among other concepts, deontology as a guidepost, which embraces the ideaShow MoreRelatedThe Controversy Of Physician Assisted Suicide2213 Words   |  9 PagesThere is so much controversy about physician assisted suicide. There is even controversy about the wording itself. Some call it physician assisted suicide, while others refuse to use the word suicide at all, in correlation to the meaning of this subject, which I will discuss later. There are a few different ways to say it, but all mean basically the exact same thing; death with dignity, end of life option, aid in dying, and the right to die. No one wants to die. But the harsh reality is thatRead MorePhysician Assisted Suicide is NOT Ethical Essay1347 Words   |  6 PagesIs physician assisted suicide morally right? This h as been a controversial subject for some time now. People are wondering whether or not it is the most humane thing to do. If dogs can be putdown, why not people? The reason is in that question. They are people. Every life is important, no matter how long it may be. Instead of finding a way to get rid of people faster, the government could put those efforts in something more positive. If other people are considering whether or not the patients’ lifeRead MoreAssisted Suicide And The Euthanasia Movement1273 Words   |  6 PagesAssisted Suicide Imagine being in enough excruciating pain for a long enough time and deciding that even dying would be better. Assisted suicide is affecting more people around the world every day; either under agreeable or disagreeable terms, depending on each person’s opinion. What is assisted suicide and why is controversy over this topic still here after at least 1,500 years of existence (A Merciful End: The Euthanasia Movement in Modern America)? There are many factors to consider whenRead MoreShould Physician Assisted Suicide Be Legal?847 Words   |  4 PagesShould-Physician Assisted Suicide Be Legal In Every State When it comes to the topic of, should physician-assisted suicide be legal in every state, most of us will readily agree that it should be up to a terminally ill person to make that decision. Whereas some are convinced that it is inhumane, others maintain that it is a person’s decision to end their own life. I agree that physician-assisted suicide should be legal in every state because in most cases, people that are terminally ill should haveRead MoreEuthanasia And Physician Assisted Suicide1629 Words   |  7 Pagesillnesses or major health problems, assisted suicide creates options to reduce the amount of suffering the patient must enduring. Dying with dignity could be beneficial for not only the person who is dying, but also the person’s family and loved ones. This option, however, is often viewed as unethical and immoral throughout society. Physician-assisted suicide offers an option for those with health issues but poses various ethical and social issues. Assisted death is practiced in two differentRead MoreEuthanasia And Physician Assisted Suicide1180 Words   |  5 Pagessituations. One topic that has caused major controversy as to whether it is ethical or not is euthanasia and physician assisted suicide. There are some who view this issue as unethical and murder, and others who see it as a basic constitutional human right. Many people differ in where they place the line that separates allowing one to die and murder, and the biggest issue would be as to whether the patient can competently agree to their death, hence the word suicide. After researching both sides of theRead MoreEuthanasi The Consequences Of Euthanasia1161 Words   |  5 PagesKatie Torras English III CP- E March 23, 2015 HP:______________ Consider the Consequences of Euthanasia Euthanasia, also known as assisted suicide, has caused much controversy around the globe. Assisted suicide has been an early American statute outlawed since 1828, but is an understandable approach to a dignified death when one suffers from a devastating and debilitating disease with no cure. Some believe that the patient should be allowed to be put to death when they have no hope ofRead MoreThe Right to Assisted Suicide Essay937 Words   |  4 Pagescruel reality we live in when ability to choose the time of our demise, especially for terminal patients, is not seen as a personal right to be acted upon, but to be shunned as a taboo. This is why assisted-suicide, the contraction of a third-party to provide the materials necessary to commit suicide, should be legalized; it would allow both terminal and permanently disabled patients an escape from the mental, emotional, physical pain of useless treatments, and impaired quality of life, in theirRead MoreWhy Should Unnecessary Suffering Accompany Death? Essay example1138 Words   |  5 PagesEuthanasia is a subject shrouded in controversy. Euthanasia plays on many human emotions and values because the human race holds life as sacred. People in every society have rules governing the termination of their fellow humans. Sadly, there are times when people are faced with the difficult decision concerning what should be done for a loved one who is terminally ill, and no longer has hope of a good quality of life? The controversy lies within the human comprehension of right and wrong. Read MoreThe Ethics Of Physician Assisted Suicide1723 Words   |  7 PagesPhysician assisted suicide, the suicide of a patient suffering from an incurable disease, effected by the taking of lethal drugs provided by a doctor for this purpose. The question of whether or not this practice should be made legal in the United States has been one of controversy since 1997. Beginning with the case of Washington v. Glucksberg, where the Unite d States Supreme Court ruled that the matter of the constitutionality of a right to a physician’s aid in dying, was best left up to the states