PHYSICIAN ASSISTED SUICIDE

The Conditions Under which A Physician is morally and ethically justified to Withdraw Life Support

The Conditions Under which A Physician is morally and ethically justified to Withdraw Life Support

Introduction

It is human destiny to arrive at the end of their lives and die. The way in which an individual tends to connect to death and the conditions under which they die define important facets of that person's life. Whether or not, the decisions of death made by or for the individual, are in agreement the ethical and philosophical values is a rising debate in today's world. Individual choices for life and death are, however, controlled to a certain limit by the prevailing opinion of a major part of the society, pre-existing public policies and medical practices and procedures.

A recent topic of discussion on medical, social and legal platforms is a terminally or non-terminally ill patient's right to opt for a physician assisted suicide, in other words called medical euthanasia. What can be the possible circumstances under which it is appropriate or acceptable to kill a human being?

Medical professionals and scholars have been forced to review the highly conflicted issues of autonomy and beneficence, compassionate care for terminally ill patients, comprehensive palliative care and a patient's right to self determination. The three basic concepts, which have surfaced in this context, are active euthanasia, passive euthanasia and physician assisted suicide (PAS). The fundamental philosophical question that arises on the ethical dimension of debate on suicide and its transition into PAS as noted by Battin (1995) is what role may an individual play in their own death. Advances and limitations in life support medical technology in the modern era has encouraged the analysis of physician assisted death, and ending a patient's life for compassionate reasons.

Thesis Statement

This paper will examine and describe the rationale that justifies a patient's right to death. It will analyze the ethical and legal grounds under which a physician can assist a terminally or non-terminally ill patient with suicide.

Discussion and Analysis

Relativism

The relativism ethic supports quality of life. Medical prognosis, an individual's life expectancy, benefits and risks of treatment options and level of functioning in everyday activities are taken under consideration under the relativism ethic (Fulton & Metress, 1995). An individual should have the right to make a decision to die if the on the “quality of life” grounds. In order to act in their patients' interests, doctors and health care professionals have to make judgments on the quality of life of the patient (Kuhse & Singer, 1989).

An intensely conscious effort has been made, in the United States, to maintain a social setup which supports and encourages individualism. Therefore, a patient taking up the relativism perspective and choosing to decide for their quality of life is but justified. The public policy in the United States has been duly reinforced in order to incorporate the relativism perspective. The continual efforts by health care professionals for prolonging life resulted in an inadvertent prolonging of the process of ...