Should Assisted Suicide be Allowed?

Introduction

Assisted suicide refers to specific methods, such as drugs or devices, which have the ability to contribute to the implementation of suicidal death wish to reach the goal.

In some legal provisions, whether assisted or self-help "suicide" behavior is not legitimate, but "death assistance" is a recognized range. Therefore, in similar circumstances, some people will use assistance death (aid in dying) or a dignified death (death with dignity) to replace words such as assisted suicide, the purpose is to show that this is actually not a suicide. Whatever is the case, it must not be legalized. This paper discusses these facts in detail.

Discussion

Regional and National Legislation

In the United States, 8 November 1994, Oregon passed the Death with Dignity Act allowing physician-assisted suicide. Indeed, from 1998 to 2005, over two hundred people have taken, as prescribed by law, the appropriate drugs to accelerate their death. A hundred people who received their medications, have not used. Over twenty people died of their disease and about twenty others were still alive in 2005 (Werth & H. Wineberg, p.5). In practice, it is up to each state to accept or refuse the right to physician-assisted suicide. In 1996, twelve states have recognized the right to assisted suicide, while the laws of thirty-two states explicitly exclude. However, October 27, 1999, in Washington, Congress won by 271 votes against 156 in favor of the bill proposed by Henry Hyde of Illinois. This federal law penalizes doctors who provide drugs to their patients to complete their suicide, but makes the use of drugs legal to treat pain. Hyde's argument is that suicide is the ultimate act of despair and the act to facilitate the intentional killing of a human being is the opposite of healing act. This act was seen by opponents as an intrusion of federal authority not only in the state law, but also in medical practice. It reduces the pain for millions of Americans, because doctors fear being accused of prescribing drugs that may cause the death of their patients. Finally, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld in 2006, the validity of the law allowing physician-assisted suicide in Oregon, while the government of US, President George Bush wanted to punish doctors who helped terminally ill patients to die (Oregon Department of Human Services, 2006).

Pain and Suffering in the Disease

In the "Bulletin of the American Medical Association" was published years ago an anonymous article that was titled: "It's over, Debbie". The article, which in turn was largely condemned by the lack of medical ethics, has been well used by those who knowingly seek to reopen the debate on euthanasia and assisted suicide in the academic circles of the United States. It describes the murder of a young patient with a gynecologic cancer incurable and terrible pain at the hands of a sleepy doctor on duty did not know the case, but was raised to help her, and thought it best to coldly kill to relieve suffering. The problem we face today is not ...