Assisted Suicide

Background

Physician-assisted suicide, also known as PAS, is a practice where a Physician or Doctor provides a patient with medication that the patient requested to end their own life. Most people tend confuse Physician-assisted suicide with Euthanasia which is the intentional killing by act or omission of a dependant person for their unproven benefit. The difference that people tend to overlook is that Euthanasia is an intentional act of killing that is forced upon a person and PAS is not. It usually is a normal reaction when people hear about PAS that they automatically think about suicide, but it should not be pushed into the same category. It is the patient's choice to make this decision and not the doctors. Physician-assisted suicide should be legal in all states because the right to a timely death is a basic human freedom. The decision to use Physician-assisted suicide in dying allows us to act on death as a choice for those suffering with terminal illnesses. There can be various reasons for such suicide in which one of it lack of clear understanding of societal norms (Durkheim, 1997).

Thesis Statement

Physician-assisted suicide should be legal in all states because the right to a timely death is a basic human freedom

Discussion

Whenever a patient is admitted to the hospital various entities, involve in his treatment. These entities include physicians, nurses, therapeutic staff etc. If, physician assisted suicide becomes legal a physician would be able to consult with the other staff. He would be able to reach a better decision regarding a patient should commit or should not commit suicide. Moreover, by interacting with the staff a physician may come to know anyone who is more close to the patient and who can persuade him to not to choose death if proper cure is available. On the other hand if this activity is illegal staff and physician would not prefer or, they would hesitate to communicate about this issue (Matthew, pp. 3).

The application of intentionally or willingly ending a life to eliminate suffering or pain is known as euthanasia. It is referred as the termination of life by a doctor at the request of a patient and is defined as a deliberate intervention undertaken with the express intention of ending a life, to relieve intractable suffering (Kevorkian, Pp. 1-14; Hendin, Pp. 44).

Credibility

It is legal in countries like Luxembourg, Netherlands, and Belgium and throughout the United States. Assisted suicide is where the patient ends his or her life with a physician's assistance, and, is legal in Switzerland, and the United States' Washington, Montana and Oregon states. When euthanasia is exercised on a patient, whose consent is not available, it is considered as non-voluntary euthanasia. It is illegal across the globe, but in certain cases and circumstance including children, is endorsed according to the Groningen Protocol in the Netherlands (Pappas, Pp. 386-393).

Current Scenario in USA

The World Medical Association considered it unethical and condemns both assisted suicide and euthanasia. On the other hand, recommendation is made for palliative care. Some doctors believe ...