Physician Assisted Suicide Should Be Legal - 1875 Words

The recent case of a woman, Brittany Maynard, who chose to end her life before she experienced the severe side effects of Glioblastoma has sparked a debate on whether Physician Assisted Suicide should be made legal in all fifty states. Some people believe that Physician Assisted Suicide violates the Hippocratic Oath, gives a doctor too much power, or leaves vulnerable groups at risk. Others feel that Physician Assisted Suicide will benefit the terminally ill. Physician Assisted Suicide will benefit the terminally ill by offering the option to cease their pain and suffering with a painless medication prescribed by a physician when they feel their quality of life has diminished, and is no longer worth living. With this option available, people can exercise their rights over their body and life, die with a sense of dignity, make organs available to patients who need them if it were legal, and it removes the physician from the death directly leaving it to be a personal exit to oneâ€℠¢s life. Physician Assisted Suicide is said to violate the Hippocratic Oath, and it’s foundation to do no harm. While it’s commonplace for people to cite the words â€Å"Do No Harm,† it is never explicitly stated. The statement, â€Å"I will not give a lethal drug to anyone if I am asked, nor will I advise such a plan†¦(Hippocrates),† is explicitly stated in the original oath, however. The original Hippocratic Oath also swears that a doctor will not give a woman a pessary to cause an abortion or use the knife,Show MoreRelatedShould Physician Assisted Suicide Be Legal?901 Words   |  4 PagesWhen society ponders over the idea of physician-assisted suicide, they most likely feel that the act itself would compare to murdering someone. Who really has the authority to say what is right or wrong when a loved one wants to end their life because of a terminal illness or a severe physical disability? Should Physician-assisted suicide be Legal in Californi a to make it a euthanasia state like Oregon ? In the article titled â€Å"Nicest Lawmaker Touts Assisted Suicide,† by Clea Benson published The BakersfieldRead MorePhysician Assisted Suicide Should Be Legal1578 Words   |  7 Pagesmeasures. One of the alternative options is Physician-Assisted Suicide; defined as the voluntary termination of one’s own life by administration of a lethal substance with the direct or indirect assistance of a physician (â€Å"Physician-assisted†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). In layman’s terms it means that a physician administers medications to the patients to use on their own terms, and it’s entirely up to the patient whether or not to ingest the medication. I know Physician-Assisted Suicide is a practical solution to terminally illRead MoreShould Physician-assisted Suicide Be Legal? 1473 Words   |  6 Pages Should physician-assisted suicide be legal? This debated subject has no right or wrong answer. Assisting someone in death has a felony murder conviction in some cases. There are a few different ways of being charged, but there are certain circumstances. There are many reasons why I am for it and of course, I have reasons against it. When you have a loved one in a vegetative state, does the family say yes or no to â€Å"pulling the plug?† Is it not the same as assisting a person in death? AnotherRead MorePhysician Assisted Suicide Should Be Legal1325 Words   |  6 PagesThe topic of physician-assisted suicide has become very controversial because of the ethical questions. The physical state of health of the patient, the patient’s personal life, and even the financial pressure of the patient are all factors to consider when contemplating whether or not to legalize this controversial cause of death. Physician-assisted suicide regarding medical ethics states that a physician cannot legally give any patient a lethal injection to end their life, but they can take theRead MoreShould Physi cian Assisted Suicide Be Legal?761 Words   |  4 Pages We Should be in Favor of Physician-assisted Suicide In a momentous decision released February 6, 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Physician-assisted suicide will be legal in Canada within 12 months. This deci-sion has caused a myriad of controversy. Opponents of physician-assisted suicide argue that the constitution recognizes the sanctity of life and no one has the right to end the life of another person’s. Supporters, on the other hand, argue that patients who experience constantRead MorePhysician Assisted Suicide Should Be Legal935 Words   |  4 Pagesdiscusses the ethics of physician-assisted suicide. In the process of physician-assisted suicide, a doctor purposefully provides a terminally ill patient with the means to take their own life. This is often confused with active euthanasia; however, they are not the same thing. In euthanasia, the doctor administers the lethal drug to the patient, but in physician-assisted suicide, the patient must take the lethal drugs themselves. There is much debate over physician-assisted suicide today. Some peopleRead 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 MorePhysician Assisted Suicide Should Be Legal1494 Words   |  6 PagesPhysician Assisted Suicide A tough issue on the rise in the United States is whether or not Physician Assisted Suicide (PAS) should be legal. Physician Assisted Suicide allows a physician to prescribe a lethal dose of medication to a patient to end their life. However, the patient has to take the drugs on their own. PAS would be only offered to those suffering from a terminal illness with less than six months to live. The way these patients go about treating and or living with a terminal illnessRead MorePhysician Assisted Suicide Should Not Be Legal2017 Words   |  9 PagesEnglish 100 Melody Kowach Say No to Physician Assisted Suicide Has anyone ever heard of the term Assisted suicide? The term assisted suicide â€Å" is suicide committed with the aid of another person, who is usually a physician. It usually is called physician assisted suicide because a doctor is providing information on committing suicide with lethal doses of drugs (Assisted). There are many people with a terminal illness considering assisted suicide. Assisted Suicide is legal in five states which is OregonRead MorePhysician Assisted Suicide Should Be Legal1223 Words   |  5 Pagespractice of physician assisted suicide. This would allow terminally ill patients, many of whom have cancer, to make the difficult decision to end their lives peacefully. Doctors are able to simply write their patient a prescription, designed to end a person’s life in a non-painful way. Doctors and medical personnel have struggled with this topic, exploring the various consequences and benefits that come with making assisted suicide legal. Currently, physicia n assisted suicide has been made legal across