...doctors take. Doctors pledge to “do no harm,” but some consider physician-assisted death as harm. In actuality, trying to do everything to keep the patient alive can do more harm than good. Sometimes the best way to do no harm is to allow the patient to die as they wish. Others against PAD will argue that it makes life meaningless. If the life the patient is living is already meaningless and he/she has no quality of life, then they should be able to end it. Being forced to live that sort of life is what makes life meaningless. Another argument against physician assisted death is that it is suicide, which is considered to be morally wrong, and associated with a mental illness. Suicide is actually not the right word for this situation (Quill, “Dying Patients Should”, 61). PAD is still death of an illness, the death is just sped up for the patient’s sake of suffering, helping others, and dignity. Physician assisted death (A.K.A. physician assisted suicide) is not wrong and should be legal in the United States of America. This option ends suffering. Allows for organ donation, and gives the patient the dignity of choosing his/her own...
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...Assisted Suicide In ancient Greece and Rome, views toward infanticide, active euthanasia, and suicide were not only tolerated, but accepted. Many ancient Greeks, Romans and Pagan Physicians performed frequent abortions as well as both voluntary and involuntary mercy killings. During these early times, it made more sense to support voluntary death rather than prolonged agony, and physicians complied by giving their patients the poisons they requested. The ancients stressed the deliberate intent to die, provided that it was done for the right reasons; for example, to end the affliction caused by a terminal illness. Indeed, in classical Athens, the city judges kept a supply of toxic for anyone who wished to end there suffering. So how has this affected our society today? Should this act be tolerated? Should this offense be legal? During the Holocaust, assisted suicide played an immense role which later demonstrated the apparent danger of following such a sequence. Unfortunately Americans are prone to short term memory and thus the debate has risen again. With the legalization of assisted suicide, must come an abundant amount of restrictions. Restrictions need to include an age limit on the patient, time passed after being diagnosed that the request will be considered, mandatory health screenings, physically and mentally, screening of the physician that will be administering the lethal dosage. A background check needs to be performed on the family and close friends to prevent...
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...goal and interest is to prolong the lives of those who want to live. What, then, is the fate of those who are stricken with terminal illnesses? What of those who writhe in pain every day and are incapable of performing the most menial tasks for themselves? Along with abortion and gay marriage, euthanasia is at the forefront of the political arena as a hot-button debate topic. The basic issue surrounding the euthanasia debate is whether or not a physician should, or be allowed to, provide assistance in death in the case of a terminal condition to a patient incapable of carrying out the deed him or herself. A terminally ill patient should have the right to choose when and how he or she dies and the topic of euthanasia should be free from social stigma and religious taboos. To some the name Jack Kevorkian conjures up images of a murderous doctor preying on innocent and sickly patients. Known to critics and dissidents as “Dr. Death”, it would seem as if he is guilty of grave offenses against his patients. Contrarily, at the patients' request, Dr. Kevorkian provided over one hundred thirty men and women with painless endings to their lives (Memmott). He is seen as a pioneer, leader, and symbol of the Right-to-Movement. However, he like many others, received a prison sentence for murder instead of the thank yous he is owed. When a pet is afflicted with an illness that causes unbearable pain or its quality of life to decrease detrimentally, euthanasia is seen as the most humane procedure...
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...October 2014 Euthanasia In today’s world there is a multitude of controversial topics that are discussed daily. One of these topics is euthanasia. Euthanasia is also knows as assisted suicide and is used to end the suffering of a person who has an illness or physical injury that can’t be cured. Because euthanasia involves death, it is a very sensitive topic. The different viewpoints contribute to the opinions that people have about euthanasia. People with a heavy religious culture are more likely to be against it, whereas people suffering from a life threatening or terminal disease are not. Euthanasia is currently only allowed in the state of Oregon through the Death with Dignity Act that was placed in 1997 and in four other states as well as three countries. Since that act, only 752 of the 1173 patients actually carried on to kill themselves. An article written by Ryan Wallace on October 7, 2014 titled “One Woman's Quest to Die with Dignity—and What It Means for Us All” is about a 29 year old woman named Brittany Maynard who has been diagnosed with stage four glioblastoma multiform, which is a fast-growing brain cancer that kills its victims. She is one of many that are in favor of assisted-suicide due to her illness. Maynard moved to Portland, Oregon where she would be able to end her life legally thru the Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act (DWDA). Those who are advocates don’t believe it is considered suicide because “aid in dying involves mentally competent people who...
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...a life worth living and who is to ultimately decide this? The main problem with this question is that suffering cannot be measured unless one is to endure that same suffering themselves. The view that life is a special gift bestowed by God is held highly by many religions and it is of most importance to them when the debate on assisted suicides arises. A gift from God should not be tampered with let alone destructed. Although the number of ethical issues involved is endless this paper will be focusing on three points. The first point engages in the ethics of assisted suicide and will involve the psychologically vulnerable and the elderly. The second ethical issue to be mentioned will be the presence and/or lack of a definition for a terminal illness. The last point is concerned with the human will to power and how this creates a problem should assisted suicide be permissible. These ethical issues, although strong convictions on their own, can lead to slippery slope arguments and must be looked at very carefully. In addition depending on the standpoint that one would take, these arguments have both strengths and weaknesses. Many people fear the process of aging. They become unable to continue the same lifestyle that they once had and they often are more ill and have to be looked after by family or others. The same can be said about the psychologically vulnerable who quite often have to depend on someone else to live as functional a life as possible. In this case we have two instances...
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...Jan Olesen February 25, 2015 Our Fate in Our Hands Assisted suicide is a controversial topic, sparking up questions and debates on whether it should be legal, or not. I argue that it should be legalized, it would be beneficial to some individuals because it would allow people with terminal illnesses to plan and prepare for their deaths, rather than go through pain and suffering, and the fear of not knowing when you could die. Assisted suicide, also commonly known as death with dignity, was created so that people could hold the power over their illness and be the ones to control the last moments of their life. I am not arguing that all people who are sick or ill should be allowed to participate in assisted suicide, we need to determine in what circumstances it would be appropriate. Who are we to say that someone has no right to a choice if they are suffering? However, before anything, we need to understand the difference between two terms; assisted suicide and euthanasia. Assisted suicide is “suicide committed with the aid of another person, sometimes a physician” (ahdictionary.com). Euthanasia is defined as “the act or practice of ending the life of a person or animal having a terminal illness or a medical condition that causes suffering perceived as incompatible with an acceptable quality of life, as by lethal injection or the suspension of certain medical treatments” (ahdictionary.com). While these sound like very similar terms, they are two completely different things....
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...and there is no medical treatment that can defeat this illness, so it is believed that the best choice is the act of intentionally ending his life to relieve the pain and suffering. Although euthanasia may be a solution in some cases, it really devalues human life and it still be considered as a kind of murder so euthanasia should not be allowed in any case. Supporters of euthanasia claim that autonomy, dignity, and individuality are the highest values in people’s life and when you lose them, euthanasia seems a good choice for those whose life has been limited to pain and humiliation, as they fully depend on other people to be cared, and also depend on machines to live. There are some cases about people suffering from terminal illnesses such as AIDS or Cancer, whose pain is unbearable, the medical treatments are useless and their life expectancy is rather poor so do not they deserve the right of having a death full of dignity? Even when this is about ending with a human life, it is an honorable way of ending the life of a person and to end with its suffering. However, according to religious people life has an intrinsic value, as man is created in the image of God and therefore human life has an intrinsic dignity, sanctity and is inviolable. God is the only one who gives life and takes it out. . Human beings are in no position to behave as God and end someone's life. There are many miracles about people, who have terminal diseases, but...
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...should be able to die with dignity if he or she chooses to do so. Those who oppose the law believe that there should not be any human intervention into the process of dying. There are two distinct sides of the debate, but people should have the choice if he or she chooses to do so. Death with Dignity should become a legalized process throughout the United States. HISTORY Death with Dignity laws in several states allow mentally competent, terminally-ill adult residents to voluntarily request and receive a prescription medication, from a physician, so they can die in a peaceful, humane manner in a place and time of their choosing (Death with Dignity, 2015.) In layman’s terms, a person who is eighteen years or older and has received a terminal medical diagnosis, with less than six months to live, can request for a physician to provide him or her with a prescription of pentobarbital, which can be used at the patient’s discretion to end his or her life. Some states require that the patient request the medications in writing and then again verbally, while others only require the patient to make a verbal request. The patient’s primary diagnosis must be validated by a consulting physician, to ensure that the patient’s diagnosis is accurate. The patient must then undergo psychological testing to ensure that the patient is competent and does not suffer from any type of psychological disorder that would impair the patient’s judgment, before receiving the medications. This is achieved...
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...Mechell Andaya PHI 208 Instructor Michael Larson right to die Mechell Andaya PHI 208 Instructor Michael Larson right to die Using assisted suicide is a personal decision that a person makes to end suffering. As this can change and take an affect a family mentally. The medical procedure that uses euthanasia they use in assisted suicide are carried out by patients with terminal illnesses like irreversible brain tumor (glioblastoma), has no control over how long the pain will last. This is issue is as controversial as well as it has good and bad to it. Many do believe that a person is physically suffering in pain they have the right to die by their own decision. Assisted suicide is not legal in most state and it should be legal for those who are suffering from terminal illness. With anything that is good will always have a down side. Because there is only a few states that it is legal and with that a doctor could lose their license to assist those in places where it is illegal. We know that the issue is with a Senate bill that any type that involves any assisted suicide to include euthanasia or lethal injection. This bill protects assisted suicide. There are advantages with assisted suicide. Physicians that conducts assisted suicide is they give you the decision on how you should end your life. Others argue because on people’s beliefs and opinions on this controversial topic. Some do believe that it is a human right. And in the couple of states that is legal, Doctors...
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...wishes of the children. 2. CONCRETENESS: Founded in Phoenix, AZ in 1980. B. QUOTE: “We grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.” 1. Statistic: According to sc.wish.org South Carolina has granted over 130 wishes through Make-A-Wish. 2. Statistic: According to makeawishna.ca over 320,000 wishes have been granted worldwide Transition Sentence: LIFE RELATEDNESS: Almost everyone will cross paths with a child that has some type of terminal illness, like cancer. I will now tell you how the foundation grants the children’s wishes and how you can tell them about Make-A-Wish. Where one of their wishes can come true. II. How does the organization grant wishes? A. The different donors that contribute to the foundation. 1. Disney, Macy’s, Zaxby’s, and many more give annually. 2. FAMILIARITY: According to wish.org Justin Bieber has granted over 200 wishes for children with terminal illnesses. B. The process on how to have your wish accepted. 1. You have to be between the ages of 3-17 • NOVELTY OF SIZE: According to the Pablove foundation 175,000 children are diagnosed with cancer worldwide 2. The child has to be medically eligible- life threatening 3. Wish is...
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...more and more of an accepted practice across the world. Here in the United States, a few states have already legalized physician assisted suicide, albeit with certain safeguards. It appears that the sentiment behind this practice is evolving. People are starting to see that it is frivolous to needlessly suffer when you are faced with an inevitable death. Patients with cancer and other terminal illnesses have already taken advantage of this practice. Recently however, a Swiss assisted-suicide clinic known as Dignitas announced their intention to help a healthy woman die alongside her terminally ill husband. This has raised many eyebrows, as well as some pertinent questions with regard to the morals of our society. For example, is there a principled difference between letting this healthy woman die and letting her terminally ill husband die? I am proposing that in principle the wife in this case has just as much of a right to end her own life as her husband does. I believe that although this woman’s case is semantically different from her husbands (relative health vs. terminal illness), they are morally equivalent. Humans are autonomous agents, capable of making rational decisions. As long as they are of a sound mind it can be argued that they know what is best for themselves. When someone imposes their will upon another’s ability to make their own rational decisions they are obstructing their freedom. This is otherwise known as paternalism, the practice of making...
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...themselves, they will need a physician to help. They will have to find a physician who has abandoned the principle of ethical standards that all doctors swear to live by, the Hippocratic Oath. Most Christian and Jewish religious laws forbid any form of assisted suicide and condemn any person who does this or helps anyone with this. Physician assisted suicide is one of those issues that both sides of the argument have strong feelings for supporting their position, the right to die may not invoke fist fights but vastly different opinions exist for it in all levels of society. Viewpoints differ from secular to religious people some people argue that the right to die is a basic civil right and that physician assisted suicide for people suffering terminal illnesses should be legal. The author Pavone would argue that suicide is forbidden and that of person’s soul is not his to take, even refusing to take treatment can be looked down upon. “What is...
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...Euthanasia Persuasive Speech Topic: Euthanasia: The right to live and let die. General Purpose: Persuade Specific purpose: To persuade my audience that euthanasia should be consider and allowed in terminal illnesses cases, diseases and in special situations. Thesis statement: Euthanasia is about giving people the right to choose if they want to live or not. It also will save the expensive amount of money in medical bills, and it also stops the person from having a bad quality of life. I. INTRODUCTION A. Attention getter: Background: Euthanasia is a Greek term, which means meaning ‘good death.’ Also it is known as physician assisted suicide and mercy killing. The process of Euthanasia is considered a relatively painless and merciful way to die. There are different type of Euthanasia like non-voluntary (person is in coma, too young, is severely brain damaged) voluntary (when the person refuses medical treatment, ask for medical treatment to be stopped, refuse to eat, simple decides to die), passive (withholding of common treatments necessary for the continuance of life) or active (use of lethal substances or forces to kill the patient). B. Attention getter: Think about the idea that one day you get involved in a crash accident and you ended up in vegetative state and must spend probably the rest of your life in a hospital or you ended up quadriplegic. You cannot see, walk, you lose your independence, can barely breathe and you need a machine to keep...
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...pain. As a result, her and her husband moved from California to Oregon, to take advantage of Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act. 2. Need Step: For almost nine years, Oregon was the only state that offered the Death with Dignity Act. Since then, four other states have passed a law to allow individuals suffering from painful terminal illnesses to end their lives peacefully, and on their own terms. Think about somebody you love – your mom, dad, or significant other – and imagine having to watch them live in constant pain and suffering, unable to do the things they used to enjoy. Wouldn’t you want to take any steps possible to relieve their pain and suffering? 3. Satisfaction Step: Physician-assisted suicide should be an option for terminally ill patients throughout the United States. This would allow for those terminally ill patients to end their suffering, and die with dignity. 4. Visualization Step: Some argue that legalizing physician-assisted suicide would result in everybody wanting to kill themselves. However, this is not the case. There are strict and specific guidelines to prevent its misuse. For example, in Oregon, you must have been diagnosed with a terminal disease that will result in death in less than 6 months. The prescribing physician must also inform the patient of alternatives such as hospice and palliative care. 5. Action Step: Please go to www.compassionandchoices.org, and tell congress to support death with dignity, and help other...
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...This reason is extremely crucial because many people are suffering every day. A recent study showed that 84% of the population believe that making physician assisted suicide legal will end suffering and believe it is a good idea. (Coorsh, 2014). If this many people believe that physician assisted suicide is the right path for patients and should be legalized, why is it not already? Brittany Maynard, 29, was a young woman diagnosed with inoperable, terminal brain cancer. There was no chance of survival for Brittany so she denied chemotherapy and opted to move to Oregon, where assisted suicide is legal. Brittany voluntarily ended her life using the option of physician assisted suicide on November 1st, 2014 (Zakaria, 2014). This story proves that not only do patients desperately want assisted suicide to be legalized, but in addition they want the pain and suffering to stop and will do anything to make this option available. “Not everyone wants to die rather than face the natural course of their illnesses, but not everyone wants to live through them either.” (Zukowski, 2014). A study showed that 40 of 69 terminally ill patients (73%) would request for a physician assisted suicide death if it...
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