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Dr. Assisted Suicide

In: Philosophy and Psychology

Submitted By jamielynneerwin
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Final Project Proposal
Jamie Erwin
PHI/105
February 1, 2015
Professor Randall Knighton

Final Project Proposal
The topic I have chosen to write about for my final project is, the Pros and Cons of Legalizing Physician Assisted Suicide. Many societies have associated the taking of an individual’s own life with the magnitude of their morality. In the United States, the courts have ruled that no one actually has the right to die, and due to this, physician assisted suicide is outlawed throughout most of the world. There are only a few countries or states that have legalized this process.
A lot of people will always associate Dr. Jack Kevorkian as the example of the way that a physician assisted suicide happens, however that is not always the case. When an individual has a terminal illness and they make the choice (being in their right state of mind, and have gotten a second opinion) choose to die, then their doctor may write a fatal prescription for that individual. There are definitely pros and cons to physician assisted suicide, in this paper I plan on showing both sides of the argument.
Beginning with a few of the cons…as with any death, there is going to be grief over the loss. At times due to their spiritual beliefs, people feel like a physician assisted suicide is a selfish or even sinful act. This perspective has a lifelong effect on a person and they may harbor resentment, no one can say for sure if there is an afterlife, which is more about a negative personal perspective. At times what is thought to be a lethal prescription ends up being not so lethal, it is usual, but some individuals have taken what the physician ordered and woke up a few days later, due to the drug not having the intended effect.
With physician assisted suicide there is a stigma especially in the United States, it isn’t required and it’s fully voluntary. However people rarely

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