...Physician Assisted Suicide Jason July 9, 2012 Most states in the United States make euthanasia, also known as physician-assisted suicide, a felony crime, punishable by years of imprisonment. Euthanasia is a very notorious issue within the medical and legal systems; which has been in debate for almost two million years. The word ‘euthanasia’ comes from the Greek origin and means “good death, or easy death.” (Pozgar, 2010) When considering a physician acting in the best interest of the patient, the “legal system must ensure that the constitutional rights of the patient are maintained, while protecting society’s interests in preserving life, preventing suicide, and maintaining the integrity of the medical profession.” (Pozgar, 2010)Euthanasia is a highly controversial issue, especially when patients and their families recognize the quality of life being greatly decreased, with no end to the pain and suffering, the real problem occurs for both the patient and family, but for the health care professionals as well. Surely we all remember Dr. Jack Kevorkian, one of the most controversial and most publically followed physicians held liable for his actions in physician-assisted suicide. The medical staff is trained to save lives, preserve life, treat illness, and bandage wounds, so it would be considered very unethical for any medical profession to aid in euthanasia. “The prohibition against killing patients ... stands as the first promise of self-restraint sworn to in the...
Words: 2286 - Pages: 10
...Euthanasia: The Dignity of End of Life There are many questions that can be asked on the very controversial topic of assisted euthanasia. The most common views or beliefs of this medical dilemma can be said to be extremely for or against the process of euthanasia. Opposition can argue that assisted suicide devalues human life, is ethically and religiously immoral, and can lead to purification of society or performing euthanasia for financial reasons. Although these are valid political and religious arguments to consider, a much more personal view must be argued. The quality versus the quantity of the patient’s life, the patient’s personal wants and feelings, and the family must be taken into consideration. “There is no single, objectively correct answer for everyone as to when, if at all, one’s life becomes all things considered a burden and unwanted. If self-determination is a fundamental value, then the great variability among people on this question makes it especially important that individuals control the manner, circumstances, and timing of their death and dying.” (Cassle and Meier, 1990) The patient’s specific illnesses, the treatment that has already been endured, and the projected outcome of the disease should also be looked at when asking if assisted euthanasia/suicide should be morally and legally accepted by society. Although there are many religious and political points of view on assisted euthanasia, the patient’s individual circumstances and own personal...
Words: 1990 - Pages: 8
...Euthanasia is a unique practice of ending the life of an individual suffering from a terminal disease/illness or an incurable condition by means of the suspension of extraordinary medical treatment or lethal injection. The history of this penomena dates back for centuries, but it wasn’t until 1906 when the first bill to legalize euthanasia in America was introduced in the Ohio legislature. For several years, legislatures have been turning down bills aimed at the legalization of euthanasia in the United States. In 1937, the Nebraska legislature voted down a bill legalizing voluntary active euthanasia in the U.S. Only two years later, the New York legislature rejected a bill that was also aimed at the legalization of euthanasia in the United States. “In 1991 the Washington State Initiative Bill legalizing voluntary euthanasia was narrowly defeated.” (6) In 1994, Oregon passed a law to allow doctors to prescribe lethal drugs, but an injunction prevented it from taking effect. As of today, euthanasia is illegal in almost every country. In fact, it is only legal in the state of Oregon and the Netherlands. These are the only two places in the world where laws specifically permit euthanasia or assisted suicide. Oregon permits assisted suicide while the Netherlands permits both euthanasia and assisted suicide. In 1995, Australia’s northern territory approved a euthanasia bill which went into effect in 1996, but it was overturned by the Australian Parliament in 1997. “Also, in 1997...
Words: 2040 - Pages: 9
...P393 26 June 2013 Put Out to Pasture: The Problem with Euthanasia I have decided to write my paper on Euthanasia as the topic elicits all types of opinions and conversion on the matter. It is definitely a hot button topic when it comes to Ethical dilemmas, theories, principles, and how society should precede with this in application of law and legislation. I believe that allowing for Euthanasia globally and nationally will begin to further erode the very moral and ethical fiber that separates man from animal. I further support my stand with the example of abortion, and even though opinion hasn’t changed much in the 40 years since Roe vs. Wade allowed for abortion to take place, still millions of babies have been killed despite to negative opinions about it. My hypothesis on this issue is that if nationally legalized it would lead to an untold amount of elderly, handicapped, ill, poor, and lonely people vulnerable to being put to death against their wishes and before their time. The aim of this paper it too show that indeed legalizing “Euthanasia” or “Patient Assisted Suicide” would indeed lead us down the “slippery slope. This first step for me in this paper would be to talk about the theories and principles behind not being pro-euthanasia. There are a number of ethical principles that are deontological in nature, are part of the natural moral law, and relevant to the kinds of dilemmas that occur in euthanasia cases.Four of them are as follows: 1. The Principle of Autonomy...
Words: 3593 - Pages: 15
...EUTHANASIA: The intentional killing by act or omission of a dependent human being for his alleged benefit. (If death is not intended, it is not an act of euthanasia) ARGUMENTS FOR EUTHANASIA: It provides away to relieve extreme pain It provides a way of relief when a person’s quality of life is low Frees up medical funds to help people It is another case of freedom of choice ARGUMENTS AGAINST EUTHANASIA: Euthanasia devalues human life Euthanasia can become a means of health care cost containment Physicians and other medical care people should not be involved in directly causing death There is a “slippery slope” effect that has occurred where euthanasia has been first been legalized for only the terminally and later laws are changed to allow it for other people or to be done non-voluntarily. Opposition overcomes 48 point deficit to defeat assisted suicide - Ballot Question 2 in Massachusetts 1 1 0 Google BOSTON, Nov. 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- In a stunning upset, the voters of Massachusetts soundly defeated Ballot Question 2 on Election Day. Dealing a significant setback to the expansion of the assisted suicide movement throughout the United States by Compassion & Choices (the organization formerly known as the Hemlock Society), a diverse coalition of disability rights organizations, medical associations, nurses' groups, community leaders and faith-based organizations united in this effort. "Tonight was a huge victory for those of us in the...
Words: 6383 - Pages: 26
...PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED SUICIDE: LEGALITY AND MORALITY Wednesday - May 8th, 2002 By Martin Levin, 107 Irving Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (617)-497-6828 mlevin@levinlaw.com On Sunday, June 21, 1992, Jennifer Cowart, age thirty-two, and her brother George Kowalski, age twenty-eight, traveled to Pensacola Beach, Florida, for a day of relaxation. At the end of the day, Jennifer and George were heading back to their vehicle when Jennifer noticed a go-kart track. The two entered the track, bought tickets, and began riding. Within one minute, Jennifer’s go-kart bumped into one of the side guardrails, flipped on its side, and burst into flames. Jennifer was seat-belted in the go-kart and could not get out. George tried to run into the fire to save his sister, but the flames were too intense. Bystanders attempted to use a fire extinguisher, but it did little to lessen the inferno. Jennifer was trapped in the burning go-kart for two minutes when her seat-belt finally burned through and she fell to the ground. George grabbed his sister and pulled her away from the fire. Jennifer was alive. She was lying on the asphalt alert, oriented, and coherent. She had suffered 3rd and 4th degree burns covering ninety-five percent of her body. She was suffering the worst pain imaginable. At the scene, Jennifer begged the rescue personnel to “let me die.” Instead, Jennifer was flown to a burn center in Mobile, Alabama, where she remained for one year until she was overcome by an infection...
Words: 15474 - Pages: 62
...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 through a psychological evaluation performed by a mental health...
Words: 3359 - Pages: 14
...American Suicide Story: Your Right to Die Matthew Gregorie Pima Medical Institute American Suicide Story: Your Right to Die The year was 1776, the United States was on the brink of war with England and in an unwavering effort to be free from the tyranny of King George III, America’s fore-fathers drafted forth a Declaration of Independence. Included in this declaration was a line that still resonates in the hearts and minds of free thinking men and women: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal[->0], that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness (US, 1776)”. Even during this simpler time, America’s ancestors realized the value and importance of an individual’s right to make decisions regarding their own fate. Flash forward to present day and these words still hold an incredibly strong value, possibly none greater than when discussing the terminally ill and the right to physician assisted suicide. While there are some who feel that people should not be in control of their own destiny, if the pursuit of happiness means that a person with an incurable sickness chooses they no longer wish to be alive, then they as human beings should be able to make that choice for themselves. Thankfully for them, there is a place in the United States that will consider and allow a person the right to die peacefully with the assistance of a doctor. Oregon, whom...
Words: 1079 - Pages: 5
...IssUEs Of EUThANAsIA: ARGUmENTATIvE EssAy Bilal S. H. Badr Naga Majd T. Mrayyan (1) Bilal S. H. Badr Naga., MSN, RN, Prince Sultan Cardiac Center in Qassim, Saudi Arabia (2) Majd T. Mrayyan., Prof, RN, The Hashemite University, Jordan Correspondence: Bilal S. H. Badr Naga., MSN, RN, Prince Sultan Cardiac Center in Qassim, Saudi Arabia Email: Bilal_badrnaga@yahoo.com Case scenario Abstract Euthanasia is one of the issues that has been the subject of intense debate over time. It has been a pertinent issue in human rights discourse as it also affects ethical and legal issues pertaining to patients and health care providers. This paper discusses the legal and ethical debates concerning both types of euthanasia. It focuses on both the supporter of euthanasia and the opponent of euthanasia. Several statements for the Euthanasia argument arediscussed: a merciful response that alleviates the suffering of patients which is sometimes wrongly perceived to be otherwise unrelievable; the autonomy in which the patient has the right to make his own choices; the regulation and legislation of existing practices of euthanasia to protect health care providers and patients. In this heated debate religious, political, ethical, legal and personal views are also included. Among all these, those who desperately want to end their lives because they simply cannot go on in any way, are the ones who suffer. Every individual or group has a different viewpoint regarding euthanasia. Euthanasia is considered...
Words: 7058 - Pages: 29
...THE LAW ON ASSISTED SUICIDE On July 26, 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld decisions in New York and Washington state that criminalized assisted suicide. These decisions overturned rulings in the 2nd and 9th Circuit Courts of Appeal which struck down state statutes banning physician-assisted suicide. Those courts had found that the statutes, which prohibited doctors from prescribing lethal medication to competent, terminally ill adults, violated the 14th Amendment. In striking the appellate decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court found that there was no constitutional "right to die," but left it to individual states to enact legislation permitting or prohibiting physician-assisted suicide. (The full text of these decisions, plus reports and commentary, can be found at the Washinton Post web site.) As of April 1999, physician-assisted suicide is illegal in all but a handful of states. Over thirty states have enacted statutes prohibiting assisted suicide, and of those that do not have statutes, a number of them arguably prohibit it through common law. In Michigan, Jack Kevorkian was initially charged with violating the state statute, in addition to first-degree murder and delivering a controlled substance without a license. The assisted suicide charge was dropped, however, and he was eventually convicted of second degree murder and delivering a controlled substance without a license. Only one state, Oregon, has legalized assisted suicide. The Oregon statute...
Words: 13101 - Pages: 53
...Physicians-Assisted Suicide Physician-Assisted Suicide is a medical process where a physician supplies a terminally ill patient with a prescription for one dose of lethal medication. The prescription is given to a patient upon request only if the patient intends to end his or her own life because of suffrage from a terminal illness. Today, physicians-assisted suicide is more commonly known as the Death-With-Dignity Act. Recent stories of patients who have attempted to end their own life by lethal medication have made countless headlines concerning the topic throughout many informational sources. Currently, the states of Washington, Oregon, and Vermont are the only three states that have adopted the Death-With-Dignity Act. Physician-Assisted Suicide is among many practices that aid in ending a patient’s life along with DNR’s, DNI’s, and AND’s, when life-sustaining treatments are denied. Physicians-Assisted Suicide is much more controversial than other life ending methods because it enables a patient to end her or her own life in a way that many individuals feel is immoral and unethical. The ethical issues of physicians-assisted suicide are both emotional and controversial, yet healthcare workers deal with a request for this alternative every day. Is physicians-assisted suicide the answer? The question doesn’t come by an easy answer. However, both sides of the debate, either for it or against it, provide strong, concrete points that help truly uncover where the controversy lies...
Words: 3316 - Pages: 14
...academicjournals.org/INGOJ ISSN 1993–8225 © 2008 Academic Journals Article Euthanasia – A dignified end of life! Vaibhav Goel Faculty of Law Addis Ababa University Addis Ababa Ethiopia. E-mail: vaibhav_hnlu@yahoo.co.in. Accepted 27, October 2008 Survival is undoubtedly valuable but some time and in certain condition life becomes painful and impossible or unbearable, in that stage survilance seems, like a curse or abuse. Euthanasia – a new word for masses become common about four years back in the month of December 2004 because of Venkatesh plea for granting him right to die. Euthanasia is nothing else but a permit or license to the medical professional for ending the life of a person in question. No doubt if it will be permitted in laws, may be the biggest threat to the creature. In fact the concept is debatable; here the key question is “What should be the ingredients of law which would legalize Euthanasia?” Hence the purpose of writing this paper is to examine the questions pertaining to Euthanasia, especially in the light of traditional perspective besides legal dimensions of MTP and to suggest legal aspects of the same to make life with dignity even at the time of end. In addition the second key question may be that if it permitted weather it will be on the recommendation of the doctors or in the consent of the relative of the Patient? Keywords: Euthanasia, PAS, Suicide, Religions on Suicide Right to Die, Mercy Killing, MTP INTRODUCTION Antipathy is not a word but it...
Words: 6788 - Pages: 28
...Physician-Assisted Suicide Must Be Legalized Sheryl Tello GEN 499 Prof. David Ward March 14, 2014 Physician-Assisted Suicide Must Be Legalized Imagine that you just received a phone call from your physician’s nurse and she told you that the doctor wants to see you right away. When you ask her what is the problem; she tells you that it would be best if you came into the office as soon as possible. You tell her that there is no way that you can come in until next week; she asks if you can hold for a minute while she relays the message to your doctor, and the next thing you know your physician is on the phone and tells you that he wants to see you today. You try to rationalize everything that your physician could possibly tell you. Then you tell yourself that it cannot be too bad because you have always taken good care of your body, you eat right, you get plenty of exercise, and you see your doctor once a year. At the doctor’s office, the doctor informs you that there is no easy way of telling you that a large amount of cancer cells have been found in your blood work. As you try to speak, he continues to inform you that the cancer cells have completely taken over your blood and have migrated to your vital organs. As you try to speak again, he interrupts you one more time, however, this time it is to deliver the final blow; you only have six weeks left to live, which you will surely spend in extreme pain and unremitting suffering as your body goes into complete organ...
Words: 4650 - Pages: 19
...EUTHANASIA- The “Right” to Die ABSTRACT Euthanasia is one of those Taboo topics that individuals try to distance themselves from due to the fact that it’s a sensitive issue. Most individuals try to take a politically correct stand without evaluating the impact it has on the aggrieved party’s life. Euthanasia in itself may seem a simple issue at the first instance, but by probing deep into the issue we are made to ponder a lot about not only its ethical aspects but also the stakes involved in exercising Euthanasia as a fundamental right of an individual. The dilemma in this issue is a lot more complicated if we were to compare it to other conventional ethical dilemmas because both the stands seem morally right, but there’s a legal perspective which opposes one school of thought and supports the other. Is an individual allowed to determine his death if survival is more of a formality? If so what is the basis of qualifying a case to be a suitable contender for euthanasia? Is the judiciary ignoring this since Euthanasia is an issue faced by a minority? SOME FAMOUS VOICES ON EUTHNASIA: 1. Mr. Ravi B Naik, former High Court Judge and Senior Advocate: (deccanherald.com) “When it is not possible for man to give life, who is he to take it away? We should leave death in the hands of God who gave life. There is no law that allows killing by force till a man dies naturally, nor should there be one. In a situation where it is ‘impossible to live’, people die naturally. When they don’t...
Words: 4456 - Pages: 18
...Euthanasia Euthanasia - Deep sympathy for the suffering Introduction Euthanasia is the deliberate killing either by omission or commission of a dependent person for their benefit. Arguments against euthanasia claim that the concern for happiness and human life and not their obliteration is the objective of any good governance. They say that the terminally ill are people who require protection from social, economic and family pressures, and who are particularly prone to this pressure as a result of chronic depression, pain and effects of continued medication. Arguments for euthanasia say it is impossible to maintain quality of life if a patient is dead. While there have been massive arguments, debates and campaigns against euthanasia, this paper will seek to support euthanasia because of the moral issues that relate to the topic. This paper supports that when a personal is physically dead, the only reason anybody wishes to keep them alive is for their selfish clinging onto them with the hope of a miracle and the fear of closure without regard to the wishes of the person. It supports the practice of euthanasia and seeks to evaluate the reasons why euthanasia should be legalized. This paper will have a general audience because of the controversy that it sparks every time it comes up Death is a dreaded subject for all human beings because it signifies leaving the known to go to the unknown. This is the reason why by its nature euthanasia is a hugely hushed up topic...
Words: 1514 - Pages: 7
