Physician assisted suicide, is it the right thing to do? Should it be legal? Is it even Ethical? These are just some of the things that are being focused in on when it comes to this very sensitive topic in today's medical field and society. This topic is so sensitive because many people believe that it should not be something that people should be talking about or even considering while they are either sick or trying to be treated for an illness. Some of the topics that I will be covering are; what is physician assisted suicide, where I personally stand in this topic, other people's perspective, and benefits of having assisted suicide for terminally ill patients.
What is physician assisted suicide? Physician assisted suicide or “assisted suicide” for short is when a patient is consenting to have a medical doctor “physician” to assist them in the act of dying by giving them a lethal dose of a drug. This is usually done when a patient is terminally ill and is usually in a great amount of pain. It is most commonly done by patients who are deemed terminally ill. This means that they have 8 months or less to live with their current illness. Currently in the united states, the practice of assisted suicide is only legal in a handful of states. CNN states that,“Physician-assisted suicide is legal in five US states. It is an option given to individuals by state law in Oregon, Vermont, Washington and California”(“Physician Assisted Suicide”). This is basically saying that in these states you have the option given to you to have a doctor give you a dose of medication that will you along in the process of dying. Subsequently, physician assisted suicide is an act that a patient with terminal illness with 8 months or less could use to speed up the process of dying and to essentially reduce their pain and suffering.
Where do I personally stand on this topic? I am for having the choice to have physician assisted suicide for a couple of reasons. The first reason is because it can give the patient a feeling of relief. To me this means that a patient who is ill and is in the risk of becoming terminally ill can have the option to not have to suffer through their pain anymore. The reason that I say this is because there are a lot of people in the united states that could be at risk of becoming terminally ill each and every year. One example that I could give of this comes from England where they strictly outlaw physician assisted suicide. They stated that, “there were 4,513 suicides in England, if the pattern is representative, it would suggest that 332 of those who dies were terminally ill”(Bingham). I used this example because I wanted to show what it was like where people do not have the option to even consider physician assisted suicide. These people result in killing themselves without even thinking about the repercussions. Also shortly after these terminally ill patients take their own lives a treatment usually comes out for whatever they needed to be treated for. The second reason for why I am for this is because it is technically a right to the patient. This right is known as the right to die, and it comes into play when the person is in the final stages of life and they are experiencing excruciating pain while they are in this stage of life. I believe that they should be given this choice so that they no longer will have to suffer anymore pain that they were and would be experiencing with their illness that they have. I also believe that it should have some sort of limitations as to who could choose to have access to assisted suicide. Some of the rules that I think should be in place are, how long that they have to live. By this I am saying that it would only go to the terminally ill patients who would have a year or less to live. I would also like to see it offered to people who are in great pain day to day from other diseases that would not be deemed terminally ill. My final reason on why I support this is because it could put their families at ease knowing that they are not suffering anymore. This is a big one for me because coming from experience I know that I wouldn’t want to see any of my family members suffering from a terminal illness that they will not recover from, or knowing that they will be in great pain for the rest of their time that they would be around. My reasons could be different from yours on whether or not to have this around but some other people think that it shouldn't be around.
Some people think that this shouldn’t be around for many reasons. One of this biggest reasons that I have found for people thinking that this shouldn’t be around because they believe that it is considered to be unethical. Some people think that, “Doctors or nurses or any medical practitioner cannot, morally or ethically, allow a person to die. This is a direct violation of the Hippocratic Oath”(“13 pros and cons”). For many people this can be perceived as doing harm, when they aren’t actually hurting anyone in the process. People also don't like assisted suicide because they feel like the doctors and nurses are doing something that is considered illegal and that they should face trial for what they are doing. They state that, “Physicians cannot be prosecuted for prescribing medications to hasten death”(“Physician Assisted Suicide”). This is considered to be an ethical and legal violation that some people think these doctors are breaking. They think that they are violating their oath as healthcare professionals, and that they are bringing some sort of shame into the medical field. Some say that, “Physician-Assisted Suicide endangers the weak and vulnerable and corrupts the practice of medicine and the doctor–patient relationship”(Anderson). This was one of the key arguments for why it should not be legalized. People think that the doctors are urging the patients to do this which means that they are corrupting people to do what they want them to do. This often times makes people think that the medical field has become corrupt when in reality it really is not. There is a good amount of people who think that it should not be a thing, but there are a lot more people who think that we should have assisted suicide legal everywhere.
There are a lot of reasons for having physician assisted suicide legalized. This comes from the beneficial standpoint of the patients family to the flat out comfort the patient will be feeling while they are hospitalized. One of the main reasons why it should be legalized is because a lot of people think that terminally ill patients shouldn’t be kept alive with all of these medical advances. Ryan states that, “Human life doesn’t need to be extended by every medical means possible, but a person should never be intentionally killed. Doctors may help their patients to die a dignified death from natural causes, but they should not kill their patients or help them to kill themselves. This is the reality that such euphemisms as “death with dignity” and “aid in dying” seek to conceal”(Anderson.T). This shows that a lot of people who want to choose assisted suicide are thinking about, they don't want to be kept alive by all medical means that a hospital has access to. In my opinion this would give the patient the ability have a peaceful death that is not filled with pain and agony from their sickness. One researcher says that, “In addition to palliative and hospice care, terminal patients who desire to have control over their dying process and maintain their autonomy, dignity and voice should have the option of PAS”(Buckley). To me this is a big thing when it comes to legalizing this. Mainly because it is going to be allowing patients to be putting themselves to rest and not having to worry about their pain and comfort for the rest of the time that they are either hospitalized or around with their illness. This also comes into play when I mentioned when I was for it, I stated that the patient had to be terminally ill and autonomous, or have their decision making capability intact. This also comes down to how long the patient actually has to live and the condition of their illness. If the patient has a terminal illness but has six years to live the I think that they shouldn’t be able to do it, but if they had six or less months to live then they should be able to have the choice to end their own life.
Physician assisted suicide is where a patient can have the right to end their own life if they have a terminal illness, i believe that it should be legalized in order to make these patients feel as comfortable as possible throughout their illness, other people don't really agree with letting patients who are ill be assisted with taking their own life, and why it should be available to the patients. Assisted suicide is a very touchy subject when it comes to people discussing whether it should be legalized or not, but I think that it is a good thing to have for some people who are seriously ill and feel like they do not want to carry on because it is hurting them too much to do so. Physician assisted suicide should be legalized country wide because it can help families cope with a loved one being diagnosed with a terminal illness that will take their life.