Physician Assisted Suicide

What is a doctor’s point of view? Doctor Michelle Stanford, was served as the chief resident at Children’s Hospital in Denver among many other accolades. Dr. Stanford, states it undermines the integrity of the medical profession; she goes on to quote the American Medical Association “Allowing physicians to participate would cause more harm than good, physicians assisted suicide is fundamentally incompatible with the physician’s as healer would difficult or impossible and would pose serial societal risks.” (Prop 106 - Dr. Michelle Stanford).

At age twenty-nine, Brittany had been diagnosed with a stage four malignant brain tumor which then classified her as a terminally ill patient. Suffering from daily symptoms everyday became worse. Some of these symptoms would include seizures, head and neck pain, and stroke-like symptoms. Brittany soon became an advocate for death-with-dignity laws and spent her days advocating, especially those days that were her final ones. This is the reason why Physician-assisted suicide is an option.

Physician-assisted suicide is very controversial. Some people believe in death with dignity and that we shouldn’t have to suffer from terminal diseases if we don’t want to. Others believe that the act of assisting someone to their death is playing God. Many people also think that the practice of physician-assisted suicide corrupts the practice of medicine and the doctor-patient relationship.

“Legislation that allows people to end their lives automatically creates incentives to seek death as a cost-saving option. The elderly and infirm are seen as burdens and can easily be disposed of. Suicide becomes the easy way out.” (Ben Broussard) Most of the time physicians are against the idea of physician assisted suicide because it goes against their job description and personal beliefs.

After researching both sides of the argument, it is clear that the benefits of physician-assisted suicide outweigh the disadvantages. The benefits of ending a patient’s pain and suffering, minimizing the emotional and financial effects on families, and preserving the right for patients to decide their own fate, supports the legalization of physician-assisted suicide.

Based on the source of publication, the target audience for this article are lawyers who are arguing against physician-assisted suicide. The purpose of this article is to examine the psychological effects of physician-assisted suicide/euthanasia on physicians that practice this principle. The article is geared towards people that are examining the emotional and psychological effects of physician-assisted suicide in participating physicians. This article specifically views the areas in which physician-assisted suicide is legal. The author is a board-certified radiation oncologist, cancer specialist in the state of

Although there are many positive aspects of medically assisted suicide, there are also many negative aspects. Those who disagree with assisted suicide feel as though it is unethical. How is it ever right for us to purposefully kill another human being. As a health care providers role, it is their duty to do whatever they can to maintain the wellness of their patient. According to 8 Main Pros and Cons of Legalizing Physician Assisted Suicide (2014), all health care providers must follow the Hippocratic Oath, which in it states that physicians are unable to give deadly medications to a patient, whether requested or not and they aren’t allowed to suggest it to a terminally ill patient either.

Generally, people advocating on this side discuss the possible unintended consequences that will occur if physician-assisted suicide is legalized on a large scale. One of these possible unintended consequences is the illegal distribution of lethal medicines. People against assisted suicide argue that since the patient has to administer the drugs themselves, and since they may do this outside of a supervised medical office, that the drugs could end up in the wrong hands. Once they are in the wrong hands, there is no telling what it will be used for, these people argue. Another unintended consequence that adversaries of physician-assisted suicide warn against is elder abuse, where a corrupt doctor may persuade or even force an elderly person to take the lethal dose of medicine against their

What some people think though is that if we set regulations on the doctors, then the Assisted Suicides will be kept to only those who wish for it, but what if the doctors think a patient is better off dead than alive? What if the physician thinks that the patient is not worth saving or keeping alive? One person says “Of all the arguments against voluntary euthanasia, the most influential is the 'slippery slope': once we allow doctors to kill patients, we will not be able to limit the killing to those who want to die”

The Right to Die 1) Introduction a) Thesis statement: Physician assisted suicide offers patients a choice of getting out of their pain and misery, presents a way to help those who are already dead mentally because of how much a disease has taken over them, proves to be a great option in many states its legal in, and puts the family at ease knowing their love one is out of pain. i) The use of physician assisted death is used in many different countries and some states. ii) Many people who chose this option are fighting a terminal illness.

“If you oppose physician-assisted suicide, first try to walk a mile in the shoes of those to whom you would deny this choice” (Fensterman 825). People should understand the severe pain their loved ones are going through, and that they want to have a good quality of life without being unrecognized with the change, and have the right to be able to choose their own death. It’s really hard for them to keep living with horrible pain, and not be able to do something because of their physical condition, but if people were to support their own decision, they can die in peace, without having to deteriorate slowly

Physician assisted suicide has been an intensely debated problem for years but if used properly, could be an effective way to help those who are suffering at the end of their life. Countless people have been advocating for physician assisted suicide for years and the most famous advocate for assisted suicide was Dr. Jack Kevorkian. He was a pathologist but received the nickname Dr. Death after it was estimated that between 1990 and 1999 he assisted 130 terminally ill individuals in their assisted suicides (“Jack Kevorkian”). Dr. Kevorkian is considered a crusader for physician

The medical field is filled with opportunities and procedures that are used to help improve a patient’s standard of living and allow them to be as comfortable as possible. Physician assisted suicide (PAS) is a method, if permitted by the government, that can be employed by physicians across the world as a way to ease a patient’s pain and suffering when all else fails. PAS is, “The voluntary termination of one's own life by administration of a lethal substance with the direct or indirect assistance of a physician.”-Medicinenet.com. This procedure would be the patient’s decision and would allow the patient to end their lives in a more peaceful and comfortable way, rather than suffering until the illness takes over completely. Physician assisted suicide should be permitted by the government because it allows patients to end their suffering and to pass with dignity, save their families and the hospital money, and it allows doctors to preserve vital organs to save

Some groups greatly encourage the legalization of euthanasia such group is called The American Civil Liberties Union and their statement for such a strange practice of medicine is that “stated in the 1996 amicus brief in Vacco V. Quill it states that people have the right to die and negating that right not only violates the amicus but if violates the ground on which America is built upon, the ground that states all citizens are entitled to rights and they shall never be negated nor ignored. Others greatly disagree with such “practice” and say that if such act were to be legalized then it would nullify the physician’s role as the healer and instead mark them as a killer, a scoundrel, a stealer of life….the grim reaper. They also argue that the elderly would be specifically targeted if such act were to become legal, they explain that “the elderly may feel pressured to die to alleviate the burden on the family” and in the process speed up the giving of money to the

Brittany Maynard has been fed up with the government making medical decisions for her and patients in the same situation as her. This is what was on her mind “How dare the government make decisions for terminally ill people like me. Unfortunately, California law prevented me from getting the end of life option I deserved. No one should have to leave their home and community for a gentle death.” She has set things right for terminally ill patients in California.