One of the major problems dealing with assisted suicide is that “people with illnesses and disabilities would have decisions made for them and imposed on them” (12 Problems 1). For example, in Holland where the practice of PAS is legal, doctors assist more people to die without the patient’s request than for patients who actually request assisted suicide. Secondly, “people with illnesses and disabili

Burke Balch and Randall O’Bannon illustrate how suicide and mental illness coincide. They state that an average of 93 percent of people who commit suicide suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder, and most people who contemplate suicide just want help (Balch and O’Bannon 1). “For example, one study conducted by two psychiatrists in Seattle, Washington, found 75% of the 96 suicide attempters studied were actually quite ambivalent about their intentions to die” (Balch and O’Bannon 2). By offering appropriate treatment to patients who are suicidal, few will actually go through with the process. “In one American study, less than 4% of 886 suicide attempters actually went on to kill themselves in the 5 years following their initial attempt” (Balch and O’Bannon 3).

The AMA stated, “The delivery of [adequate pain relief] is ‘grossly inadequate’ today, and efforts to make such care universally available have not yet succeeded” (“AMA: Anti-Euthanasia” 1). But with the opening of their new Institution for Ethics, the AMA hopes that doctors can ease a patient’s dying process by discussing pain control and alternative treatments (“AMA: Anti-Euthanasia” 2).

One of the most pressing arguments against physician-assisted suicide is the fact that HMOs might use the practice to make money for themselves and take away money for the use of a patients well being. Wesley Smith states, “When people learn that the drugs used in assisted suicide cost only about $40, but that it would take $40,000 to treat a patient properly so that they don’t want the ‘choice’ of assisted suicide, the financial forces at work become clear” (2). Just as HMOs, hosp

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