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Should Physician Assisted Suicide Be Legal

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             "It would be contrary to any legal system that purports to protect and enforce a just and social order to legalize the killing which rests on the justification that certain lives lack worth" (Fedden 183). This is simply because justice in society requires a non-arbitrary and non-discriminatory way of identifying who are the subjects of justice. The only way to avoid discrimination, and arbitrariness is to assume that all human beings are entitled to the same human rights. The basic human dignity and worth that is recognized must be seen as being attacked if we allow assisted suicide. This type of killing can not be accommodated in our legal system due to our country's belief in the worth, and dignity of every human being.
             Physician assisted suicide undermines the dispositions we require in doctors and is destroying the practice of medicine. Killing is incompatible with the professional duties of a physician, and goes against their oath. A physician has a clear moral obligation to cure and comfort, and no where along the lines of cure and comfort is killing. "Our Constitution isn't a suicide pact. It wasn't written to protect doctors who play executioner." (Shannon 10).
             Pain control is morally acceptable. It is tragic that the availability of pain control is not universally recognized by doctors and their patients. Medical experts tell us it is possible to control most pain. Research should be funded to insure the possibility of pain control in all cases. The dissemination of knowledge about pain control to doctors and patients should be facilitated; state and federal lawmakers as well as medical organizations have begun to recognize the need for this.
             In my opinion, physician assisted suicide should not be legalized because it is usually a cry for help, from the ill patient. In one study, of the "twenty four percent of terminally ill patients that desired death, all had clinical depression" (Braddock).


Essays Related to Should Physician Assisted Suicide Be Legal

1. Legalizing Physician Assisted Suicide (PAS)

... peaceful manner is a denial of their self-determination of individual rights and freedom of choice and therefore physician assisted suicide should be legal in all States. Physician assisted suicide occurs when a physician provides a patient with the means to end his or her life, which is usually a prescription ... legal system that confers no legal right to physician assisted suicide. However intolerable suffering should not be grounds for physician assisted suicide if the suffering can be cured or relieved by medical treatments". (Wellman, Carl "Preface to 'Should Assisted Suicide Be Leg...

  • Word Count: 1576
  • Approx Pages: 6
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2. Physician Assisted Suicide

... when making, and among these groups there is overwhelming support for assisted suicide. Organ donation is another reason many people are in favor of assisted suicide. Vital organs can be saved, allowing doctors to save the lives of others. Organ harvesting after assisted suicide is considered and accepted from ethical, legal, and practical viewpoints in countries where physician assisted suicide is legal. Organ donation may increase the number of transplantable organs and ... predominantly the victims of mental disorder (Why We Should Not Legalize Assisted Suicide). With so few actually...

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3. Physician Assisted suicide should be legalized

... longer wish to live. Imposing strict physical and psychological requirements on candidates for assisted-suicide would lessen the chance of abuse and help pave the way to a common ground solution. Currently, physician-assisted suicide is legal only in Oregon; however this has not prevented terminally ill patients residing out-of-state from seeking physician assistance in ending their lives. Terminally ill patients who have been unable to ... with the use of complementary medicines, the offering of nutritional care and discussions with someone interested in the mind and spirit." Though Ba...

  • Word Count: 4057
  • Approx Pages: 16
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

4. Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide"

... physicians to practice these acts. The Supreme Court voted unanimously that there was no constitutional right for these practices (Hoyer & Roodin, 2003). However, in Oregon, it is legal to perform physician-assisted suicide. According to Faber-Langendoen & Karlawish (2000), the implementation of Oregon's Death with Dignity Act shows that, in at least one state, public and professional preferences are strong ... from the Netherlands (Caplan, Snyder, & Faber-Langendoen, 2000). The practice of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide occurs in the United States even though there are no leg...

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5. The Right to Medically Assisted Suicide

... which is a physician-assisted suicide law. It had fifty one percent of voters supporting it and forty nine percent opposing. The law did not go in effect until November 4, 1997 and now assisted suicide is legal in Oregon (Torr 98). Although it is legal there are stipulations for it, such as the physician does not self-administer the lethal medications because that would be considered euthanasia (Caplan ... to stop her suffering which is why I think it should be legalized in Pennsylvania. For as scary as end of life thoughts are, a person should not have to change where they live and eve...

  • Word Count: 1639
  • Approx Pages: 7
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6. Assisted Suicide Pro

... choice to end their life if they are mentally competent to do so. A patient should be allowed to end their life with dignity. Physicians should be allowed to assist in ending the life of a terminally ill, mentally competent person and therefore, physician assisted suicide should be legalized. Some opponents say that assisted suicide is unconstitutional, and refer to the 14th amendment to the Constitution. It states "that ... will engage in a debate about the morality, legality, and practicality of physician-assisted suicide" and that the Court's ruling will permit "this debate to continu...

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7. Should Euthanasia Become A Legalized Practice?

... the National Government determined that there is no constitutional prohibition to make physician-assisted suicide (PAS) or euthanasia legal, each state can decide its own laws (Sinclair 4). Therefore, every state across the nation should declare euthanasia as an illegal practice. One of the major problems dealing with assisted suicide is that "people with illnesses and disabilities would have decisions made for ... others and by circumstances" (12 Problems 1). Many times patients will make the decision of suicide not because of their physical condition, but instead they believe that the ...

  • Word Count: 1138
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8. Physician Assisted Suicide

... peace and no longer suffer. How would you feel if the government told you that you couldn't do so? This is where the debate of physician assisted suicide comes into play. Should a person suffering with a terminal illness be able to be assisted in a humane and comfortable death? This question has been argued for many years, laws have been passed then overruled, and many heated debates have started ... it is the most humane thing we can do for our suffering loved ones. Physician assisted suicide or PAS is defined as: a doctor providing the lethal drugs with which a dying person may end th...

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9. Assisted Suicide

... These justifications are constantly challenging and attempting to change the physician's main goal." The main argument for the support of euthanasia and physician assisted suicide appears to be that people should have the right to control their life and death. Many view this decision as a private choice however, when people need legal sanctioning it becomes a public matter---a political choice. Although ... , the quality of life seems to be the motivating factor that drives the euthanasia ... supporter, according to Dr. Herbert Hendin, Medical Director of the American Foundation for Suic...

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