Physician assisted suicide - Essay Example

Physician Assisted Suicide Physician assisted suicide refers to a situation whereby a sick person’s life is intentionally terminated with the goal of relieving them of suffering (Diaconescu 474). The termination may be undertaken on request by the affected person; however controversy as to which point of sickness is it right to exercise euthanasia is still unsettled. Individual prefers that no patient contemplate suicide, but in the recent past there have been improvements to manage pain in patients, which has led to the reduction in the number of patients who seek assisted suicide.

However, due to adverse illnesses patients experience severe suffering that cannot be cleared by palliative medicines that induce them to seek liberation in assisted suicide; therefore, physicians should be permitted to undertake assisted suicide. Psychological knowledge provides that under natural circumstances no human being would wish for termination of his living. Man naturally fears death and the prospects of facing death are almost intolerable even in the most dismal points of man’s living.

However there comes a point when the reality dawns and death becomes inevitable. Under necessary considerations, euthanasia is not only a positive act but of great benefit to both the person in which the act is being undertaken and his relatives (Storch 754). Advances in the medical field can precisely predict the chances of one’s surviving a given condition. What would be the purpose of investing so much money to sustain one in a lifesaving machine; for instance, in a scenario where an individual is suffering serious injuries and doctors report indicates no chances of survival?

Is death really a bad occurrence or rather a point that must be arrived at some point of living? If it is not a bad incidence and is still unavoidable why then deny an individual the right to choose when and how to die? Whether an individual is in situation to actively request for euthanasia or in a critical condition with minimal chances of survival, euthanasia come with much benefit than harms. Individuals should have explicit rights to die since death is a private affair and poses no harm to others.

Legalizing euthanasia may help to free up scarce health resources; however the act should be embarked on after several conditions which if possible should involve active participation sick person or his close relatives. The considerations should be greatly guided by the doctor’s evaluation about the sick person’s chances of survival. Where an individual voluntarily offers himself for euthanasia, the right should be granted. This may serve to give the close family members a more positive perception of the individual’s death and be more psychologically prepared for its occurrence.

Furthermore, denying one the right to die, may not necessarily prevent one from taking his life, if one is psychologically set to do so (Dowbiggin 94). The fact that some acts are prohibited by law does not stop individuals from perpetrating them such as suicide. Death should not be viewed as a bad occurrence because after all that this does not stop it from happening especially in critical life threatening scenarios. The choice to undertake euthanasia should embark from oneself or close members of the family.

This will minimize the chances of the being abused for selfish and criminal intention. In scenarios where no unnecessary pressures is anticipated from the dependents, an individual’s right of how and when to die should be paramount. Therefore, human beings ought to be set free and relieved from unnecessary restraints such intense suffering that hinders them form enjoying their basic human right of life. However, despite the support on physician assisted suicide, suicide is against the law irrespective of whether in a sober state or assisted (Amin 506), and is not one of the healing ethics in medicine since it does not promote the sanctity of life.

In the case where palliative care is appropriate, assisted suicide is unnecessary, this kind of practice usually damages physicians changing them from human needs and the practice leads to indiscriminate killing of patients who are disabled, weak amongst others. Nevertheless, with proper guidance euthanasia is more beneficial in situations where palliative medicines have failed and death is not an option to the patients. In conclusion, legalization of the physician assisted suicide would be better rather than ill-advised suicides that would reduce the incentive for suicide in patients.

For those patients who face much suffering in their last days of illness they would be better assured of assistance that would reduce their pain. Life is one of the precious gifts and there is no person who would like to be part with it. Death may be a coincidence which is unanticipated in everyone’s life but if an individual deems it appropriate to influence when and how he faces it, his opinion stands better respected. Life is a purposeful existence characterized by a series of day to day activities and it is unfair to deny an individual who thinks he or she has accomplished his purpose of living an opportunity of how best he thinks he should end his life.

Works Cited Amin, Yogi, and Anne-Marie Irwin. "Physician Assisted Suicide." British Journal Of Neuroscience Nursing 7.2 (2011): 506-507 Diaconescu, Amelia Mihaela. Euthanasia. Contemporary Readings in Law and Social Justice. Vol.4.2. 2012:474-483 Dowbiggin, Ian. A merciful end: the euthanasia movement in modern America. Oxford University Press. 2002. Print. Storch, Janet, L. "Editorial Comment." Nursing Ethics 18.6 (2011): 753-755