Physician-Assisted Suicide - Coursework Example

Name Tutor Subject Date Introduction Death is natural to many people. However, there are people who need physicians to carry out the process for them. Physician assisted suicide is a decision made by individuals in their own will and right. It is done in order to primarily end suffering. It is done by physicians who have been legalized to carry out the process. In the United States of America, only some states have been allowed to carry out the process. Currently, Vermont, Oregon and Washington states are the only ones which allow or permit physician assisted suicide. This means that anyone from other states who is found assisting patients to end their lives can be sent to prison. Patients must be adversely informed of what they are undertaking. A patient must be of sound mind before his life is terminated. Patients must be also suffering from highly terminal diseases (Marker 1). Physician assisted suicide, which is abbreviated as PAS is a controversial issue. People who support it argue that one has a right to choose when to die. However, many religious groups argue that it is wrong to decide when to take one’s life. Physician assisted suicide is important and plays a vital role in ending one’s suffering. Background Only a few states have legalized PAS laws. Oregon was the first state to pass such laws. However, Washington and Vermont have now joined Oregon in passing laws that allow physicians to terminate patient’s lives. A physician operating in states that do not permit PAS can be arrested and charged for murder. Physicians operate under some set of conditions when it comes to assisting a patient in ending their lives. The patient has to be over eighteen years old. He or she should be suffering from an illness that is regarded as terminal. The illness must lead to death within a few months. In addition, the patient must be of sound mind when making the decision to terminate his or her life. PAS laws in the state of Oregon have been in existence since the year 1997 (United States Conference Catholic Bishops 1). There have been about 752 deaths which were reported in the state. In the state of Washington, 525 deaths have been reported since the year 2009. In Vermont, only two people since 2013 have filled in the necessary forms required to terminate one’s death. The campaign to allow PAS has been raging on with different ranging opinions. Brittany Maynard story for example, inspired people to advocate for states to allow PAS. Brittany had brain cancer. She decided to relocate to Oregon from California. Her story led to social media campaigns advocating for PAS laws. Her wish to die also led to people questioning why it was taking long for states and the government to allow PAS (Douthat 12). A lot of people are opposed to the idea of allowing physicians to end one’s life. The laws are opposed for social, religious and moral reasons. A lot of Christians are of the view that life is God’s gift to mankind. This means that no one has the right to end their own life. Catholics for example, teach that suicide is a sin. The Catholic Church also believes that PAS disregards human life (Doerflinger 1). Other groups such as activists who fight for the rights of the disabled believe that PAS encourages people to commit suicide instead of seeking proper medication. PAS is regarded as a contradiction of the Hippocratic Oath that is given to physicians. The oath requires physicians not to administer any lethal medicine to any person if requested. It also requires physicians not to advise anyone to take any lethal medicine. Legality of PAS PAS is vital to patients who are suffering from terminal diseases. It should, thus, be legalized and allowed in all states due to quite a number of reasons. One of the reasons is that PAS helps in ending suffering (Douthat 12). People suffer in many different ways. Disease is one way through which mankind has suffered over the years. Diseases can reduce one to nothing and take one through a journey of torment and pain. There are certain diseases which cannot be cured and are regarded as terminal diseases. Brain Cancer for example, is regarded as a terminal or fatal disease. It takes only a few months for one to live once they have been diagnosed with the disease. It is also has no cure. This means that one has to endure the pain and cost of reducing the pain till they die. Reducing the pain means attending medical services on a regular basis. This is usually expensive and drains ones finances. This may lead to mental torture as one’s finances are drained and as they end up bankrupt. This in turn increases the suffering. Brain cancer can also lead to poor health which reduces one to a shadow of their normal self. One also gets to suffer or undergo a painful and slow death. Choosing to undergo PAS, thus, reduces the suffering, torment and pain that one undergoes through. It also reduces the cost in health that one and his family can incur in the process of trying to treat the disease. A patient’s family also undergoes some torture as they watch one of their own suffer. PAS helps in ensuring that the pain one’s family undergoes is also reduced or eased. It also ensures that family resources are not drained in the process of seeking treatment. PAS should, thus, be legalized in order to ease suffering and pain (Douthat 12). The second argument that supports the legalization of PAS is that without PAS, people may end up committing suicide in ways that are traumatic, horrifying and messy. There are people who have fragile hearts and are often not ready to undergo pain or suffering. They may not have the courage to face their challenge. They may, thus, opt to commit suicide rather than undergo pain or suffering. A patient diagnosed with brain cancer for example, may be remorseful when he or she is told that there are only a few months to live. The patient may end up been depressed as a result. They may also lose their value for life. This can be disastrous and can lead to suicide. Patients may also be stressed and depressed once their bodies start undergoing change due to their illness they are suffering from. Cancer for example, can reduce one to a shadow of their normal self. PAS helps in avoiding the unavoidable death (Yousuf & Fauzi 63). Pain can lead to stress and depression. This can be torturous and can lead to depression. The patient will, thus, opt to commit suicide in order to ease the torture and pain. They may end up throwing themselves in front of a running vehicle or shooting themselves. Depression is one of the leading causes of suicide in patients (United States Conference Catholic Bishops 1). Suffering is the main reason why people undergo depression. Legalizing PAS, thus, greatly helps in preventing patients from committing suicide in ways that are traumatic, horrifying and messy. Legalizing PAS also ensures that parents whose family members are suffering from terminal or fatal diseases live in harmony since their family members rest in peace. This in turn prevents them from undergoing depression too. PAS should, thus, be legalized and supported by those who oppose and criminalize it. The third argument that can be used to support the legalization of PAS is that it eases doctors’ workload which allows them to work or help other patients whose chances of living are high. Patients suffering from diseases which are fatal or terminal need special care or attention. They need to be put in programmes that will ensure that their illness does not take a toll on them. The programmes are time consuming and require doctors to give patients a lot of attention. This can be challenging when the doctor has to attend to other patients who also need his or her attention. This also means that patients whose chances of living are denied attention at the expense of those suffering from fatal diseases and who only have a few months to live their lives. This can lead to high fatalities which can be avoided if PAS is legalized or allowed. Cancer patients for example, need some special therapies. They need doctors or physicians to be at their service at all times incase pain persists or just in case they might suddenly get unwell. Patients suffering from fatal illnesses may be unable to make visits to the hospital. A doctor is, thus, forced to come and attend to them at home. He or she ends up leaving his work station at the expense of others who may require his or her expenses. Additionally, a doctor attending to other patients for example, may get a call that requires him to urgently attend to a cancer patient. This means that he or she will have to briefly abandon patients he or she was attending to. In the long run, this leads to the cost of health services soaring up. PAS should, thus, be legalized in order to ensure that patients whose chances of living are high are attended to and given more attention (Doerflinger 1). This in turn will help in boosting or ensuring that services in the health centers are adequate and quality. Conclusion Physician assisted suicide abbreviated as PAS is one way through which patients suffering from fatal diseases can terminate their life. Suffering has been in existence for a long period of time in mankind’s history. Disease is one of the main things that have contributed to man’s suffering. People, thus, rely on PAS to end their suffering. Vermont, Oregon and Washington are some of the states which have legalized PAS. The issue of legalizing PAS has received criticism from various quarters. It has received criticism on social, moral and religious grounds (Yousuf & Fauzi 1). A lot of Christians are of the view that life is God’s gift to mankind. Catholics for example, teach that suicide is a sin. However, PAS should be legalized on three main grounds or using three main arguments. One is that it helps in ending a patient’s suffering. Secondly, it helps in preventing patients from committing suicide in traumatic, horrifying and messy ways. The last argument is that legalizing PAS will ensure that doctors have time to attend to other patients who are not suffering from fatal diseases. Works Cited Yousuf RM, and Fauzi Mohammed. ”Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide: A Review from Islamic Point of View.” The International Medical Journal Malaysia 11(1) (2012): 63-68. Print Douthat, Rose. “The Last Right: Why America Is Moving Slowly on Assisted Suicide.” New York Times 11 Oct. 2014: 12. Print. United States Conference Catholic Bishops. “ Oregon’s Assisted Suicide Law: What Safeguards?” Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities 1 (2014): 1-4. Print. United States Conference Catholic Bishops. “ Suicide and Assisted Suicide: The Role of Depression.” Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities 1 (2011): 1-3. Print Doerflinger, Richard. “Life Issues Forum: Hemlock’s Twisted Logic.” Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities 1 (2011): 1. Print Marker, Rita. “Assisted Suicide: Death by “Choice”?” Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities 1 (2009): 1. Print Read More