Physician assisted suicide - Essay Example

PAS is a practice characterized by the physician only providing, but not personally administering, the means of death (Braddock et al.). It is not the same as other similar practices such as Euthanasia (defined as “the intentional termination of life by another at the explicit request of the person who dies,” it involves causing death through a direct action of a physician – for example, the 1998 case where Dr. Jack Kevorkian {a Michigan physician} injected controlled substances into a patient suffering from ALS {Lou Gehrig’s Disease} that caused his death); Terminal Sedation (where the physician administers sufficient sedatives to cause a terminally ill, competent patient to become unconscious, then permitting the patient to die of starvation, dehydration and the disease which has been contracted{Braddock et al.}); and Withholding/Withdrawing Life-Sustaining Treatments (where a competent patient refuses to continue taking on-going life-sustaining treatment (Braddock et al.) such as the use of ventilators, dialysis, intravenous fluids and feeding tubes (Quill et al.). Individual liberty vs.

State interest: There is no doubt that the State has a strong interest in preserving the life of its citizens; an interest that stems from the responsibility entrusted to the State. However, the intensity of its interest does not match the interest of a terminally ill individual to use assisted death to end life. This lopsided (against the State) level of interest, if strengthened by prohibition by the State, is seen as an infringement on the personal liberty of the individual (Braddock et al.). Respect for Autonomy: Taking decisions about the time and method of one’s death is considered very personal and confidential (Braddock et al.). Terminally ill patients know they will soon die, and simply want to exercise control over the process (Religioustolerance.org). An important