Assisted Suicide - Research Paper Example

Assisted Suicide Introduction Physician assisted suicide is a process in which a person commit suicide with the help of a physician when all the hope and scope for survival ceases. It is one of the highly debated topics in the current world because of the serious ethical issues involved in it. The right of a person to continue or not to continue his life when serious physical problems occur to him is a controversial subject because of the different opinions about it. Some people believe that assisted suicide should be allowed because there is no point in asking the person to continue his life suffering all the pain and discomfort and also without any hope. They argue that the life of a person is a personal property and the person has every right to take a decision to sustain or not to sustain it. On the other hand, opponents of assisted suicide argue that we have no right to finish our life since we have no control over it. Life is the most precious thing in this world and nobody has so far succeeded in unveiling the miseries surrounding life. This paper briefly analyses both the arguments; in favour and against assisted suicide. Arguments in favour of assisted suicide “Supporters of legislation legalizing assisted suicide claim that all persons have a moral right to choose freely what they will do with their lives as long as they inflict no harm on others” (Andre & Velasquez, n. d). Supporters of assisted suicide argue for the autonomy of a person in deciding about his future. They argue that assisted killing or mercy killing has physical and psychological dimensions. In their opinion, a person who is suffering from severe pain may like to finish his life to escape from the pain and the denial of such an opportunity is an intrusion into the personal liberty. They are of the opinion that since assisted suicide may not create any problems to others, it should be allowed legally. Another argument in favor of physician-assisted suicide is that the right of a person to avoid pain and suffering that cannot be adequately controlled (Suicide and Ethical Aspects Assisted Suicide - The public debate over physician-assisted suicide, 2010). Everybody has the right to enjoy their life in their own way as far it create no dangers to others. Supporters of assisted suicide are of the opinion that it is better to assist a person medically to terminate his life, if he is in a hopeless or pathetic situation. It is not the opponents of assisted suicide, but the patient himself is the sufferer of pain and discomfort and he should be allowed to take decisions about his future life. Braddock,(2008) has mentioned that though the society has strong interest in preserving life, that interest lessens when person is terminally ill and has strong desire to end (Braddock, 2008). Society is always making every effort to provide better living conditions to the human being and to preserve the human life as much as possible. So, society cannot encourage assisted suicide under any circumstances. At the same time when the society becomes helpless in providing the necessary comfort and facilities to a person, it cannot deny the person’s right to terminate his life. Arguments against assisted suicide “Many faith groups within Christian, Muslim, Jewish and other religions believe that God gives life and therefore only God should take it away” (Info: Ethical aspects of PAS, n.d.). Critics of mercy killing believe that we have no authority over our life. In their opinion, we are only creations and only the creator has the right to make changes in the human life cycle. Even though science and technology has developed a lot, nobody has so far succeeded in creating an artificial life in a laboratory setup. The inability of human in unveiling the miseries about life itself point out that the life and its architecture are beyond our control. So any attempt to modify or finish it is unethical as per the religionists and the opponents of assisted suicide. They believe that God has certain mission and vision about human life on earth and any attempt to change it is not ethical. Drickamer et al, (2004) has mentioned that at the time when a patient requests physician-assisted suicide, the patient may be experiencing isolation, guilt, or low self-worth as a result of being a burden to others and anger or other emotions may limit the patient's acceptance of alternatives (Drickamer et al, 2004). The feeling of obligation and the inability to do things self may depress the person and the decision to terminate life may come out from a momentary lack of control of consciousness. Such people may reconsider their decision later and they should be allowed to get the counseling from the psychologists to get rid of their negative mind set rather than assisting him immediately in terminating his life. Lots of philosophers like Immanuel, Kant and John Locke were also expressed their views against assisted suicide. Locke argued that life, like liberty, represents an inalienable right, which cannot be taken from, or given away by, an individual. According to Kant, suicide was an action that violates moral responsibility. He argued that the proper end of rational beings requires self-preservation, and that suicide would therefore be inconsistent with the fundamental value of human life (THE ETHICAL DEBATE, 2001, p.81). We came to this world not on our own will and nobody everybody has to leave this world one day against their will. In other words we have no control over birth and death. Nobody knows from where we come and where we go which underlines the importance of life and our limited control and authority over life. Analysis of Assisted Suicide Assisted suicide is a highly difficult topic to make any conclusion. Strong arguments are there; both in favour and against assisted suicide. Assisted suicide has both physical and psychological dimensions. It is associated with the belief of a person. For those who believe in God and religion, seeking the help of a physician for suicide may not be a better option even if he was under severe problem or discomfort. At the same time, those who do not have belief in God or religion may find it easy to seek the assistance of physicians in terminating their life when required. When we analyse this topic independently, one thing is sure that the life has so much value involved in it. Moreover, the miseries surrounding our life are not over yet even though the science and technology developed a lot. The question from where we come and where we go should be answered first in order to take a firm stand on this issue. It is illogical to believe that our spirit which drives our body will also die along with our body as nobody has ever witnessed the size and shape of it. Conclusions Considering both the dimensions of assisted suicide, I strongly believe that assisted suicide should not be allowed until we were successful in unveiling the miseries surrounding our life. The secrets behind life are still unknown to us and deliberate destruction of a life under any circumstances should not be allowed or encouraged. Naturally occurred life should be allowed to finish naturally. In short, assisted suicide should not be legalized or allowed under any circumstances. References 1. Andre Claire and Velasquez Manuel, (n. d), Assisted Suicide: A Right or a Wrong? Retrieved on 1 April 2010 from http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v1n1/suicide.html 2. Braddock Clarence H. (2008), Physician-Assisted Suicide, Retrieved on 1 April 2010 from http://depts.washington.edu/bioethx/topics/pas.html 3. Drickamer Margaret A. MD; Lee Melinda A., MD; and Ganzini Linda, MD (2004) Practical Issues in Physician-Assisted Suicide, Retrieved on 1 April 2010 from http://www.annals.org/content/126/2/146.full 4. Info: Ethical aspects of PAS, (n.d.), Retrieved on 1 April 2010 from http://www.religioustolerance.org/euth7.htm 5. Suicide and Ethical Aspects Assisted Suicide - The public debate over physician-assisted suicide, (2010), Retrieved on 1 April 2010 from http://medicine.jrank.org/pages/1705/Suicide-Assisted-Suicide-Ethical-Aspects.html 6. THE ETHICAL DEBATE, (2001), Retrieved on 1 April 2010 from http://www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/consumer/patient/chap5.htm Read More