Assisted Suicide Should Not Be Legal - Assignment Example

Assisted Suicide al Affiliation Introduction The legality of assisted suicide has been a contentious issuein many countries with the same conflicting with various rights that are accorded to citizens such as the right to live. Doctors have found themselves on the wrong side of the law for assisting in such activities if the right procedures are not followed. I do not support the legalization of assisted killing. In this research work, I shall address the topic looking at the ethical and legal aspects of the issue and the way it is being addressed in various regions. Physician assisted suicide occurs when one feels that he needs to end his life maybe due to a terminal illness such as cancer. According to Back et al, about fifty seven percent of practicing physicians have been approached in one time or the other and being requested to aid in assisted suicide. However, it has been established that most patients want to end their lives due to the suffering they go through in cases such as cancer. In the modern world, pain management has been taken to another level and it is possible to manage the same therefore reducing the patients’ suffering. This has been attributed to the decline in cases of assisted suicide recorded. Doctors take an oath before they start practicing to do their best to save the patients’ lives as well as ensuring that the details given to them by the patient remains a secret. They should therefore not get involved I such actions as ending the patients’ lives. At times, the patient maybe too ill to talk or sign a consent and so their relatives are involved in requesting the doctor to end their patients’ life and save them the agony. This is ethically and legally wrong. Role of Doctors Claire and Manuel addresses the issue of assisted suicide by citing the case of Mathew Donnelly who wanted to end his life due to the agony of skin cancer. Mathew had used more than thirty years of his life conducting research on the use of x-rays and at that time he got skin cancer. He had lost his nose courtesy of the disease, his arm and part of his jaw in recovery and therapy. His condition was not improving and he had become blind. His pleas to have his life ended fell on deaf years though the doctors knew well that he had less than a year to live. His brother seeing his agony killed him and was tried for murder. The question arose on whether that was right and whether the doctors should have aided in ending his life. Of importance in this issue is to understand that all patients just as other citizens are guarded by the constitution and so the doctor cannot end their lives. One does not have the right to end his life though and this complication makes the case unable to address. At times the patient maybe suffering too much and with the knowledge that they may not have much time to live the doctor may decide to end their lives and end their pain and suffering. There are principles that guide the physicians working. First they have to do all they can to relieve the patients’ pain and also promote the dignity of the patient who may not recover. However, the second principle is on respecting the patients’ competent decisions. The doctor’s decision is therefore tied by the legal aspect of the action as it could easily land him/her in jail. The Shipman case in 2004 changed peoples’ perception about assisted suicide over the whole world. According to Alicia Queiro, an editor with BBC News, GP Harold Shipman, who killed himself in 2004 was found to have been a serial killer having killed more than 215 patients in his practice. The revelation came under heat as doctors came up claiming that at times they are faced with situations where they can do nothing apart from ending the lives of the patient. In Shipman’s case most of the victims were elderly people mainly with terminal illnesses who felt that they had little to give to the world. This conflicts with the roles the doctors have in the society. Doctors are supposed to be at the lead in ensuring that the patients get better rather than helping them in ending their lives. Andrea Janus of the CTV News while addressing the same issue in Canada notes that relatives are always wishing that there was a way that their people could be allowed to end their lives if they cannot recover. Ontario Senator Nancy Ruth said that due to the fact that there are people all over suffering a motion should be brought up to make it easier for them to decide whether to end the lives of their relatives. She therefore tabled a bill on the same. Ethical Issues The legalization of assisted suicide may in itself be a noble idea as it will relieve the patients’ pain. After all they will still die. However, this can be used by people to satisfy their vested interests. For instance, it is known that after one dies the siblings maybe legible to get their property and money. It may be prudent to end the old man or woman life so that the process of acquiring the property can be hastened. The integrity and authenticity of the calls to end ones’ life can never be established. In some cases the people who are bestowed with the responsibility of taking care of the old people may feel that the pressure is too much and so they ought to get it relieved. They may therefore collaborate with a physician to end the patient’s life then claim that it was done to end their suffering (Whitney et al. 2011). This should therefore be blocked at all costs. Various countries are processing bills that will see the legalization of the same. This will come into conflict with the already set laws which give any person the right to live. Termination of Medical License Phlip Nitschke had his medical had his medical license terminated by the Medical Board of Australia over the same. It is risky for the doctors to get involved in such incidences. In his case an email correspondence showed that he had the intention of assisting a suicide case while chatting with Nigel Brayley. This led to his suspension and cancellation of his medical license. Brayley later took away his own life with a euthanasia drug and it was established that the doctor had not taken his time to help him get the correct facts on the same (Philip & Stewart, 2011). The doctor was therefore held liable as with his knowledge and position he could have averted the case or the situation and save his life. His role in the suicide case is an example of what could happen if one gets involved in the same. Graphical representation of Physycians’ opinion on the issue Opinion AMA Members (n=277) AMA non- Members (n=367) All (n=658) AMA House Delegates (n=315) Illegal (IL) 19.5 21.0 20.4 43.5 Probably Illegal (PI) 13.7 13.1 13.5 18.1 Unsure (UN) 24.5 19.1 21.6 14.9 Probably Legal (PL) 26.4 29.4 28.1 16.2 Definitely Legal (DL) 15.9 17.4 16.4 7.3 Conclusion As indicated in the introduction, assisted suicide should not be legalized. It is a violation of the individual’s right to life and therefore acts against the bill of rights categorically stated in each country’s constitution and international statutes (Schoenenberger & Stuck, 2006). The idea can also be used by people to end other’s lives so that they can satisfy their vested interests e.g. in cases of inheritance. In other cases, the people who are taking care of the old people may feel that they can get rid of them by ending their lives. This should be considered before they go ahead and legalize it. References Schoenenberger, A. W. & Stuck, A. E. (2006). Health Care for Older Persons in Switzerland: A Country profile. International Health Affairs. 54(6). p. 986-990. n.a. (2012). Assited Suicide debate puts end of life care in spotlight. Nursing older people. 24(1). p. 6-7. Whitney, S. N. et al. (2011). Views of United States Physicians and Members of the American Medical Association House of Delegates on Physician-Assisted Suicide. (16). p. 290- 296. Philip, N. & Stewart, F. (2011). ‘What is it got to do with you?’ Challenging the Medical Profession’s Future in the Assisted Suicide Debate. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. (45). p. 1017-1019. Doward, J. (2014). Assisted Dying will be made legal in UK within two years. Available at. Davidson, H. (2014). Philip Nitschke: ‘I wish I had responded differently to man’s suicide email. The Guardian. Available at. Andre, C. & Velasquez, M. (n.d). Assisted Suicide: A right or a Wrong. Available at. Read More