Assisted Suicide

Assisted Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death, is a very common and tragic health crisis. Because of overwhelming and unbearable
emotional pain, people choose suicide as a solution to their problems. Suicide is very tragic for families and loved ones, who must grieve the terrible
loss of a person they loved. Attempted suicide or non–fatal suicidal behavior is self–injury with the desire to end one's life that does not result in death.
Assisted suicide is when one individual helps another bring about their own death indirectly via providing either advice or the means to the end.
Some causes of suicide is that of mental illness. For example, Anxiety, Bipolar Disorder, Depression, and Schizophrenia are big influences when it
comes to suicide. Major depression is a leading cause of suicide throughout the world. People that do not treat their depressive symptoms have a
greater risk for following through with suicide. 90% of people who commit suicide suffer from untreated depression. Having Schizophrenia makes it
difficult for people to function in life....show more content...
For example, many people with PTSD or "Post–Traumatic Stress Disorder" develops after a person is faced with a traumatic experience such as
warfare, being seriously injured, or assaulted. This illness cause people to get flashbacks of memories surrounding the traumatic experience. When
people feel helpless about their situation and permanently traumatized, they may turn to suicide. People who are victim to physical abuse either
growing up or in a relationship can be traumatized. They may harbor feelings of guilt and shame that stay trapped inside for years. Also sexual abuse
can lead a person to feeling depressed and suicidal. In cases of molestation and rape, a person is forced to perform sexual acts against their will. This
can result in significant psychological trauma caused to the
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Assisted Suicide Essay
The legalization of assisted suicide has been a controversial topic that has created a divide within the medical community, as well as the general
public, for many years. Assisted suicide occurs when a patient decides to take their own life, with help from their doctor. The doctor can end the
patient's life without causing any additional pain or suffering. While some believe that assisted suicide should be legal for patients who are suffering
from a terminal and painful condition, others argue that it is unethical and going against the doctor's oath to help and not harm their patients. As the
average life expectancy age increases, people are living longer while also having to live with more serious illnesses. As a result, lives are...show more
content...
The ten areas included, symptoms, social supports, communication with health providers, spiritual meaning, care needs, end of life plans, economic
burdens, sociodemographics, preferences regarding end–of–life care and euthanasia and assisted suicide, and stress of the interview (Ezekiel et al.,
2000). The findings from the surveys showed that in hypothetical scenarios, 60.2% of the terminally ill patients supported euthanasia or assisted
suicide, despite the fact that only 10.6% of the patients seriously contemplated it for themselves (Ezekiel et al., 2000). Many factors play into
individuals choosing not to take their own life, even if they believe that others should have the right to. For example, the patients that had loved
ones present in their lives were not as likely to take their own lives, but the patients that were alone, causing them to be depressed, as well as the
patients who needed more intense care, were much more likely to see euthanasia or assisted suicide as a legitimate option (Ezekiel et al., 2000).
58.7% of the caregivers supported the use of euthanasia for their patients who were in pain (Ezekiel et al., 2000). After the surveys were completed,
follow up interviews were conducted six months later in order to see how the patients and caregivers views might have changed (Ezekiel et al., 2000).
The study concluded that the surveys done proved that a large majority of terminally ill patients, as well as their

Thesis Statement For Assisted Suicide Essay
Name: Yesica Arce Mendez
I. Introduction
A. Current Problem: In many societies, many believe assisted suicide should be legal.
B. Population/Area of Focus: Community/Society and family or people personally going through this process.
C. Key Terms: Euthanasia, Physician Assisted, Voluntary,Suicide
Thesis Statement: Although people may be suffering and on the verge ofdeath, assisted suicide should be illegal because there are many options to look
upon then just looking at death.
II. Major Point 1: Health may improve
A. Minor Point 1: One may take medication to improve health and help maintain their health at a decent balance.
B. Minor Point 2: There is also an option of pain management.
Source: Heide, A. V. (2013). Handbook of Clinical Neurology: Ethical and Legal Issues in Neurology. Chapter 15– Assisted...show more content...
Major Point 3: Unconsciousness
A. Minor Point 1: Many patients can't decide for themselves and it is not fair for family members to decide for them.
B. Minor Point 2: It may be referred as murder, having the patient unconscious.
Source: Weisstub, D. N., & Mishara, B. L. (2016). International Journal of Law and Psychiatry. Premises and Evidence in the Rhetoric of Assisted
Suicide and Euthanasia, 36(5–6), 427–435.
V. Major Point 4: Doctor may take control
A. Minor Point 1: Doctors may try to prevent from helping patient.
B. Minor Point 2: Doctors are forced and have an obligation to relieve patients which means many doctors can be wrong about the information they
collected.
Source: Noll, R. C., & Solomon, L. M. (2008). Gender Medicine. Physician–assisted Suicide and Euthanasia: Disproportionate Prevalence of Women
among Kevorkian's Patients, 5(2), 110–114.
VI. Conclusion

A. Restatement of Thesis: Overall with current situations happening around the world Euthanasia and Assisted suicide has become a very controversial
topic, however there are many interpretations that should be looked upon before deciding that huge decision.
B. Next

Assisted Suicide Summary
Assisted Suicide
Introduction and Summary Assisted suicide is a form of suicide where someone helps dying patients suffering from health problems die by taking
medicine prescribed by their doctor to help them die in peace without suffering. In October 2015, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill to
make assisted suicide legal in his state after the death of a California woman named Brittany Maynard (McGreevy, 2015). The Catholic Church was
fighting Jerry Brown because they did not want the bill to pass since suicide is against religious teachings (McGreevy, 2015). The California
Governor made the decision to sign the bill based on a person's right to decide when and how to die (McGreevy, 2015). California joined Oregon,
Washington and Vermont in making this legal. Other states such as New York, New Jersey, Tennessee, Connecticut, the District of Columbia and
Maryland are trying to pass legislation to make assisted suicide legal (McGreevy, 2015).
Assisted Suicide Options I think assisted suicide should stay illegal because doctors and physicians are then responsible for providing prescription
medicines or other means to patients who want to die. Assisted suicide is the wrong way for a person to die. The Catholic Church is against assisted
suicide because it is against...show more content...
The Final Exit Network provided her directions in how to die with doctor–ordered medicine and a helium balloon tank (Kiefer, 2011). In April 2007,
Jana Van Voorhis died from assisted suicide while helped by anesthesiologist, Lawrence Egbert, and retired Scottsdale Community College professor,
Franklin Langsnar. They were both charged with aiding suicide (Kiefer, 2011). This trial took six months using testimonies and evidence. The jury was
unable to reach an agreement so both Egbert and Langsnar were acquitted for the crime of assisted suicide (Kiefer,

Persuasive Essay On Assisted Suicide
How would you feel if you were told you only had six more months to live? How would you feel if you were told that those last couple of months
would put you in more pain than you had ever experienced? For people all across the United States, these situations are their reality. They are told how
long they have left and that it will be painful and unpleasant. Now, what if you had the choice to end all that suffering and pain? Assisted suicide is
when terminally ill patients agree to end their life with the help of their physician or in other words, "allowing a person suffering from an incurable
disease or condition to die by withholding extreme medical measures" (Torre, par.2). Although, some may see euthanasia as inhuman or homicide, this
is actually a method that many Americans consider to help free their loved ones from discomfort. To put things in perspective, it is much like putting
an end to our pets misery if they have an incurable illness. I believe that terminally ill patients should have the right to assisted suicide in order to end
their suffering, withhold the right to their own fate, and spare the costs of hospital aid on their families. Currently the option of assisted suicide is legal
in 5 out of the 50 states, however, policy makers in the U.S. should make it available in all 50 states.
Advancements in medical technology have allowed many patients to sustain a long and fulfilling life. But for patients who are terminally ill,
treatments provide a prolonged

Persuasive Essay On Physician Assisted Suicide
The word suicide gives many people negative feelings and is a socially taboo subject. However, suicide might be beneficial to terminally ill patients.
Physician– assisted suicide has been one of the most controversial modern topics. Many wonder if it is morally correct to put a terminally ill patient
out of their misery. Physicians should be able to meet the requests of their terminally ill patients. Unfortunately, a physician can be doing more harm by
keeping someone alive instead of letting them die peacefully. For example, an assisted suicide can bring comfort to patients. These patients are in
excruciating pain and will eventually perish. The government should not be involved in such a personal decision. A physician– assisted suicide comes
with many benefits for the patient. If a person is terminally ill and wants a physician assisted suicide, then they should receive one.
Physician– assisted suicide was first popularized in 1997 by the Oregon Death with Dignity Act (ODDA) . This act states that a physician has the
power to prescribe a lethal amount of medication to terminally ill patients. However, the patients must have the knowledge of upcoming death. In order
to receive the medication the patient must, be over eighteen years of age, a resident of Oregon, and must orally ask for the prescription twice. The oral
requests must be fifteen days apart. The patient's physician and a consulting physician must agree that the patient is mentally capable of making such a

Assisted Suicide Argumentative Essay
Brittany Maynard, a woman known for her advocacy in the controversial topic of assisted suicide, officially ended her life this fall after learning of
her fatal brain tumor. After complaining of horrible headaches, she decided to see a doctor where they gave her this traumatic news. She had two
corrective surgeries to try and stop the growth of her large tumor, but they were unsuccessful. Her doctor then suggested full brain radiation, but after
months of researching this option, along with many other, she knew her quality of what short life she had left would quickly deteriorate. With the help
of her family, friends, and newly–wed husband, she made the decision to move with her loved ones from her California home to Oregon, where death
with...show more content...
Hospice does not focus on curing, but instead reducing the pain and symptoms of the patient. The difference is that death with dignity gives the patient
an option to end their life before any of their symptoms affect them in life–altering ways. In Maynard's case, she knew that this was definitely an
option, one she even considered, but the reality is that she could develop a tolerance to the morphine and other medications used to diminish her
side effects, which then could cause her to still feel pain. In addition, her personality could dramatically change. There is also a possibility of
losing the ability to speak, think clearly, and many other normal functions. Being that Maynard was only 29 and the rest of her body was generally
healthy, it was very possible that her body could fight for a long while her mind began to slip. If she chose to do hospice care, her stay would most
likely have been longer than the two to three week period that most patients are in. She also knew that the decision to do hospice care would drag out
the enviable which was something she did not want to have to put her loved ones through (Maynard, 2015, para.

Argumentative Essay On Assisted Suicide
Physician assisted suicide does not lead to abuses or down the hypothetical slope. Peter Rogatz, a physician, states that requesting someone to be
taken off a ventilator is socially acceptable. What is the difference between assisted suicide and ending a ventilator? Does one have to be in coma or
brain dead to allow him to die with dignity? These are the questions that patients and society are asking today. Rogatz asks these questions from a
physician's point of view and explains the pain that he has seen through suffering patient's eyes. These questions alone are one factor that Rogatz is
sickened by because he does not understand what in the world the difference should be between these two tragic events. The next point Rogatz explains
is that people should see assisted suicide as a merciful end rather than killing. The word killing has such a strong meaning and that does not have any
place in the right to die debate because killing is intentional without consent (134). Rogatz believes that the physicians who understand the plea for
assisted suicide are doing good not harm. More often than not, the physicians responding to assisted suicide will handle the situation correctly. Rogatz
does accept that there will be someone who will abuse this power, but that will not happen with everything physicians have as guidelines. According
to Rogatz, physicians also have a strict criterion to even think about mentioning assisted suicide. The patients must qualify for assisted suicide. This
factor alone also helps to eliminate abuses because physicians only can administer to a select number of terminally ill patients (134). Assisted suicide
is not an act of murder and does not lead down a hypothetical slope. Assisted suicide is a personal situation which has led to controversy. One expert
has done extensive research on personal influences regarding assisted suicide. Daniel Lee, a professor of ethics at Augustana College, believes that
there is no physician influence on the patient's decision regarding assisted suicide. The choice to have a physician administer a lethal prescription is the
individual's decision and no one else's. Opponents argue the slippery slope argument, which warns that allowing voluntary euthanasia

Assisted Suicide Opinion Essay
An issue that I have kept the same opinion on is assisted suicide. This issue is for terminally ill people, and I believe that terminally ill patients
should be able to have the choice to end their life. This issue also effects the provincial level of government, because they are responsible for health
care. I believe that assisted suicide should be legal because it allows freedom of choice, it gives dignity to the sick, and it ends the suffering of patient.
Terminally ill people should be able to make their choices, not their government around them. Freedom of choice is in the Canadian Charter of Rights
and Freedom, and is in many other countries. Not allowing terminally ill patients to end their life is also cruel and takes away their dignity. Forcing
someone to live when they don't want makes them feel unimportant and not respected. Also, many terminally ill patients suffer from a lot of pain, and
forcing them to live just prolongs that pain, especially if the sickness or disease will kill them anyways. A study conducted by the University of...show
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This course also made you think for yourself, which is important in politics. Personally, what I found helpful from the course include learning about
certain civic issues, and having to do research on government. In the future, these two things will be prominent in everyday life, and that is part of
political thinking. Currently, as a student, political thinking is important because it questions a lot of things I have previously learned, and it helps me
form a connection with political parties I agree with. For example, I always believed that suicide was a "sin" due to me being catholic, yet I learned
about physician assisted suicide, and changed my opinion. Many politicians change opinions, for many reasons, and this is part of political thinking

Physician Assisted Suicide Essay
In homes across the world, millions of victims are suffering from fatal and terminal illnesses.With death knocking on their door, should these people
have to endure pain and misery knowing what is to come? The answers to these questions are very controversial. Furthermore, there is a greater
question to be answered–should these people have the right and option to end the relentless pain and agony through physician assisted death? Physician–
Assisted Suicide PAS is highly contentious because it induces conflict of several moral and ethical questions such as who is the true director of our
lives. Is suicide an individual choice and should the highest priority to humans be alleviating pain or do we suffer for a purpose? Is suicide a purely
...show more content...
Secondly, the patient should be capable of making and communicating health care decisions for him or herself. Thirdly, the patient must be
diagnosed with a terminal illness that will lead to death within six months. Interested patients must also provide the request for termination in
writing to the physician. In addition, physicians are expected to inform patients to alternative means of care including hospice care and other
medications. Only after precautions evaluation, the laws then permit patients to make the ultimate life ending decision. A pathologist from
Michigan, Dr. Jack Kevorkian was one of the first to participate in PAS (Strate, Zalman & Hunter, 2005, p. 25). There are documented writings
discussing the severity of his patients: "those who seek him out have deteriorated by slow, painful degrees and wish to exit from their infernos on
Earth before they deteriorate cognitively and/or choke to death" (Zeldis's, 2005 p. 130). Many of his patients explain how they feel their own body
withdraw and turn on itself; and not even being able to eat or go to the bathroom (Friend, Mary and Louanne, 2011, p. 116). stress that dignity and
integrity are very personal matters; it is probable that being dependent on others to perform basic activities of daily living threaten a patient's dignity
and thus determine when an explicit request for PAS is made. Perhaps to deny someone the ability to limit their suffering is cruel. My main argument
in support of PAS bears the

Argumentative Essay: A Law On Assisted Suicide
Sue Rodriguez, a mother in her early thirties, died slowly of Lou Gehrig's disease. She lived for several years with the knowledge that her muscles
would, one by one, waste away until the day came when, fully conscious, she would choke to death. She begged the Courts to reassure her that a
doctor would be allowed to assist her in choosing the moment of death. They refused. She lived on in terror, helped eventually by a doctor who, in
February 1994, covertly broke the law to help her die in peace. A law on assistedsuicide with rigorous safeguards could have saved her the nightmare
during those months before her death.
The argument of this paper if it's obvious yet is euthanizing. The paper is about how people that are in certain circumstance...show more content...
You might be saying why don't the doctors just help them end their life. Well in most cases where there was human assisted suicide the doctor did.
But in order for them to do this they have to break the law. Thy have to commit a crime so that they can make a person pass without pain. But also
it is also against the Hippocratic oath that every doctor has to take when they become a doctor. You could say that this would be breaking the
Hippocratic oath that they took but is it really. The oath says that you will fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment that you as a person can
give your patient. And that is what they are doing. They are trying everything they can do everything they can do. If there judgment is that it
would be that best thing to do is to let them have an easy and painless death then how can you say that they are doing there job wrong. They are
giving you there professional opinion. They are telling you what they think is the best choice. How would or could someone say that a doctor isn't
doing there job when all they can do is tell you what is wrong and try. But when you hit a point in witch there is nothing more you can do. What
would a doctor be expected to do. There's nothing that one person could do in that situation but just say what could be done. In peoples eyes doctors
aren't doing their jobs, or that what they would advise you would be wrong or something. But the harsh truth is if a doctor were to be able to give a
family an option to be able to medically end loved family members suffering hen no person would turn them down. people who had any logical what
so ever or who could ever fathom what it would be like to not do anything with there life anymore. Nothing but just sitting there not being able to
speak. Not being able to say what is on there mind ever again well that's just

Assisted Suicide
Every day on TV, in movies, and in music there is a phrase that has been asked a lot, "Who wants to live forever?" This is such a common question
and many people say "no," these people want to live out a shorter life than eternity. Some may ask "why?" Well here is the reason. When someone gets
terminally ill and death is unavoidable, but allows a short duration life in suffering, they don't want to sit there suffering they want to move onward to
their eternity. When someone is no longer feeling fit to live we should allow them to leave this world.
Everyday people are suffering and they are not allowed to be put out of their misery. At the same time people are suffering and being forced to
continue, Animals enter a suffering state and they are allowed to stop hurting and stop living. As a group of people leading a motion known as the
"Aid in Dying" movement have recorded 51% of people who responded to a poll inquiring about the lawfulness of assisted suicide said that, when the
patient and their family are with it then, the doctor should be allowed to end a suffering patient's life painlessly (Eckholm 1,4). Even though bigger
movements have been founded on smaller groups. So with that being said, then should it not be legal to do so?...show more content...
According to their law "the law does not require that the ingestion of the drug need not be witnessed" ("Physician–Assisted Suicide Is Wrong."). This is
an understandable hesitation. But some people wouldn't want their loved ones to witness such a thing because they wouldn't want their family or
friends to watch the life flee from the body of the suffering person. Some people fear that family members will take advantage of assisted suicide if the
family member stands to gain something major from the

Essay On Assisted Suicide
Writing the fifth assignment for the English class was by far the hardest essay I have had to write. Constantly was I running into problems, and this
ended up taking me much longer than I had originally planned. Writing about the opposing side of this topic was very hard, as I usually caught
myself writing things that I couldn't make work in my paper. The writing was very tough to keep on track because it isn't actually how I feel. This
essay helped me to better understand the argument that is presented from both sides. Originally I knew my own opinion, which is an advocate of
euthanasia, but I did not know the side that the opponents argue. All in all, I was able to learn more than I thought I would.
Since ancient...show more content...
Some argue that actively bringing about one's death is no different legally than refusing the life–sustaining treatment that is offered. Opponents feel that
legalizing assisted suicide will cause many problems. Most importantly, they fear that vulnerable individuals may be coerced into suicide as a result of
financial pressure or fear of burdening their families. Religious opposition to assisted suicide is often based on the belief that God, not humans, should
make the choices regarding death.
The legalization of assisted suicide has been a subject of popular public debate. In the early 1990s, the actions of Jack Kevorkian brought massive
attention to the issue. Kevorkian began to help suffering individuals end their lives with a "suicide machine" he designed. The device administered an
anesthetic and then a lethal injection of potassium chloride through an intravenous line.
Although prosecutors in Michigan have charged Kevorkian for various crimes, juries consistently refused to convict him for his assistance in the deaths
of numerous people. In 1999 a jury found Kevorkian guilty of second–degree murder and delivery of a controlled substance. In this case Kevorkian
administered lethal drugs to an incurably ill person who Kevorkian said had asked to be put to death. Kevorkian was sentenced to 10 to 25 years
imprisonment and planned to appeal his conviction.
With incidents such as that of Doctor Kevorkian, many different issues

Pro Assisted Suicide Essay
The right to assisted suicide is an intricate topic posed upon those in the United States and several other countries throughout the world. Assisted
suicide proposes a controversy of whether or not a person has a right to solicit death through the help of a licensed physician. This issue has sparked an
intense moral controversy. Assisted suicide has become apparent in various places around the world such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg,
Switzerland, Oregon and Washington (Humphry). The increasing legalization of assisted suicide creates an even bigger controversy because it
disrespects the beliefs of many who are pro–life. But, the act of legalizing assisted suicide in countries and states shows that people are starting...show
more content...
Assisted suicide must not be confused with euthanasia. There are two forms of euthanasia, passive and active. Active euthanasia is similar to assisted
suicide in that it requires lethal substances to cause death in a patient. But, euthanasia differs from assisted suicide through passive euthanasia. Passive
euthanasia entails the death of a person from the withdrawal of treatments necessary for the continuance of life. In the United States, passive euthanasia
is legal. How is it moral to allow the suffering and torture of a patient from withdrawal of treatment, and immoral to inject a lethal dose that causes a
quick and painless death? When a family's dog is found to be suffering and dying we do not just sit and watch the dog as it's dying, we take it to the
vet to be put down which relieves it from pain. So why is it moral to allow a human being starve to death, when a simple lethal injection can cause a
quick, painless, and dignified death. Suffering is surely not a pleasant way to die. I believe that a person should have the independence and freedom
to decide their fate, as long as it doesn't cause harm on others such as family, friends, and the doctors involved. Because of the rapid and dramatic
developments in medicine and technology in today's society, it has given us the power to to save more lives, yet prolong the death of the patients
whose physical and mental capabilities cannot be

Argumentative Essay On Assisted Suicide
Assisted suicide is a topic that has ignited a severe debate due to the controversy that surrounds its implementation. Assisted suicide occurs when a
patients expresses their intention to die and request a physician to assist them in the process. Some countries like Oregon, Canada, and Belgium have
legalized the process terming it as an alternative to prolonged suffering for patients who are bound to die. Unlike euthanasia where a physician
administers the process, assisted suicide requires that the patient voluntarily initiates and executes the process. Although there exists concession such a
process is important to assist patients die without much suffering, there has emerged criticism on its risk of abuse and as an expression of medical
However, there is immense criticism on the morality of the process, especially because the process denies a patient the right to natural death. The
critics of the assisted suicide procedure argue that such a process devalues human life and tends to promote suicide as an alternative to personal
suffering. By claiming that the procedure allows terminally ill patients to initiate dignity at death is flawed because the purpose of medical profession
is to ensure a dignified life. According to the physicians' code of ethics and the Hippocratic Oath, physicians are not allowed to do harm to their
patients because their role is to allow a dignified health for members of the community. Consequently, legalization of Physician Assisted suicide that
requires physicians to assist the patients to die is against their medical ethics. Quill, Cassel, & Meier (2010) provide that although the patients
voluntarily ask the medical practitioners to assist in the process, the practitioners have a role to advise the patients against such a procedure. Besides,
such a premise is bound to raise awareness of suicide as an alternative to suffering within the public domain, which may encourage such behavior among
healthy members of the community that feel that they enjoy the freedom to make such a decision. On this basis, the negative moral implication of
assisted suicide makes its legalization unworthy in the

Assisted Suicide Essay
Is the role of a medical professional to ensure the health and comfort of their patients, or to help them end their lives? Since Dr. Kevorkian assisted in
the suicide of Janet Adkins in 1990, physician–assisted suicide (PAS) has been one of the most controversial issues in the medical field today. While
some view it as an individual right, others view it as an unethical issue that goes against medical ethics and religious values. Mr. H. M. is an elderly
man who is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and no chance of improvement. After excruciating pain and suffering, he has decided to request
physician–assisted death in his home state of Oregon. Oregon's Death with Dignity Act (DDA) states that terminally ill patients are allowed to use
Although a patient's choice of suicide symbolizes an expression of self–determination, there is a great distinction between denying life–sustaining
treatments and demanding life–ending treatments. The right to self–determination is a right to allow or reject offered treatments, not to choose what
should be offered. The right to refuse life–sustaining interventions does not correlate with a right to force others to hasten their death. The inability of
physicians to inhibit death does not mean that physicians are allowed to help induce death.
Religion plays an important role in the issue of physician–assisted suicide and euthanasia. Most of the major world religions are against suicide in all
forms, even in the cases of pain and suffering. The Bible says, "Thou shall not kill." This was meant for everyone, not just for specific people.
Doctors have the power to save people who are sick and at the end of their lives. They work hard to help people, not kill people. If physicians tell a
family there is absolutely no chance for a patient to survive, the family will most likely believe them.

Essay on Assisted Suicide and the Right to Die
Assisted Suicide and the Right to Die
The basic dilemma surrounding the subject of assisted suicide is who has the right to choose when someone dies? There are many layers of questions
and varying opinions surrounding this right. How can our own self–determination be considered morally wrong when taken in the context of the
opinion of others? In a society that stresses individual freedoms why is it that Congress continues to hinder doctor–assisted suicide (Keminer, 2000, p.
8)?
First some terms require clarification. Suicide is considered the intentional killing of one's self. Homicide is determined to be the intentional killing of
one person by another (Savulescu, 1978, p. 31). Euthanasia (Greek: good death) is the...show more content...
The question then becomes, how far do individual rights go in view of society as a whole?
One of the primary arguments in opposition to legalizing physician–assisted suicide is that there is no effective way of constraining the practice so as
to provide adequate protections for the poor and the weak. There have been no hard facts to support whether this problem exists or persists. Until more
data is accumulated this argument is moot.
The practice of physician assisted suicide is not really suicide at all. There seems to be four distinct types of cases that deal with doctor–assisted
suicide. The first is when life–saving treatment is discontinued. This includes shutting off or removing a patient from equipment used in keeping the
individual alive–including both feeding and other equipment to prolong an individual's life. The second case involves not being placed on life saving
equipment initially. The third type is that the patient requests a lethal drug or drug dosage, which he can take at a time of his choosing. The fourth
case type is when a patient is incapable of taking the drug himself and asks the physician to administer it.
The first two cases are legally permitted in the United States. They are also, by societal consensus, considered morally acceptable. The doctor must
ensure the lucid mental state of the patient and that

Physician Assisted Suicide: The Right to Choose
Who dictates how you live your life? How does one define life and when that life should end? If you become terminally ill, would you like the choice
to choose how your life ends? In the United States, assisted suicide, is a highly–debated issue. On one side, there are many in support of allowing a
person the right to end their life with dignity at the time of their choosing. While others believe, it is a moral right to sustain life and leave a person's
exit from this world to a higher power. The two opposing viewpoints have both compassionate reasons and disadvantages; nevertheless, a person's
human rights as an individual are the most important aspect to uphold.
Currently, six states have enacted the death–with–dignity law allowing a terminally ill patient the right to choose how their life ends after obtaining
permission from those in authority. In 44 states, state law prohibits assisted suicide and an active participant considered as committing a criminal
offence. The U.S. Supreme Court protects a patient's liberty to refuse medical treatment, but continues to side with the government's interest in
preserving life outweighing a person's right to assisted–suicide. According to the U.S. Code, "Assisted suicide,euthanasia, and mercy killing have been
criminal offenses throughout the United States and, under current law, it would be unlawful to provide services in support of such illegal activities."
(U.S. Code)

Assisted Suicide Persuasive Speech
Title: Why should we give terminally ill patients the right to assisted suicide?
Specific Purpose: To persuade the audience to support assisted suicide in hospitals. Introduction I. Attention–getter: Imagine that you have been
diagnosed with a terminally ill disease, you are in constant pain and there is literally nothing than can cure you. But, you are unable to end your
suffering because it's illegal so you must patiently wait to die.
II. Thesis: There are constantly people who find themselves in pain, they are literally on their deathbed and they are unable to do anything.
III. Credibility Statement: I have done a lot of research about this topic in the past and I feel like I am knowledgeable enough to inform you about
what is going on in regards to this.
IV. Thesis/Preview: Today I will be talking to you guys about 2 different problems pertaining to assistedsuicide and why it is necessary. First, I will
speak on how people suffer a lot, and how value of life is diminished. Following that I will conclude my speech by providing a solution to a problem.
Transition: To start off, people who have terminal illnesses tend to suffer a lot.
Body
I. Main point #1 According to StatisticBrain.com, "55% of terminally ill patients die in pain." A. The problem here is that people are already burdened
with an illness and on top of that, it is a long and painful process that they must endure. 1. They experience discomfort and they feel terrible in
general. 2. Brittany Maynard was 29 when she decided to proceed with assisted suicide. She had brain cancer and she could no longer tolerate the
pain. "There is no treatment that would save my life, and the recommended treatments would have destroyed the time I had left" (Bever). B. It is
important to take into consideration what the person desires. Although it may seem too extreme to end your life, we are not feeling what the ill
person is feeling so we cannot judge their decisions. 1. It is easy for people to be against this but once again we must try to understand where the
patient is coming from. a. In this case, she was told that she only had six months to live which is not a long time. After considering treatments she

Assisted Suicide

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