Assisted Suicide Pros And Cons

The topic of assisted suicide and its benefits versus its cons is an ongoing debate that initially started after Oregon passed the Death with Dignity Act in 1997. The Death with Dignity act states that terminally-ill patients are able to end their lives with lethal medications prescribed by a physician. Oregon is one of the only six out of fifty states that have made physician assisted suicide legal. There are many pros and cons associated with assisted suicide, such as the patient is relieved from discomfort but they die prematurely. However, many patients feel that dying prematurely is the only way to end their pain. That being said, I believe assisted suicide is worth the personal costs because it ends suffering, lessons grief for loved ones, and retains the patient’s dignity.
The people in hospice care usually are diagnosed with terminal diseases, cancer, dementia, or other fatal conditions. The quality of life for these patients tends to continuously decline the longer they remain in hospice care. Not all patients in hospice care want assisted suicide but there are many that feel it’s the only way to end their pain. The nurses and doctors of these patients spend time cleaning patients, helping them do basic everyday tasks that they aren’t able to do themselves, and constantly trying to keep them alive. Whereas these health care providers could be spending their time trying to save a healthy patient that has a chance of living.
One of the many reasons people oppose physician assisted suicide is because it violates the doctor’s Hippocratic oath. Yet, the Hippocratic oath has no legal binding and is based off of centuries’ old logic. It is not practical in today’s society and in the case of physician assisted suicide. Another reason people argue against it is that the doctors and families may give