Preview

Should A Patient Be Allowed To End Their Life

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
244 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Should A Patient Be Allowed To End Their Life
If a patient wishes to end their life then they should only be allowed under certain circumstances. If allowed then it must be after prolonged suffering from a disease in which there is no reversible cure. Also, these request should only be approved if the patient themselves has the capacity to make such an autonomous decision, as Powell and Lowenstein state. In order for it to be autonomous it must oblige by being intentional, based on sufficient understanding, sufficiently free of external constraints and sufficiently free of internal constraints. If the patient proves all premises to be true then they should be allowed to end their life. If this is not the case then there must be physiological and social constraints hindering such decision-making,
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    NRS-437V: Analysis Of An Ethical Dilemma
    • 1466 Words
    • 6 Pages

    NRS-437V: Analysis Of An Ethical Dilemma

    There are times when life takes an unforeseen route, and one is faced with an obstacle or situation that was not expected. Many people are diagnosed with terminal diseases, have accidents and are left with severe impairments, and suffer horrendous complications from medical issues. One has the right, according to law, to make medical decisions about their care and treatment options. But should one have the right to end their life? Assisted, or voluntary euthanasia, is the direct administration of a lethal agent to end one’s life at the request of…

    • 1466 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Reasons To Oppose Physician Assisted Suicide Case Study
    • 1653 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Reasons To Oppose Physician Assisted Suicide Case Study

    The opposition believes that patients could be pressured into ending their life in order to relieve their family of his or her degrading presence, or how it would be more cost efficient to end life compared to continuing to receive healthcare treatments (Reasons to Oppose Physician-Assisted Suicide). In the court of law, prosecution for these comments to patients is difficult to prove, so it is assumed that PAS has more complications than survival. However, reasonable people who are mentally capable of making their own decisions about terminating their lives, will not let someone sway their decision making so easily. These patients can feel the pain and misery they are suffering, allowing them to make rational decisions about if death will put them at rest. If the patient thinks that living with their illness can be achieved to their level of tolerance, he or she will decide so. Yes, there is no doubt that making the final decision is heartbreaking, but the patient realizes that living with their illness is worse than death. There are also multiple steps taken to ensure the patient is one-hundred percent confident in his or her decision, through the two verbal requests and written request for PAS, as well as an approved psychiatric state of health (Oregon Death with Dignity…

    • 1653 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Pros And Cons Of Physician Assisted Suicide
    • 575 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Pros And Cons Of Physician Assisted Suicide

    Not all terminally ill patients will choose this option, but it should be available for those who want it. Coping with the diagnosis of a terminal illness is difficult for both the patient and the patient’s loved ones and it only becomes more difficult as the disease progresses. Being given the ability to decide when to die allows the patient to feel a sense of dignity and control during a time when he or she may not have control over anything else in life. Not only does physician-assisted suicide provide a sense of relief to the patient, it provides relief to family and friends. Watching a loved one die is one of the most challenging things to endure in life. It only becomes more challenging when forced to watch a loved one die a slow and painful death. Physician-assisted suicide can provide closure to everyone involved in a situation dealing with a terminal illness; therefore, it must become legal in all fifty…

    • 575 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Physician-Assisted Suicide
    • 2570 Words
    • 11 Pages

    Physician-Assisted Suicide

    Pain and suffering is unique to each individual. Even with excellent care, symptom management sometimes falls short in alleviating the suffering at the end of life. Only the individual can determine if he or she is able or willing to endure that suffering. In order to provide full autonomy and spectrum of choice for patients, physician-assisted suicide that is legal with standards of care to protect all parties should be in place.…

    • 2570 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Physician Assisted Suicide Argumentative Analysis
    • 545 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Physician Assisted Suicide Argumentative Analysis

    John D. Arras looks at a situation which poses a patient suffering from uncontrolled pain by having the physician ignore their decisions amongst life and death. He mentions that physicians may contribute to “suicide and suicidal ideation” (page 478, column 1) which is statistically shown in over fifty percent of cancer patients who suffer from uncontrolled pain that is often brought on by untreated depression. In this situation however, if patient is given control of their own lives and obtain adequate psychiatric and palliative care to treat depression, it is assumed that most would lose interest in PAS/euthanasia. Using a similar example, there will always be a small amount of patients who may have pain that cannot be treated, for these patients J. Arras believes that present law on PAS/euthanasia can represent an impossible barrier to a distinguished and decent…

    • 545 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Should Physician Assisted Suicide Or Euthanasia Be Allowed?
    • 1387 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Should Physician Assisted Suicide Or Euthanasia Be Allowed?

    Should physician assisted suicidal or euthanasia be allowed? Euthanasia and physician assisted suicidal is when patients are assisted by providing access to drugs to help them die from an irrecoverable diseases or sickness. In my opinion it should be allowed in all countries and states. The government and doctors should respect others wish to die. If Euthanasia gets passed in all states the same rules should apply everywhere. There shouldn't have to be different rules at each county where some allow the family to decide for the patient or where the patient makes that decision. For example, they have to be in certain circumstances in order to be granted the permission of euthanasia. In Missouri, a written statement is required if it is their…

    • 1387 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    i support physician-assisted suicide
    • 628 Words
    • 3 Pages

    i support physician-assisted suicide

    Some terminally ill patients are allowed to end their lives by refusing medical treatments; in all fairness, those without that option should be allowed to choose death…

    • 628 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Physician Assisted Death
    • 2942 Words
    • 12 Pages

    Physician Assisted Death

    Many of us have felt the pain of watching a loved one’s life slowly diminish in a hospital bed. Today, modern medicine and doctors can only go so far to care for terminally ill patients. Even with the knowledge of this country’s best medicine and most extraordinary doctors, many of the terminally ill suffer persistently; they become unhappy, and some are not able to fend for themselves in ways healthy individuals find to be easy and are able to do. The simple every day actions begin to be tremendous struggles such as eating, moving, and even communicating. In extreme cases, terminally ill patients may no longer find the will or strength to move forward. Physician-assisted death can be constructed to have reasonable laws, which still protect against its abuse and the value of human life, easing the patients suffering when nearing the end of their life. Physician-assisted death is ethical and is a compassionate response to unbearable suffering. Physicians should be required by law to help terminally ill patients, with no hope, which have a strong desire to end their lives.…

    • 2942 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Physician Assisted Suicide Argumentative Analysis
    • 1640 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Physician Assisted Suicide Argumentative Analysis

    Physician assisted suicide is a highly controversial bioethical issue that has been increasingly debated in recent years. Advocates of physician assisted suicide argue that it champions patient autonomy and reduces suffering while opposers suggest the benefits outweigh the risks and that there are other acceptable alternatives to the practice. This paper attempts to demonstrate the permissibility of physician assisted suicide as a regulated, medically reliable end-of-life option that can help end the suffering of individuals struggling with terminal illnesses. This will be achieved while still providing a comprehensive view of both opponents’ and supporters’ perspectives on the issue, specifically regarding the nature of the death that comes…

    • 1640 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Assisted Suicide Arguments Against Euthanasia
    • 959 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Assisted Suicide Arguments Against Euthanasia

    In recent years, assisted suicide has become a rather controversial topic regarding whether or not a dying patient has the right to die with the assistance of a physician. While some are against it due to moral beliefs, others support it as a result of their respect for those suffering. However, physicians remain divided on the issue, being torn on the difference between relief from dying and murder. After analyzing the issue in depth, it is clear that terminally ill patients should be granted the right to assisted suicide in order to end their suffering, reduce financial burdens placed upon their families, and preserve the right of individuals to determine their own fate when facing death.…

    • 959 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Physician Assisted Suicide
    • 2127 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Physician Assisted Suicide

    Death, while a reality for all people, is still a frightening and unknown experience. That is one of the reasons that physician-assisted suicide is such a complex topic. However, when one is faced with the prospect of witnessing the suffering of a terminally ill loved one and watching them experience unbearable pain, despite the known fact that they will never again be healthy, the issue becomes less complex. Whether an actual experience or an imagined one, it is one of the worst situations an individual can endure. If offered the possibility to end the suffering and relieve the patient or loved one from pain, would you be supportive or would you leave them to suffer? Physician-assisted suicide could be the answer for the select few patients who meet strict requirements and who are in need of relief. Physician-assisted suicide refers to a practice in which a physician provides a competent, terminally ill patient with a prescription for a lethal dose of medication, upon the patient 's request, which the patient intends to use to end his or her own life. (Black) Here is where the controversy arises: should terminally ill patients have the right to choose when to end their lives? Due to the facts that physician-assisted suicide can be constructed to have reasonable laws that ensure it will not be abused and protect the value of human life, relieve suffering patients, and allow citizens in need to exercise their fundamental freedoms to the right of death, physician-assisted suicide should be a legal practice in the United States.…

    • 2127 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Arguments Against Euthanasia
    • 920 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Arguments Against Euthanasia

    Euthanasia the assisted killing of a terminal patient is a controversial topic that medical professionals cannot avoid. Many health professionals face the ethical dilemma of whether or not they should end a patient’s misery. Patient’s rights are always the top priority, doctors are taught to find every possible way to treat and cure the patient, but the possibility of the patient being irremediable to what extent is the health care professionals willing to go to give the patient their wishes?…

    • 920 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Right To Die Argumentative Essay: The Right To Die
    • 2370 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Right To Die Argumentative Essay: The Right To Die

    Currently, in the United States, 12% of states, including Vermont, Oregon, and California have legalized the Right to Die. This debate around whether or not to help patients who have terminal illness end their lives has been and is still far from over. The definition of Right to Die is, “an individual who has been certified by a physician as having an illness or physical condition which can be reasonably be expected to result in death in 24 months or less after the date of the certification” (Terminally Ill Law & Legal Definition 1). With this definition, the Right to Die ought to be available to any person that is determined terminally ill, as determined by a professional.…

    • 2370 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Physician Assisted Suicide
    • 3170 Words
    • 13 Pages

    Physician Assisted Suicide

    This showed that physician assisted suicide could relieve such patients from the suffering. Based on the debate on physical assisted suicide, the proponents of the debate have appealed for legalizing physical assisted suicide. Their arguments have basically been founded on principle of autonomy (Birnbacher, 2008). The supporters have maintained that terminally ill patients should be provided an expansive room to either extricate themselves or control the end point of their lives (Humphry, 2005). This should be guided by the level of pain they undergo.…

    • 3170 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Ethics Of Physician Assisted Suicide
    • 1126 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Ethics Of Physician Assisted Suicide

    Some say that doctors main priority should be to help a patient and make sure they get better, not help them end their life. “They rightly seek to eliminate disease and alleviate pain and suffering. They may not, however, seek to eliminate the patient. Allowing doctors to assist in killing threatens to fundamentally corrupt the defining goal of the profession of medicine” (Anderson). While this article focuses on the cons of allowing PAS, it does not necessarily go against the idea of doctors helping their patients, because by allowing them this end of life option they are alleviating pain and suffering to their patients. And doctors are not allowed to offer PAS to any of their patients, so they are not forcing it upon them as an option, the patient must go to them and specifically request it in order to be administered the drugs. “Patients can refuse or doctors can withhold particular treatments that are useless or causing more harm than good. But in deciding that a treatment is useless, we must not decide that a patient is worthless” (Anderson). Patient happiness and health should always be a top priority, and sometimes that means stretching the limitations of the doctor code of conduct to get their patients what they really want, which could in some cases be…

    • 1126 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics