Paper
Physician-Assisted Suicide: For and Against
Andrew D. Boyd, University of Texas Southwestern at Dallas
The history of the debate for physician-assisted suicide has been long, even tracing back to the Greek and Roman times.1,2 The debate originally was centered around the Hippocratic oath and the condemnation of the practice. With the upsurge of Christianity, many physicians continued to condemn the practice. Within the last two centuries the public has spurned many discussions about Physician-assisted suicide and Euthanasia from many different historic perpectives1. Although this debate has been lengthy and many of the issues discussed over the centuries are repetitive, new ideas and concerns do emerge with the current debate.
Many terms are used in the debate for Physician-assisted suicide, and in order to alleviate confusion through out the paper a few definitions will be given. Voluntary active euthanasia is the intentionally administering medication or other interventions to cause the patient's death at the patient's explicit request and with fully informed consent. Involuntary active euthanasia is the intentionally administering medications or other interventions to cause patient's death when patient was competent but without the patient's explicit request and/or fully informed consent. Nonvoluntary active euthanasia is the intentionally administering medication or other interventions to cause patient's death when patient was incompetent or not able to explicitly requesting it. Terminating life-sustaining treatments is withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining medical treatments from the patient to let him or her die. Palliative care or indirect euthanasia is administering narcotics or other medications to relieve pain with incidental consequence of causing sufficient respiratory depression to result in the patient's death. Physician-assisted suicide is a physician providing medication or other interventions to a patient with the understanding that the
Andrew D. Boyd, University of Texas Southwestern at Dallas
The history of the debate for physician-assisted suicide has been long, even tracing back to the Greek and Roman times.1,2 The debate originally was centered around the Hippocratic oath and the condemnation of the practice. With the upsurge of Christianity, many physicians continued to condemn the practice. Within the last two centuries the public has spurned many discussions about Physician-assisted suicide and Euthanasia from many different historic perpectives1. Although this debate has been lengthy and many of the issues discussed over the centuries are repetitive, new ideas and concerns do emerge with the current debate.
Many terms are used in the debate for Physician-assisted suicide, and in order to alleviate confusion through out the paper a few definitions will be given. Voluntary active euthanasia is the intentionally administering medication or other interventions to cause the patient's death at the patient's explicit request and with fully informed consent. Involuntary active euthanasia is the intentionally administering medications or other interventions to cause patient's death when patient was competent but without the patient's explicit request and/or fully informed consent. Nonvoluntary active euthanasia is the intentionally administering medication or other interventions to cause patient's death when patient was incompetent or not able to explicitly requesting it. Terminating life-sustaining treatments is withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining medical treatments from the patient to let him or her die. Palliative care or indirect euthanasia is administering narcotics or other medications to relieve pain with incidental consequence of causing sufficient respiratory depression to result in the patient's death. Physician-assisted suicide is a physician providing medication or other interventions to a patient with the understanding that the