Nursing: Assisted Suicide, Essay Example

Active vs. Passive

Assisted Suicide is also termed mercy killing. It encompasses the act of ending someone’s suffering by helping him/her die faster before the pain/anguish become unbearable and an extensive agonizing death occurs. While there are many ethical controversies surrounding assisted suicide advocates contend that it is dying in dignity rather than turmoil. Currently there are two types of assisted suicides practiced in medical science. It is either active or passive. Laws pertaining to assisted suicide vary from country to country across the globe based on their ethical perspective of the intervention (Beauchamp, Walters, Kahn, & Mastroianni, 2014).

Active suicide involves administration of lethal drugs to relive the pain agony and eventually a slow painless death process is initiated. In countries where assisted suicide is legal pateints have to give consent to have this intervention executed. Some drugs used in active suicide include small doses of morphine, which depresses the central nervous system and acts initially as an analgesic then ultimately offers a lethal effect (Beauchamp et.al, 2014).

However, according to Ron Panzer (2000) even though morphine is used during hospice care to relive pain especially in pateints diagnosed with cancer, the process is not considered assistedsuicide(Panzer, 2000). Passive suicide involves withdrawal of treatment that would prolong life and suffering. While no drugs are used to relief the pain agony life is not extended through treatment that could lengthen the process. Many ethical viewpoints exist regarding active and passive methods of assisted suicide, but the final decision remains with the patient and immediate relatives (Beauchamp et.al, 2014).

According to Gert, Culver & Clouser (1998) active suicide whether it is legal or not still is murder.  From their point of view this is irrespective of whether a pateints consents or not. In relation to withholding treatment the analysts have condemned the action as being immoral.Consequently, from their theory of morality neither method should be attempted to facilitate dying(Gert, Culver & Clouser, 1998)

References

Beauchamp, T. Walters, L. Kahn,  P.,& Mastroianni, A. (2014). Contemporary issues in bioethics (8th ed.) Boston, MA: Wadsworth Publishing

Gert, B. Culver, C., & Clouser, D. (1998). An Alternative to Assisted Physician Suicide. Psychology Press.

Panzer, R. (2000).Questionable Death, Assisted Suicide,  Mercy Killing (& Involuntary Euthanasia). Hospice Patients Alliance.