Physician-Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia, Reaction Paper Example

Starting Gate

Saying goodbye to a loved has always been the hardest thing that anyone has ever done, it is never an easy thing to do. When a person die on their own, it is called natural causes but when a person dies due to a physician’s efforts then it is called a Physician Assisted Suicide. A Physician Assisted Suicide can be defined as a doctor using their powers of medical knowledge or substances to end a patient’s life well before they are ready despite their age, a doctor taking it upon themselves to help a patient put an end to their own life. The idea that “a person should die the way they see fit and not by medical official” was documented (Lachman, 2010, pg. 121). Death is one of those issues that no one wants to deal with let alone deal with by themselves, people on the brink of death should be allowed to die when they are ready and not when the doctor or nurse feel that they are. Ironically, Physician Assisted Suicide or Assisted Suicide originated back in ancient roman days and despite the venomous nature as well as bloodlust of the Roman people, the concept of assisted or physician assisted suicide was outlawed back then. Physician Assisted Suicide can be seen as immoral, disrespectful and a monumental violation of a person’s constitutional rights. It cannot be argued that death is a scary thing and even scarieris the fact that being right by that person’s side when they do die while watching their bodies go cold, it is an upsetting situation. Coincidentally, there is so much wrong with Physician Assisted Suicide not to mention that the choice to end a patient’s life is taken out of the patient’s own hand. Physician Assisted Suicide is not just detrimental to human life but it is also wrong and immoral, it also goes against the laws of nature. Man was meant to die based on how they saw fit not because of a euthanasia or mercy killing to spare the patient.

The Ethics, pros and cons of the issue

From an ethical perspective, physician assisted suicide is wrong on all sides because of the fact that people are meant to die as they see fit. It is unethical to suggest that someone end their own life because the hospital needs an extra bed or because the doctors are tired of waiting around for that person to die or even the reason being that the person will not get better or improve so this is the only way out for them. Any medical official cannot make the decision to help end someone’s life because of whatever their reason is, people are capable of making their own decisions about how they die; it is unethical to rob them of that. The idea that “physician assisted suicide is not fully supported and unethical is completely absolute” was documented (Park, 1998, pg. 279). Let it be known that there are both pros and cons to this particular issue but make no mistake, there is more bad to come out of the subject than good. One particular good is that the doctors are trying to spare the person the excruciating pain and suffering, the bad part of this issue is that they are breaking the law. Another “seemingly” positive about this matter is that people are spared the heartache of watching their loved deteriorate before their very eyes, the bad part about it is that those related to that person is robbed of being able to spend those last few moments with their loved one before they die. Technically, there are no positives about this situation because physician assisted suicide is one of the most traumatic and complex issues facing our society today. The people that are for it are the ones who just dump their elderly loved one in a home and leaves them there to rot, its wrong but it is even more wrong to put that choice in a doctor’s hands who know the ethical tolerance backing this issue. It is not up for debate about how bad a physician assisted suicide is, it is wrong and unethical and furthermore, it is against the law. No physician should ever entertain the idea. EVER!

What I think

Honestly, physician assisted suicide is dangerous and ethically wrong. If I was on my last legs, I would not even consider a physician assisted suicide because there are way too many doctors in the field that would take advantage of that situation and it is my choice to die as I see fit. Everyone should be given that option, it is not for another person to decide how their loved ones dies; the choice should clearly be out of the hands of all medical officials. Ironically, a doctor’s job is to aid their patients in getting better as well as suggesting treatments which they have control over but their choice of suggestive treatments end at physician assisted suicide because that is not their choice to make. Since the dawn of time, man have always been the holders of their own destiny and that also includes how they choose to close the book on their lives. In 1998, Deigh found that “physician assisted suicide is a choice between no one except the patient in poor health, doctors have no right to make that choice for the family or the patient” (Deigh, 1998, pg. 1156). One way to completely resolve this issue is to remind all medical officials that physician assisted suicide is against the law and their jobs are clearly on the line should they perform such an action, it is a matter that is out of their hands as well as control. Another way to resolve this issue is to make the policy regarding this firm, and make it known that legal action will be taken immediately if it even looks like a physician assisted suicide took place. The final resolve to this matter lies in doctors keeping the concept of that out of their minds even if their patient tells them to do otherwise, the doctor would still get into trouble because they took a life that they had no business. Plus, they broke their hypocritical oath, do no harm and that is going to come back to haunt them in the worst way. Resolving this issue is simple enough, but the doctors are the ones more under pressure to follow this than families.

Summary

Physician assisted suicide has become a hot topic that many people rather avoid because of the traumatization of the issue, saying goodbye to a loved one is never easy but doctors make this matter even harder. Doctors have the right to help patients with steady treatments that can help them get better, but the doctors choice of treatments end at physician assisted suicide because that is something that the doctors are not supposed to even think of. In 2011, Boudreau found that “every person on Earth is entitled to the right to die with dignity” (Boudreau, 2011, pg. 79). It can be argued that doctors get the idea of physician assisted suicide when they feel that the patient’s time is finally at an end. Resolving that issue is the only way that doctors can keep from possibly suggesting that to families because no family member or family want to entertain the idea of not being by their loved one’s side in their final moments; it is both upsetting and wrong. Family should be by their loved one’s side when they die or when they are on the very brink, no doctor should ever deny or give into a patient’s request of a physician assisted suicide. Physician assisted suicide is both unethical and is an option that no one should ever choose, death with dignity is the only way for a person to die; the meaning of it is absolute. Another thing that keeps doctors from performing physician assisted suicide is because of their hypocritical oath which is Do no harm, every doctor have an obligatory duty to their patient but they do not have the right to decide how a person dies. Doctors may look at it like they are helping the families and sparing them the pain of watching their loved one slip away, but the reality is that they committed one of the biggest crimes in the U.S. Overall, physician assisted suicide is not an option nor should it ever be one, just because a loved one is suffering does not give anyone the right to decide their fate for them. The choice is for the terminally ill alone.

References

Boudreau, J. (2011). Physician-Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia: Can You Even Imagine Teaching Medical Students How to End Their Patients’ Lives? Permantente Journal, 15(4), 79-79.

Deigh, J. (1998). Physician-Assisted Suicide and Voluntary Euthanasia: Some Relevant Differences. Criminal Law and Criminology, 88(3), 1156-1156.

Lachman, V. (2010). Physician Assisted Suicide: Compassionate Liberation or Murder?Ethics, Law and Policy, 19(2), 121-121.

Park, E. (1998). Physician-Assisted Suicide: State Legislation Teetering at the Pinnacle of a Slippery Slope. William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal, 7(1), 279-279.