The US Should Legalize Suicide, Essay Example

Most physicians in the US are cornered. They have been pressed into what is known as a catch -22 situation. The issue that has brought so much anxiety to them is physician-assisted suicide. This is where doctors and other healthcare professionals help terminally ill patients to die. This they do by injecting lethal medication into the patient. They can also take the patient off the oxygen mask or use other techniques to end the lives of their patients (Back et al 1257).

Most doctors who are called to assist in this heinous transaction are not comfortable with it. First and foremost, doctors are bound by the Hippocratic Oath. This oath that doctor’s take at the end of their training binds them to medical ethics. It states that a doctor should not inject his or her patients with poison. It forbids doctors from doing anything that might harm the health of their patients. Assisting patients to die by injecting them with lethal drugs is against this oath (Back, Wallace, Starks and Pearlman 919).

Any form of killing is emotionally destructive to the killer. This is why so many veterans who returned from Vietnam had to undergo psychiatric examination and treatment. This is because killing by whatever name destroys one emotionally. Legislating physician assisted suicide will do more harm to the physician than to the patient. It will destroy the physician. This cannot be allowed to happen. This is because doctors are extremely notable people and we cannot let them be destroyed this way (Back, Wallace, Starks and Pearlman 919).

Apart from destroying the doctor, it is remarkable to remember that America has not gone entirely amoral and atheistic. Doctors have consciences and feel guilt like the rest of us. To legalize physician-assisted suicide is to disregard the fact that doctors have morality like the rest of us. Most American physicians subscribe to the main religions in the country. According to the aforementioned religions, to kill is to sin against God. Thus, it is disregarding the morality and spirituality of the doctors to require them to assist in patient suicide (Back et al 1257). Studies have found that those doctors and nurses who assist in suicide are amoral and irreligious. They have also been found to be relatively young. This implies that the majority of doctors are not willing to get involved in euthanasia (Battin 22).

The institution of medicine has been there from time immemorial so that it can save lives. The sole reason why we need doctors is so that they can save lives that are in danger. To involve doctors in suicide of patients is to mock their profession. It is to put their professionalism on the line. This author prays that America will not allow physician assisted suicides. This is because they go against the spirit of saving lives that is the anchor of medicine.

Cases of wrong diagnosis are many in hospitals today. Most doctors give a wrong diagnosis and prognosis. This is due to the fact that most diseases have the same symptoms. The medical profession has realized this, and that is why it requires a second opinion after the first diagnosis has been given.Thus, it is no wonder if a patient who is termed as terminally ill turns out to have a minor medical condition. If he or she is assisted to die, the doctor will suffer irreparable internal damage (Battin 22).

The legislation to allow physician- assisted deaths is not considerate. It does not consider the thousands of doctors who will be required to kill patients against their will. All the people who have a conscience should rise against this legislation. This is because it is going to destroy our doctors.

Works Cited

Back, AL., Wallace, JI., Starks, HE and Pearlman RA. Physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia in Washington State. Patient requests and physician responses. JAMA, 275.12(1996):919.

Back, AL., Starks, H., Hsu, C., Gordon, JR., Bharucha, A. and Pearlman RA. Clinician-patient interactions about requests for physician-assisted suicide: a patient and family view. Arch Intern Med. 162.11(2002):1257.

Battin, MP. The Least Worst Death. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994.