Moral Question of Hastening the Death of a Terminally Ill...

When deciding the most righteous type of way to appropriately end a life of a love one, many thoughts come through as weather the practice of euthanasia is an ethically correct medical procedure. There are many decisions that must be made regarding how to properly treat a individual who want to end there own life. Controversial views have always been made against those who suggest that terminally ill or incurably suffering people should be allowed to ask for and receive help to die if they so wish. The same set of arguments in opposition toward euthanasia is, that life is sacred and by legalizing physician assisted suicide would lead to abuses by the medical field. A fundamental question concerning hastening the death of a terminally ill patient are, evaluating if this act is a virtue of kindness prompted by a sense of mercy and respect for an individuals wishes? If this is not a act of a moral virtue thought then, it is an act of murder and a violation of the Hippocratic Oath. Some patients who decide that they wish to commit suicide are unable or unwilling to accomplish the act without assistance from their physician. Physician-assisted suicide helps them to die under conditions, and at the time, that they choose. PAS is currently legal only in Oregon, Washington, and Montana. In other states, terminally ill individuals who want to die must continue living until their body eventually collapses or until a family member or friend commits a criminal act by helping them toShow MoreRelatedThe Debate Over Physician Assisted Suicide951 Words   |  4 Pagesof a loved one and murder? Is there a moral dissimilarity between letting someone die under your care and killing them? Assuming that PAS suicide is legal under certain circumstances, how stringent need be these circumstances? The patient must be terminally ill to qualify for voluntary physician-assisted suicide, but in the eyes of the non-terminal patients with no physical means to end their life, the ending of their pain through PAS may be worth their death; at what point is the medical staff disregardingRead MoreThe Legalization of Physician-Assisted Suicide Essay2393 Words   |  10 Pagesphysicians in the suicides of terminally ill patients is increasing. Much of the controversy surrounding physician-assisted suicide however focuses on the debate over whether the practice should be legalized. A woman suffering from cancer became the first person known to die under the law of physician-assisted suicide in March of 1998. In 1994, voters in Oregon approved a referendum called the Death with Dignity Act, which was enacted in 1997. This law allows patients who have been given six monthsRead MoreEuthanasia And Assisted Suicide : A Patient s Choice1742 Words   |  7 Pages Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide: A patient s choice in their type of death. When a patient is terminally ill or is experiencing extreme pain, often Euthanasia or Assisted Suicide can both be plausible options to end any suffering. Euthanasia is currently legalized in seven countries and parts of the United States (New Health Guide). This number is not likely to increase soon because of the high controversy, which is due to the very serious topic of this matter: a person s life. The generalRead MoreEssay on Euthanasia in Nursing731 Words   |  3 Pagesgood and thanatos meaning death. Generally, euthanasia implies the intentional termination of life that is initiated by a person who wishes to commit suicide. However, euthanasia has many meanings and as a result, has several terms that define and differentiate various types of euthanasia. For instance, passive euthanasia is altering a form of support thereby hastening the death of a person, i.e. removing life support or not delivering CPR. Causing the death of a person through a direct actionRead MoreThe Debate Of Physician Assisted Suicide1321 Words   |  6 PagesPhysician assisted suicide as, suicide by a patient facilitated by means (as a drug prescription) or by information (as an indication of a lethal dosage) provided by a physician who is aware of the patient s intent (Webster, 1977). Physician Assisted Suicide Physician assisted suicide was brought to mainstream attention in the 1990’s due to Dr. Kevorkian’s â€Å"suicide machine, who claims to have assisted over 100 suicide deaths of terminally ill patients with Alzheimer’s disease (Dickinson, p. 8)Read MoreIntroduction. Euthanasia Is A Unique Practice Of Ending1546 Words   |  7 PagesGreek - eu, good, and thanatos, meaning death (Russell, 1997). However, some think of euthanasia as merely a mercy killing, while others see it as unjustified murder. Euthanasia is portrayed as a controversial topic that seems to have no grey area, simplified as either black or white. It may seem as though factors such as the conscience right of physicians’ conflicts with the autonomy of patients regarding euthanasia when deciding the fate of a patient. This paper will explore the perspective surroundingRead MoreThe Euthanasia Debate1211 Words   |  5 PagesEuthanasia is defined as the painless killing of a terminally ill p atient by means of lethal injection by a doctor in a controlled medical environment. Similarly, physician assisted suicide (PAS) is when a patient requests a lethal prescription from a doctor or pharmacist to end their life before a fatal disease does. The two are akin to each other and are almost interchangeable in definitions. Being a highly controversial topic, there is a plethora of arguments surrounding PAS, all very emotionallyRead MoreEuthanasi Voluntary Active Euthanasia, Passive Euthanasia And Physician Assisted Suicide1143 Words   |  5 Pageschoice to end a patient s life. This keeps them from going through excruciating pain due to an incurable disease. Some people think euthanasia should be out of the picture while others inquiry the effectiveness of these actions. With effectiveness, euthanasia is classified in three categories. There are three types of euthanasia; voluntary active euthanasia, passive euthanasia and physician assisted suicide. Voluntary euthanasia is actually deliberate intervention meaning by a patient wanting terminationRead MoreEuthanasi An Alternative Mode Of Life Care1769 Words   |  8 PagesStates that affects the terminally ill. It includes physician-assisted suicide, which is legal in five states and the practice of euthanasia which is illegal. (Barone, 2014). Delving deeper into the issue of end of life care reveals that this issue affects far more than the patient that is suffering. It raises the question of whether or not it is acceptable to reject the request of a person based solely on the socio-religious values of protecting life and ignoring the moral responsibility of endingRead MoreEuthanasi Assisted Suicide?1252 Words   |  6 PagesNovember 2014 Euthanasia: Assisted suicide Which is better - suffering, pain, and holding onto life for a period of time or just being laid to rest in peace? Nine out of ten people would pick the latter (Georgia State University) if just asked that question without a scenario, but when given the scenario and thinking about their family they might change their opinion. Euthanasia is related to this because it is the destruction of life, and in today’s society, medications can help with pain and suicide