Passive Euthanasia and Physician Assisted Suicide
Passive euthanasia and physician assisted suicide have become hot topics of late and many people think it is about physicians becoming killers and 'putting patients to sleep' much like is done with animals. This is not true, however, despite the opinions that many hold. The main problem is that many feel that passive euthanasia and physician assisted suicide will give doctors too much control over the deaths of their terminally ill patients. This is not the case, however, as passive euthanasia and physician assisted suicide will actually give the terminally ill patients more control over their death, and therefore by extension, more control over their life. Not all physicians would be able to do this in good conscience but there are some, most notably Dr. Jack Kevorkian, that feel that they are capable of this type of practice in order to help the suffering of their patients. There are many individuals that feel as though passive euthanasia is morally permissible because the doctor is not actively doing anything to speed the course of the patient's death. This is believed to be harmless in that the person that is terminally ill is simply allowed to die naturally and the death is not forced or encouraged, but simply not sto
In physician assisted suicide this is not the case. In either aspect the patient dies and the doctor is the one who has assisted in this. Not only do these patients that wish to partake of physician assisted suicide have concerns about their own declining physical and mental abilities but many of them are also concerned about financial burdens that are placed on their family, losing control of what it is that they are able to do with their lives, and being alone and in pain in later years as a disease progresses. Individuals that are competent and find that the suffering that they are enduring and the suffering that their family is going through far outweighs the value that they still have in their life should not have to shoot themselves, starve themselves, or jump off of a high place in order to end their lives. Suicide in itself used to be illegal throughout the country but that is no longer the case. Naturally, if there are pain medications that will help the patient or if there is some strong chance that the patient can be helped and made to get better by normal medical means this should be undertaken. Some believe that permitting physician assisted suicide would allow for involuntarily euthanizing patients that are frail or elderly and also patients that are incompetent. It is assumed that this is why these individuals consider the ending of their lives. Because of this many of these individuals seek out physician assisted suicide so that they may end their lives with at least some dignity left. There is no concern that the doctor will be coming in to kill the patient at some appointed hour. Many of these individuals are not able to control their bladder or bowel functions, they may have vomiting that cannot be stopped, severe wasting away of their body, no mobility, or a total and complete dependence on other individuals. There are quite a few arguments that want to keep physician assisted suicide illegal because of the possibilities for misjudgment and misuse of this procedure. These individuals also lose much of their dignity and many of the things that they feel made them human in the past have been lost to them. Pain is not the only reason, nor does it appear to be the most popular reason, that these individuals seek physician assisted suicide. Other arguments include the fact that patients that wish to commit suicide can do it on their own, but this seems relatively cruel as taking a fatal dose of medication prescribed by a doctor will not induce any type of pain or suffering and will be not nearly as traumatic on the patient and those that the patient leaves behind.
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Acceptance Essays
