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Assignment 1: Is physician-assisted suicide morally acceptable when a person is suffering from a painful, incurable, terminal condition? Premise 1: Physician-assisted suicide is not morally acceptable under any circumstances.
According to the American Medical Association (2018), “permitting physicians to engage in assisted suicide would ultimately cause more harm than good,” (p. 1). The reasoning behind the AMA’s position is threefold. First, the AMA (2018) claims that physician-assisted suicide is “incompatible with the physician’s role as healer,” (p. 1). Second, the AMA points out that there are too many ways the process can be abused. As alternatives to physician-assisted suicide, the AMA recommends improving access to pain relief and emotional support to patients with terminal illnesses.
Another reason for opposing physician-assisted suicide is the rapid pace at which medicine advances. If a person has been diagnosed with a terminal illness, there is still a possibility—however slim—that either a cure or an ameliorative process might be discovered during the course of the person’s life. Moreover, the person should be considered as part of a broader social network. Friends and family members deserve the opportunity to remain with their loved one for as long as possible, providing holistic care. Because the goal of medicine is to heal and treat, not to terminate life, physicians cannot ethically engage in physician-assisted suicide.
Premise...
Moreover, physician-assisted suicide respects patient autonomy, which is a fundamental tenet in bioethics (American Medical Association, 2018). In other words, it is unethical to force a patient to continue suffering unnecessarily when death is certainly inevitable based on expert medical opinion. In cases where there is a terminal illness that entails suffering, “death could sometimes be in a persons best interests and a lesser evil than other bad things that might happen to her,” (Kamm, n.d., p. 1). Physician-assisted suicide is the ethical choice because it preserves patient autonomy, alleviates suffering, and promotes the principles of holistic care.
Death is inevitable. To prolong life at all costs is not the goal of medicine or healing. In fact, healing often entails the cultivation of mental or emotional acceptance to confront mortality. Attitudes towards death vary from culture to culture and person to person. A physician’s personal feelings regarding death need not be imposed on patients: doing so would constitute medical paternalism and would violate the principles of respect and autonomy. Physician-assisted suicide is also an elective choice, not something…
Physician Assisted Suicide Arguments Both Sides Introduction: Why Is Physician-Assisted Death Controversial? Physician-assisted suicide, or physician-assisted death, is now legal in four American states as well as in several countries including Canada and the Netherlands (Appelbaum. 2016). Generally, physician-assisted death applies to patients diagnosed with a terminal illness. The request to terminate the life prematurely is based on the patient’s tremendous suffering. In Canada, for example, “pphysicians whose patients disclose a wish
Physician-assisted suicide is a humane approach to dying and should be adopted legally in all states. Anyone who is terminally ill should have the right to choose how they die, specifically since they face death every day. Physician-assisted suicide is no more harmful than other methods of patient care that address patients needs, rights and desires. Given the fact that most terminally ill patients have a limited life to live,
In an article in the British journal Lancet, the doctor stated that he liked Helen right off the bat, and then issued this statement: The thought of Helen dying so soon was almost too much to bear… on the other hand, I found even worse the thought of disappointing this family. If I backed out, they'd feel about me the way they had about their previous doctor, that I had
(Foley, 54; Braddock and Tonnelli). This again, is an argument based more on conjecture rather than solid evidence. While it is true that depression may accompany many serious and terminal diseases and there are anecdotes about patients who changed their minds about suicide after treatment; no credible studies are available about how often it happens or even if antidepressant treatment would make patients requesting death, change their minds. (Angell,
Religioustolerance.org/euthanas.htm Stem cell research is a new field, one that was not yet envisioned by the apostles or other authors of the Bible. As a revolutionary form of healing, stem cell research and practice may not be entirely in conflict with scripture. Jesus was the ultimate healer, and therefore stem cell research can be viewed as an extension of this gift from God. Moreover, Luke himself was a physician who would
Introduction Physician-assisted suicide, or physician-assisted death, refers to “the process that allows terminally ill adults to request from their physician, receive from their pharmacist, and take a lethal dose of medication to end their life,” (Death with Dignity, n.d.). Although seemingly similar to euthanasia, physician-assisted death is different in that it tends to refer to situations where the patient does not act with autonomy. Physician-assisted death is still controversial and is