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Physician-Assisted Suicide
Should it be permissible for one to take his life?
Previously and now in many cultures, suicide has been considered as a best option in some certain situations of life. For example, in flashback we see Cato the Younger took away his life instead of living under Caesar. For stoics, suicide was a preferred and rational act and there was nothing immoral in suicide instead it was a best option (Long 1986, 206). On the other hand, In Christianity suicide is considered as an immoral act which defies God's will by being socially harmful and opposing the laws of nature (Edwards 2000). This outlook, to consider Hume' approach, disregards the fact that indenting suicide as an act that is possible, it is in no way countering God's will or nature (Hume 1986). However, the idea of permitting one to take away his life has negative impacts on public policy ethics in various ways. Now here we will concisely study physician-assisted suicides case in which an individual's desire to die might be helped through the action of another.
Suicide is the spontaneous act of ending one's own life by introducing the fatal and life threatening substance in the body. Physicians can directly or indirectly aid in the introduction of such substance in the body of the victim. As far as the term Physician-assisted suicide is concerned, it is actually a practice carried out by the physicians to provide the prescription of such medications that assists the patients in their suicidal activity (Stanford, 2013).
There are many physicians who oppose the concept concerning to Physician-assisted suicide while some of the physicians also back such point-of-view. Those who oppose this concept believe that the suicidal activities are against the very laws of the nature and assisting the patients by prescribing them the suicidal medications is the defiance of the fundamental tenant of medication. PAS is the actual abbreviation for the term Physician-assisted suicide and it is named as doctor-assisted suicide in the UK (Stanford, 2013).
However...
Various terms are used by the commentators to explain the different objectives regarding this concept, such as "Physician-assisted suicide"euthanasia" and even the term "physician-assistance in death" etc.
Certain laws are established for the cases in which the patients are granted to acquire death. Physician-assisted death is allowed in some countries like Netherlands and Belgium. According to the laws of such countries there are two different scenarios, where the patients are allowed to ask for the suicidal acts to end their life. These two scenarios include the following conditions:
• If the patient is facing the agony of physical suffering
• Or if the patient is suffering from the psychological pains and disorders (Stanford, 2013).
Hume believed in a thought that suicide is a guilt and allegation free act (Hume 1986, 20) and certainly suicide doesn't come in the category of crime in UK since 1961 (Martin 1997, 451). However it is a special statutory crime to assist, support or counsel a suicide. Though only few of such prosecutions are brought. Lately PAS's issue has been highlighted and it has been debated on the conditions under which individuals should decide their death timings and manners, and whether they shall be enable to enlist the aid of physicians (Steinbock 2005, 235). The British Medical Association is against euthanasia (mercy killing) however it does accept legally and ethically that a patient can decline life-prolonging treatments, which certainly means that they can commit a suicide (BMA 1998). Failure to the prevention of suicide doesn't constitute abetting (Martin 1997, 451) though PAS's laws are not different for the person who is counseling someone to commit suicide (BMA 1998).However, In Oregon, PAS's restrictions on competent individuals' requests has been made legal (Steinbock 2005, 235, 238). There should be fine line drawn to differentiate suicide from mercy killing, i.e. acts in which…
Bibliography
BMA. 1998. Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide: Do the moral arguments differ? London: BMA.
Edwards, P. 2000. 'Ethics of suicide', in The Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. London: Routledge, 870-71.
English, V. Romano-Critchley, G., Sheather J. And Sommerville, A. 2003. 'Ethics Briefings', Journal of Medical Ethics 29: 118-119
Hume, D. 1986. 'Of Suicide', in Singer, P. (ed.) 1986. Applied Ethics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 19-27.
Standford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, (2013), accessed online <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/consequentialism/#WhaCon>
Perhaps the most reasonable objection to physician-assisted suicide relates to the subjective element of quality of life and the degree to which that perception (on the part of the patient) is susceptible to temporary influence, such as from clinical depression or temporary physical pain or disability. To overcome that objection, it would be necessary to outline objective principles and guidelines capable of allowing physician-assisted suicide in justifiable situations while
At the very least, those that hold different opinions on physician-assisted suicide should agree that medical treatment must never be at odds with moral treatment. Even though medical treatment is specialized and often differs from the way human beings usually treat each other, medical treatment should never be placed in the position where it goes against the basic moral ideals of how human beings should treat each other. As pointed out,
Introduction Euthanasia, and all its variations including physician-assisted suicide, terminal sedation, and involuntary euthanasia, are among the most challenging issues in bioethics. The Hippocratic Oath, the classic ethical doctrine that guides medical practice, denounces euthanasia. However, the Hippocratic Oath is an anachronistic document that serves more sentimental and symbolic functions than pragmatic, ethical, or legal ones. Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are both defined as the “deliberate action taken with the intention
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
Euthanasia remains one of the most contentious issues in bioethics, with implications for healthcare practice, law, and public policy. Even when religious arguments are excluded from the debate, it is difficult to determine how healthcare workers and policymakers should consider the complex issues surrounding how a person dies and what situational variables to take into account. Complicating the issue is how to define euthanasia, differentiate between active and passive types
If the act of killing another is imply universally banned, the definition of ethical action is greatly simplified, and all gray areas are decided on the side of caution. The above areas of concern are very real; there is evidence that non-voluntary euthanasia occurs in other countries where assisted suicide is an accepted medical practice (Debate, 2009). Mental health is often in issue with chronic diseases and end-of-life care,