¶ … Morality of Assisted Suicide Assisted suicide for terminally ill patients may be one of the most morally complex issues facing today's society, with a particular impact on modern healthcare workers. Modern medicine has progressed to a point where, in many instances, life can be prolonged for significant periods of time, well beyond when people would have died of terminal diseases in prior times. However, there have not been similar advances on the other side of the issue; death remains a relatively unchartered part of the healthcare spectrum, and there have not been significant advances in helping patients who no longer wish to extend their lives, but hasten the end of their lives and end their suffering. The choices remain limited for healthcare workers, who, in providing any type of euthanasia are seen as assisting suicide. This is a deeply morally complex issue. The taboo against the taking of human life, even one's own life, exists in every culture. However, there are many people who believe that compassion demands that people act to end suffering. The arguments against suicide include: the sanctity of human life; the possibility that assisted suicide would be abused, putting innocent life at stake; and that it would put healthcare professionals in an uncomfortable position. However, there is also a strong argument...
Therefore, society has a duty to preserve life. "To allow people to assist others in destroying their lives violates a fundamental duty we have to respect human life. A society committed to preserving and protecting life should not commission people to destroy it" (Andre & Velasquez). This appears to an almost universal imperative. Most of the major world religions consider suicide a sin or other taboo. In many countries, suicide is a crime, as if assisting any other person with the commission of a suicide. Allowing physicians to assist in a suicide would go against these well-established moral norms that have existed for thousands of years. In addition, there is the concern that sanctioning the taking of human life in one context would spread to other contexts, devaluing all of human life.
Assisted Suicide When we think of assisted suicide, most of us immediately think of Dr. Jack Kevorkian, the retired pathologist who was sentenced to two terms of imprisonment in 1999 for helping a man suffering from a terminal disease to die (Humphrey 2002). Assisted suicide is a very passionate issue of debate in this country. There are numerous ethical and moral considerations aside from the legal aspects of the practice. The
Essay Topic Examples 1. The Ethical Dilemmas of Assisted Suicide: Explore the complexities and moral challenges that emerge when considering the legalization of assisted suicide. Discuss various ethical frameworks, such as utilitarianism and deontology, and how they can be applied to understand the arguments for and against assisted suicide. 2. Assisted Suicide and Terminal Illness: Understanding Patient Autonomy: Investigate the concept of patient autonomy and its
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,
The Right to Physician-Assisted SuicideMany Americans who have been fortunate enough to live physically and mentally healthy lives may struggle to understand why anyone would want to voluntarily end their life, but it is clear that certain conditions, including even non-terminal disorders, require more than just palliative care in order to perverse the dignity and autonomy of individual patient rights. At present, however, physician-assisted suicides remain illegal in the majority
Ethical Issues of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia The ethical issues relating to assisted suicide and euthanasia have captured the attention of the public. The topic of Euthanasia is a contentious one and it inescapably incites strong emotional argument and gives rise to tough beliefs that do not straight away lend themselves to consensual harmony. It is improbable that a decision can be reached which will meet with universal support whenever such
Assisted Suicide: The DebateBrittany Maynard�s 2015 video posted by the British newspaper The Guardian is heartbreaking testimony to the intelligence and the forethought this young woman placed into her decision to request life-ending medication. It highlights that individuals who reject palliative sedation for the terminally ill do so because, like Maynard, they are afraid of the suffering and the loss of functioning that this can cause. Given that patients like
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