Explanation Of Physician Assisted Suicide - 1262 Words

Physician assisted suicide has been legal in Oregon since November 1997. Over 750 people have taken advantage of this law since it was passed. Many people think there is something wrong with such this and it should be outlawed. I will argue that there is no moral basis for the outlaw of such a practice. Explanation of physician assisted suicide Physician assisted suicide occurs when an ill patient consults a doctor and decides that they would like to end their life. Typically, the patient is prescribed a medicine that, when taken, will cause death rather quickly. Terminally ill patients favor this because it offers an end that would be less painful for them or their families. Rather than die in a hospital attached to tubes and machines,†¦show more content†¦A person who is dying of a terminal illness is faced with only one certainty; they will die from this disease. A doctor can say roughly the amount of time that a patient has, but they exact date and level of pain is hard to determine. Many may look to a physician for the answer on if they should/shouldn’t choose PAS, however, the only role a physician plays is giving the medical diagnosis and working with the patient to get what the patient feels is the best option. Therefore, the decision the patient makes doesnà ¢â‚¬â„¢t make the physician a moral guide, but rather a person doing their job. The last big decision people who are terminally ill have is when/how to die and it has to be their own and it has to be respected. Argument against Physician Assisted Suicide When a person commits suicide claiming their right to autonomy as a defense for such an action, they are giving up that very right. Leon Kass would describe this as a tragedy. If person is fighting for something with all their might, such as their right to be free, but then they allow that thing to be taken away to show they have the freedom to choose, they have undermined their whole argument. Using just autonomy as a basis for physician-assisted suicide is simply a contradiction. When a patient decides to end their life, but not by their own hands, they are telling a physician that they have