Active Euthanasia And Physician Assisted Suicide

Between 1990 and 1998 Dr. Jack Kevorkian earned the nickname Dr. Death after taking the lives of 130 willing patients. His first patient, Janet Atkins, died in a bed in the back of his Volkswagen van parked in a campground near his home, and from then on there was no shortage of patients for Kevorkian to see. There is only one explanation as to why people wanted to die this way: it was better than the deaths they were promised by their terminal illnesses. Arrested and trialed many times, Kevorkian was not fazed by the government’s attempts to stop him, however as time passed the doctors actions became more erratic. After attending court in colonial-era clothing to symbolize how out of date he believed that laws were, he was finally convicted …show more content…
There are two distinct types of euthanasia, both of which are entirely separate from PAS. A doctor withdrawing or withholding treatment is known as passive euthanasia. Although no one has taken any specific action that would case death, the lack of intervention has had the same effect. Active euthanasia is a doctor taking a specific action that will directly lead to death. For example a doctor injecting a patient with a lethal does of a drug is classified as active (Broeckaert 64). There are many arguments about with variety is morally better. Some argue that passive is better because there is no specific action that can be traced back to the cause of death; a doctor is not required to do something they know will kill a patient, but they are essentially waiting for their patient to die. On the other hand active does required a definitive action and may cause a doctor to feel responsible. However, there is a better option. When a patient is terminal and makes a request, the doctor writes a prescription the patients fills themselves and then is able to take whenever they see fit (Broeckaert 64). With PAS there is never any pressure to schedule a date or need to die in a hospital. The prescription is taken whenever the patient determines the suffering outweighs the benefits, in their own home, surrounded by loved ones. PAS allows patients to take back the control of their life lost when they were diagnosed with a terminal