Euthanasia And Physician Assisted Suicide Essay

Death is universal and everyone will face it. We don’t like to think about it, but we often do. Each individual hopes that they will die a painless and peaceful death in their sleep. However, this is not true for many unfortunate people. Certain diseases, such as aids, Alzheimer’s, cancer, and incurable tumors, as well as accidents that cause brain death or paralysis, often leaves us with unbearable physical pain or depression to the point that many would rather die than live a life of such agony. Often, people seek the aid of physicians to end their lives. The use of Euthanasia and Physician Assisted Suicide is sometimes sought by these individuals. These requests place a very large ethical and moral burden on the individual’s physician. The physician, and in some cases the nursing staff, must decide whether to continue palliative care (continued alleviation of suffering no matter what the diagnosis is). Individuals finding themselves in the role of doctors and nurses may encounter requests like this to assist them to end their lives to relieve their suffering and pain. At this point, it is necessary to define these terms and most commonly used methods of providing patient suicide which are Euthanasia and Physician Assisted Suicide. Euthanasia (derived from two Greek roots meaning “good death”) is ending the life of someone who is suffering who is incurably or terminally ill, based solely on the wishes of the person affected. There are three different types of…