Physician Assist Euthanasia

Improved Essays
Without life we cannot have death; without death we cannot have life. Euthanasia is the process in which a person nearing the very end can decide to end their own life. Assisted suicide is when a physician prescribes to the patient a lethal, but legal dose or injection that will allow them to end their life and in some cases, certain states allow the physician to assist in the process and this process is known as physician assisted suicide. Physician assisted suicide became very well-known because of by Dr. Jack Kevorkian, who assisted with many suicides, faced prosecution and spent his final days a convicted criminal. While he did not die in prison he was only set free on the promise he would not assist with any more suicides. Should people …show more content…
Jack Kevorkian was a physician who believed that patients that were terminally ill should be allowed to make the decision whether to live or die. He believed it was ethical to allow those patients to die a “good death” (Lemming & Dickenson, 2011) by assisting them in suicide. Between 1990 and 1998 he assisted in more than 100 suicides; 130 to be exact. He faced prosecution for the people he had assisted in suicide and in 1997 was convicted of murder and sentenced to prison. Dr. Jack Kevorkian is the reason that palliative care among physicians is accepted. They now believe that a patient suffering such severe pain and are within a short time of dying should be allowed to have uncontrolled amounts of pain medication. Pain management for terminally ill patients is the sole purpose of palliative care. Dr. Kevorkian died in 2011 believing that by assisting in those suicides he had allowed his patients to die the “good death” he felt they deserved. Physician assisted suicide is now legal in four states and some …show more content…
The organizations sole purpose was to help people who wanted to take their own life. The Hemlock society published a book that printed detailed case studies about those that had chosen what they called self-deliverance (Lemming & Dickenson, 2011)
States where Euthanasia is Legal
Between 1994 and 2013 only four states have legalized Euthanasia. Those states being Oregon, Washington, Vermont, and Montana. While there were many questions as to whether to legalize the process all four states finally won and it became legal but not without specific contingencies. Those were 1. Had to be 18 years or older 2. The patient had to be a legal resident of the state 3. Competent and capable of expressing their final wishes 4. Be considered terminal and will die with six months. There have only been a few reported cases of legal physician assisted suicide since its legalization in these states.

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Of course they would have to be of sound mind. In addition, the request to a physician would have to be made several times, verbally and in writing. There would be two witnesses and more than one physician involved in order for the act of a physician assisted suicide to occur. (Leno) The purpose of this law is to grant those, whom choose to avoid the suffering that is a result of their fatal ailment, the ability to take control of their own lives in a humane and dignified manner.…

    • 535 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Not until the 1980’s, the only treatment option for a terminally ill patient was minimizing the pain during their final months. Dr. Jack Kevorkian, who is credited for inventing one of the first assisted suicide machines, is responsible for opening up the debate about physician assisted suicide. The debate has grown since Dr. Kevorkian was arrested in the 1990’s for the murders of some of his patients. Today, some may still argue that certain religions restrict the hastening of death for anyone. However, physician assisted suicide should be considered as another form of end-of –life care.…

    • 1946 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    A proponent of assisted-suicide and a controversial figure in the medical world is Dr. Jack Kevorkian. Dr. Kevorkian is a Michigan pathologist who has helped more than fifty people die since 1990 (Issues and Controversies: Assisted Suicide Update). Dr. Kevorkian maintains, "Passive Euthanasia is just natural death. Allowing someone to starve to death and die of thirst, the way we do now, is barbaric. The Nazis did that in the concentration camps …

    • 206 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Physician Assisted Suicide

    • 1395 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Seeing a loved one enduring excruciating agony due to an illness or medical condition can be unquestionably painful, especially terminal illnesses. By legalizing the physician-assisted suicide it gives the person enduring pain, as well as the family, another choice to help their loved one not suffer. However, only five states in the U.S. passed legislation for legalized physician-assisted suicide. This particular procedure differs in each state; however, it mainly involves a prescription from a licensed doctor approved by the state in which the patient legally resides. In the states that passed the “Death with Dignity Act”, such as Oregon, “The law requires the patient to be: 1) 18 years of age or older, 2) a resident of Oregon, 3) capable…

    • 1395 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Euthanasia also known as Physician-Assisted Suicide, is only legal in four states. The word Euthanasia is translated from the Greek as “Good Death”. Physician-Assisted suicide kills a person within six months of their illness, upon the person request. In these four states it costs to prescribe a lethal prescription that is diagnosed based upon their terminal illness. Other states believe that Euthanasia is another form of manslaughter.…

    • 439 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Kevorkian Assisted Suicide

    • 1219 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Kevorkian, M.D. started with a lady who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease and after reviewing her case he administered her medication to end her life. “Kevorkian’s help to Adkin’s was criticized as procedurally flawed, and Adkins’s mental competence was questioned because of her diagnosis (Gibbs 1990).” After performing multiple assisted suicides, Kevorkian M.D. was scrutinized and lost his license. He continued assisting people who wanted to die until he was arrested, convicted of murder and sentenced to several years…

    • 1219 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This article is written about the verdict which found Dr. Jack Kevorkian guilty of second degree murder back in 1999. Dr. Jack Kevorkian, or better known as “Dr. Death”, was sentenced to a minimum of 10-25 years in prison after “video taping himself injecting Mr. Youk, who was paralyzed, with lethal chemicals”. However, Dr. Kevorkian did not gain the title of “Dr. Death” directly from this case; rather, he was known to have facilitated at least 130 assisted suicide cases prior to Thomas Youk’s, with no serious legal charges pressed against him. So, what made Youk’s case differ from others one may ask? This time, unlike the many others, Dr. Kevorkian video taped himself injecting the 52 year old amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patient with lethal chemicals; nonetheless, in the four other legal cases he was involved in, he was known to have violated the laws against assisted suicide but only by helping patients give themselves fatal injections through a so called “suicide machine”.…

    • 551 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Therapeutic Nihilism

    • 1321 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Assisted Suicide by Mark Friedman defines physician assisted suicide as a,” form of suicide in which a doctor or nurse provides advice, instruction, or materials to the person who commits suicide” (Friedman). Physician assisted suicide and whether or not it should be legal is an age-old ethical issue sparking severe controversy. The debate dates back to “Greek and roman philosophers”. (Ferguson) There are books, news stories and movies that have been made about the issue.…

    • 1321 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Gagan Singh Singh 1 Mr.Nirwal CLU3M0-C 29th, Sep 2014 Forces that Change Laws (Dr. Jack Kevorkian) Jack Kevorkian was an American physician who was often referred to as “Dr. Death” because he believed because he claims to have physician-assisted suicide over 100 people. He simply believed that people had the right to die. He often stated, “Dying is not a crime”. Jack Kevorkian was born on May 26,1928 and he was an American pathologist.…

    • 733 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Physician Assisted Suicide It is hard to see a loved one suffer, but it is even harder to watch them commit suicide. Physician Assisted Suicide is a very popular topic that has been discussed among many people. “Assisted suicide involves one person providing the means and instructions to help another person commit suicide”(Fast Facts (Assisted Suicide)).…

    • 1482 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The four interviews conducted by the yellow team will undoubtedly render different viewpoints on euthanasia. The spiritual perspective considers the existence of human beings from the context in which God created; therefore, it is the moral duty of believers to not take the role of presumptive creators because the sanctity of life or destiny belongs to God alone (Marshall, 2015). Based on this belief, it is spiritually wrong to consider euthanasia to end life; however, the only circumstance in which it may considered justifiable is if exhaustive measures are being medically used to keep someone alive who is otherwise considered brain dead or terminally ill. The interview of the healthcare professional’s (Nurse Manager’s) perspective…

    • 875 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    “I have never actually caused a death, but I help people exercise their last civil right. In my opinion what Dr. Kevorkian did was legal in my eyes and from the research the patients showed no sign of suffering. However, most researcher say that Suicide is the act of killing oneself intentionally.…

    • 1140 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Pro Euthanasia Pro

    • 426 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Imagine, you were just told you have 3 months to live because of a terrible illness. You think it's over and you will die in excruciating pain, but there's another peaceful way out called dr.assisted suicide. Euthanasia is a quick painless death that puts you asleep and you will calmly leave. It's only legal in 3 states and that's why dr. assisted suicide should be legal in all 50 states.…

    • 426 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The right to euthanasia is embedded in the U.S. Constitution. It is included in four of the amendments listed in the Constitution — the First Amendment, the Ninth Amendment, the Tenth Amendment, and the Fourteenth Amendment — and in some parts of the Declaration of Independence. Along with these are religious concerns, which support the right to euthanasia as well. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, euthanasia is “the act or practice of killing someone who is very sick or injured in order to prevent any more suffering.”…

    • 1560 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Euthanasia is the purposeful taking of life to relieve suffering (Rathus, 2015). There are two main views on euthanasia, mercy killing or murder. The thought that someone would view this as murder is absurd to me. If someone you love is suffering from a terminal illness and doesn’t want to suffer anymore, why wouldn’t you want them to be at peace? There are only 5 states in the U.S. that allow euthanasia, but what most people don’t know is that you must meet certain criteria to receive the aid.…

    • 762 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays