Physician-Assisted suicide and Euthanasia has become a controversial term in politics in recent years, but the headlines that have occurred most recently have stirred the situation once again. In the United States, there are four states that have legally allowed terminally ill patients end their lives on their own terms, those states include: California, Oregon, Washington and Vermont. Montana also allows physician-Assisted suicide, but it is only on a case-by-case basis. Physician-Assisted suicide and Euthanasia have common themes that tend to be discussed on such a controversial topic, such as the legality of death with dignity, what it means to use Physician-Assisted suicide, what determines whether or not patients are able to receive such
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However, there is a slight difference between Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted suicide, which is who takes charge in ending the individual’s life. Euthanasia can occur in two circumstances, passive and active. The authors in Attitudes Toward Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide decipher between to two variations of Euthanasia:
Active euthanasia refers to a positive act of commission- what is being done to in order to actively terminate life- while passive euthanasia refers to an act of omission- some procedure/ treatment will be excluded in order to preclude elongation of the patient’s life, which will eventually lead to death. Both are carried out with the intent to end the patient’s life. (2013)
The administration of Euthanasia can be voluntary or involuntary, and its difference lies in whether or not the patient was able to ask the doctor or nurse for the drug (Bergman, Azar, Huberfeld, et al 2013). Physician-Assisted suicide according to Merriam-Webster is “suicide by a patient facilitated by means or information (as a drug prescription or indication of lethal dosage) provided by a physician who is aware of how the patient intends to use such means or information” …show more content…
When the individuals who took the survey were asked about the ability for disabled children or adults to use Euthanasia or Physician-Assisted suicide almost everyone was against it, which is unexpected because Austria at one time was under Hitler’s Authoritarian regime (Stolz, Burkert, et al 2015). A survey done on American’s agree with that of Austria’s survey as 48% of those surveyed believe that Physician-Assisted suicide is morally wrong (Karaim 2013). When broken down by party the study shows that Democrats and Independents are more likely to support a patient’s decision to end their own lives than Republicans (Karaim 2013). This is not surprising because Democrats also support the rights of women to choose whether or not they get to keep their unborn child. The United States is known for its religious beliefs even though there is supposed to be a separation between church and state. It is no surprise that religious followers are against Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted suicide as it violates the sixth Commandment, “Thou shall not kill,” (Karaim 2013; Pickert
However, there is a slight difference between Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted suicide, which is who takes charge in ending the individual’s life. Euthanasia can occur in two circumstances, passive and active. The authors in Attitudes Toward Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide decipher between to two variations of Euthanasia:
Active euthanasia refers to a positive act of commission- what is being done to in order to actively terminate life- while passive euthanasia refers to an act of omission- some procedure/ treatment will be excluded in order to preclude elongation of the patient’s life, which will eventually lead to death. Both are carried out with the intent to end the patient’s life. (2013)
The administration of Euthanasia can be voluntary or involuntary, and its difference lies in whether or not the patient was able to ask the doctor or nurse for the drug (Bergman, Azar, Huberfeld, et al 2013). Physician-Assisted suicide according to Merriam-Webster is “suicide by a patient facilitated by means or information (as a drug prescription or indication of lethal dosage) provided by a physician who is aware of how the patient intends to use such means or information” …show more content…
When the individuals who took the survey were asked about the ability for disabled children or adults to use Euthanasia or Physician-Assisted suicide almost everyone was against it, which is unexpected because Austria at one time was under Hitler’s Authoritarian regime (Stolz, Burkert, et al 2015). A survey done on American’s agree with that of Austria’s survey as 48% of those surveyed believe that Physician-Assisted suicide is morally wrong (Karaim 2013). When broken down by party the study shows that Democrats and Independents are more likely to support a patient’s decision to end their own lives than Republicans (Karaim 2013). This is not surprising because Democrats also support the rights of women to choose whether or not they get to keep their unborn child. The United States is known for its religious beliefs even though there is supposed to be a separation between church and state. It is no surprise that religious followers are against Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted suicide as it violates the sixth Commandment, “Thou shall not kill,” (Karaim 2013; Pickert