Physician Assisted Suicide Argumentative Essay

The idea of life and death has always been a concept that many people try to avoid, but what happens when a loved one becomes too ill to live? This question has given rise to the idea of euthanasia and Physician-assisted suicide, which although may seem similar, have very different properties. Although physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia both support the belief that one has the right to choose their own fate, the constant backlash in society has limited its practice resulting in the disappearance of a method which, although unorthodox, offer a relief to people suffering from deadly diseases.
Euthanasia is “the intentional killing by an act of . . . a dependent human being for his or her benefit” (MCCL.org) and involves two different methods. One of the most …show more content…
One of the most debated problems is the issue on drug dosages, which in the case of Physician Assisted Suicide is considerably high. Surprisingly, “the usual doctor-prescribed suicide dose for each is 9,000 to 10,000 mg. That is 90 to 100 times the usual therapeutic dose” (Patientsrightscounsil.org). With a surprisingly high dosage, the constant speculation if the process is painful or not continues to plague the minds of the curious. This applies to Euthanasia as well as the process of depleting someone of nourishment or lethal injection may be accompanied by unpredictable effects. Whether or not they produce positive feedback from society, they offer relief to patients and are surprisingly accepted by a large portion of medical professionals as a way of relief. As stated by healthresearchfund.org “According to research, some 66% of U.S. adults believe that a doctor or nurse should allow a patient to die in certain circumstances . . . The average percent of terminally ill patients who die while in pain is 55%” while these statistics may seem alarming, this only encourages the need for such practices