Physician Assisted Suicide Research Paper

Physician Assisted Suicide Every human being on earth will grow old and eventually pass away one day. It is a natural part of life. What happens, though, when this process is sped up by a disease that sooner or later becomes terminal, such as cancer? When a person is living in excruciating pain and suffering knowing death is right around the corner, should that person be allowed to make the decision to end his or her own life through the help of a physician? This is a debate that has been under scrutiny for decades now and every country around the world has its own opinion on the issue. This paper will discuss some of the different views in regards to physician assisted suicide. According to the Canadian Medical Association (2014), “Physician assisted suicide means that a physician knowingly and …show more content…
The key difference between euthanasia and physician assisted suicide, is that in the latter, it is the patient who performs the final act that results in his or her death, with assistance from the physician or someone else who provided the means (Glannon, 2005, p. 129). Currently, Oregon is the only state in the United States where physician assisted suicide is legal (Glannon, 2005, p. 129). In most other constitutions, it is illegal to end the life of a human being no matter what the circumstances are. Conversely, there are ongoing arguments with regards to the morality and legality of suicide in terminally ill patients. Some medical experts argue that terminal diseases expose patients to long years of pain and suffering before they eventually die, which is not avoidable (Kopelman & Allen, 2001). Also, these conditions can become medically expensive as they use sophisticated hospital equipment. Therefore, both the patient and family suffer both physically and financially before the patient dies. In some cases, the patient might want to be relieved of this pain and end his or her life altogether. Is this a right that a terminally ill