Statement of Issue
Physician-assisted suicide is legalized in five U.S. states: California, Montana, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. By state law, individuals with a terminal illness as well as six or less months to live have the choice to take. Physicians who prescribe medications to accelerate death in these states cannot be legally prosecuted. Participation by the physician is entirely voluntary, however, there are several emotional and psychological tolls that physicians may face after prescribing medication to a patient that can lead to the death of the patient. Doctors have explained being extremely negatively affected by the abruptness of death and having a sense of seclusion and helplessness as well as having to deal with some legal …show more content…
Provides people with the right to die with dignity in a humane and painless way on their own terms. Ending a patient’s suffering may prevent the usage of valuable medical resources as well as reducing medical costs of elongating the life of a suffering patient resulting in more resources for other patients and less medical costs for the family of the patient. o Disadvantages: Deciding to end one’s life prematurely may result in missing an opportunity to receive better treatment that may have been developed during the time they would still be alive, but be too late. Many current state policies have significant restrictions on physician-assisted suicide and this may be seen as an intrusion on the rights of states to run their state like the majority in that state may want.
• A federal mandate that all states that legally allow physicians or medical practitioners with the ability to prescribe medication to assist in the hastening of the death of a competent patient for the sake of relieving the amount of the patient’s suffering with dignity to provide state-funded training for medical doctors and how to deal with the emotional trauma that may result after participation in these
Physician-assisted suicide is legalized in five U.S. states: California, Montana, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. By state law, individuals with a terminal illness as well as six or less months to live have the choice to take. Physicians who prescribe medications to accelerate death in these states cannot be legally prosecuted. Participation by the physician is entirely voluntary, however, there are several emotional and psychological tolls that physicians may face after prescribing medication to a patient that can lead to the death of the patient. Doctors have explained being extremely negatively affected by the abruptness of death and having a sense of seclusion and helplessness as well as having to deal with some legal …show more content…
Provides people with the right to die with dignity in a humane and painless way on their own terms. Ending a patient’s suffering may prevent the usage of valuable medical resources as well as reducing medical costs of elongating the life of a suffering patient resulting in more resources for other patients and less medical costs for the family of the patient. o Disadvantages: Deciding to end one’s life prematurely may result in missing an opportunity to receive better treatment that may have been developed during the time they would still be alive, but be too late. Many current state policies have significant restrictions on physician-assisted suicide and this may be seen as an intrusion on the rights of states to run their state like the majority in that state may want.
• A federal mandate that all states that legally allow physicians or medical practitioners with the ability to prescribe medication to assist in the hastening of the death of a competent patient for the sake of relieving the amount of the patient’s suffering with dignity to provide state-funded training for medical doctors and how to deal with the emotional trauma that may result after participation in these