We live in a world in which medicine continues to evolve leading to an increase in average lifespan, so why would anyone want to cut their time short? Physician assisted suicide (PAS) is a fairly new concept in medicine, it “Occurs when a physician facilitates a patient’s death by providing the necessary means and/or information to enable the patient to perform the life ending act” (Physician Assisted Suicide, 1995). Due to the nature of the act, there have been major ethical and social issues surrounding PAS. Many believe that it goes against certain religious beliefs and medical ethics while others note that people diagnosed with terminal diseases should have the right to choose between life and death. Nonetheless, PAS can be a positive
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Consequently, a significant number of patients needlessly suffer physical pain and mental distress at the end of life” (Miller, Miller, Jolley, 2001). Pain progresses with every stage of a terminal illness; therefore medical providers will prescribe more potent drugs such as opiates. However, opioid drugs are a double-edged sword due to their ability to reduce pain while causing respiratory depression eventually resulting in death. Hospices provide a high nurse-to-patient ratio of 1:12 creating an unsafe environment and burnout for the nurse. Burnout causes an overworked nurse to deliver poor quality of care to a patient during the last stages of their illness. Current practice to sedate a patient experiencing intractable pain requires a large dose of morphine which can ultimately result in death and this is viewed as acceptable. However, injecting the same type of dosage with the intent to assist in death is considered impermissible. Sedating a patient to the point of unconsciousness is to supply the patient with a dead bearing agent just like in PAS. Providing ineffective pain management does not better a patient’s quality of life, it simply prolongs unnecessary agony, proving PAS’s value as a choice for those who want
Consequently, a significant number of patients needlessly suffer physical pain and mental distress at the end of life” (Miller, Miller, Jolley, 2001). Pain progresses with every stage of a terminal illness; therefore medical providers will prescribe more potent drugs such as opiates. However, opioid drugs are a double-edged sword due to their ability to reduce pain while causing respiratory depression eventually resulting in death. Hospices provide a high nurse-to-patient ratio of 1:12 creating an unsafe environment and burnout for the nurse. Burnout causes an overworked nurse to deliver poor quality of care to a patient during the last stages of their illness. Current practice to sedate a patient experiencing intractable pain requires a large dose of morphine which can ultimately result in death and this is viewed as acceptable. However, injecting the same type of dosage with the intent to assist in death is considered impermissible. Sedating a patient to the point of unconsciousness is to supply the patient with a dead bearing agent just like in PAS. Providing ineffective pain management does not better a patient’s quality of life, it simply prolongs unnecessary agony, proving PAS’s value as a choice for those who want