Oregon Death with Dignity Act

drugs do not actually take them, just knowing that they have it there is comforting to them. “Terminally ill patients are not as interested in accelerating death as they are in knowing that there is an option to a peaceful and humane death should all other efforts to relieve this suffering fail.” (“Aid 21”) The motive for Physician Assisted Death is not always to relieve suffering. In many cases, people prefered PAD over any other treatment due to things such as financial issues or not wanting…

Death: Who Has The Right? What does death mean to you? Is it an act of God or an effect of our mortality? If you were in an irreversible state or had a terminal illness, how would you want to spend your last days? Who would you want to dictate how you lived your last moments: a political leader, congressman, family member, or yourself? Death is an imminent result for all of us so we should have the rights to die the way that is ideal for unideal situations. What is your perspective? Should our…

frustration at being a burden to his family and has brought a legal prescription of a very high-dose phenobarbital to the pharmacy. The prescription is clearly intended to be used as a tool for assisted suicide. If I was a pharmacist in the state of Oregon, I would attempt to speak with the patient about what they are going through and demonstrate empathy towards their situation. However, if the patient still wanted the prescription I would dispense it and instruct them on what they needed to do…

engaging in physician assisted suicide is one of the most profound ways in which a person can exercise their autonomy. California, Oregon, and Washington have passed legislation that legalizes physician suicide, since the majority of in these states subscribes to this line of reasoning. However, many others believe that if you choose to use physician assisted suicide, the act itself destroys the person’s agency and autonomous choice. One such proponent is John P. Safranek, and he outlines his…

drawn out death and their families are not forced to watch them fade away. Though assisted suicide has been a highly debated issue since ancient times, a consensus has yet to be reached and it remains a controversial topic, especially in today’s society, where many are hopeful of finding a cure for everything tomorrow. In ancient Greece, assisted suicide was legal, though not everyone agreed with this position. While Plato wrote, “Mentally and physically ill persons should be left to death;…

There are others that embrace certain death rituals, and to disrupt the passage of life by doing so artificially would greatly disrespect the patient’s cultural norms and practices. Additionally, important to note are the religious views of the physician and healthcare providers involved. Oftentimes…

Dying with Dignity I present to you a reality of intolerable suffering and torment with it’s not so distant relative, disease. Disease, who is often times incurable, malicious, seeking to make life intolerable, all the while inducing the hopeless to die. Indeed, even the rapid development of modern medicine does not assure the victim a means to cheat death. So if death is inevitable, what do we do to help those that fall under such circumstances? The answer is to let them decide to when and how…

medications in lethal doses, Physician Assisted Suicide is when a doctor makes a patient’s death less difficult by providing him or her with a lethal dose of medication such as barbiturates or a combination of medications to allow the life ending act or to refrain the patient from receiving treatments that are used to prolong a terminally ill patients life. The physician lends the knowledge but the person does the act. While, euthanasia is when someone actually administers the medication…

physician aware of the patient 's intent.” To expound, when a patient decides that they no longer have a desire to live, assisted suicide provides the option to allow a physician to give the patient death-inducing drugs to end the patient’s life. A prime…

topic within our society. In America the Death with Dignity Act has been legalized in five states, California, Colorado,…