Oregon Death with Dignity Act

Analysis of an Ethical Dilemma (Part One) Health care professionals deal with a myriad of ethical issues on a daily basis and often, these are convoluted matters. Euthanasia, commonly defined as an intentional act of hastening a patient’s death, is one ethical issue that concerns end-of-life care and its complexities are highly emotional and contentious (Sanders & Chaloner, 2007; Ersek, 2004). The American Nurses Association’s (ANA, 2013) position on this controversial issue forbids nurses’…

Euthanasia, the act of allowing a person to die in most countries it's illegal, although can stop a person of suffering a terminally ill, goes against religion and physician's responsibility to save lives. In recent discussions of the practice of euthanasia, a controversial issue has been whether this act can morally harm society or could help people to stop suffering a terminally disease. On the one hand, some argue that taking a life in not tolerate it goes against the will of God and is…

terminally ill just? Should we allow the assisted death of individuals based on these variables? In this paper, we will seek to expound this question as well as apply it to the ethical theory of utilitarianism. There are two doctrines that can be used to evaluate this issue on whether it is entirely ethical or unethical. On one side of the argument, physician-assisted suicide is deemed as a way of relieving the suffering of others before an inevitable death. At the other end of this intense…

John Roberts, an Oregon resident, shot his wife Virginia with a gun. Virginia had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and wanted to die. She did not want to go through the process that is mandatory to get suicidal drugs. As a result, she asked her husband to end her life right then and there, and he did. Now the issue at hand is this: should this be considered murder or just an act of love that should be deemed the same as the assisted suicide drug? Assisted suicide, or euthanasia, has been a…

Right to Death Being the tenth leading cause of death in America, suicide is known as being the ultimate permanent solution, to a short term problem. A commonly argued form of suicide has risen: assisted suicide. A lethal dose of oral medication is prescribed by a physician to slow vital signs and end the life of patients who are terminally ill. This is not to be confused with euthanasia, the act of a physician assisting with the final act before death. Although this form of suicide may be…

willingness to “help” patients to suicide. The National Review continues in its editorial that Jack Kevorkian, a prominent physician and promoter of assisted suicide, was responsible for “vividly illustrating the actual indignity of the so-called "death with dignity" movement. Assisted suicide, advocates had assured the public, would be only a failsafe measure, the rare event to be used "as a last resort" to relieve the suffering of people who were about to die only when "nothing else could be…

Physician Assisted Suicide. It is the act of committing suicide with the aid of another person, most commonly a physician. This act involves the physician sitting down with the person, and guiding them through the process of ending their life, usually done by medication, counseling them through the lethal doses of drugs that would be used, prescribing and supplying said drugs to the patient. Many people do not agree with this act, mostly due to religious beliefs. In fact, out of the 50 states in…

Death is inevitable, its part of the circle of life. So, this notion that one has the right to end their lives by undergoing voluntary euthanasia sparks debate in regard to the moral justification of physician-assisted suicide. Physician-assisted suicide is defined as the killing of a person by the person’s own hand with the help of a physician (Vaughn 293). This is just another form to intentionally end one’s life in order to be relieved from pain and suffering. However, the Death with Dignity…

medical costs and the results are notable. A post in the Orlando Sentinel, referring to the savings in the Netherlands, expressed“2.7 percent of the deaths are from euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide, most of them cancer patients. In 90 percent of those cases, the patient 's life is shortened by four weeks or less. That would translate to 62,000 deaths in the United States and savings of $10,118 per person.” (Reuters). With these statistics, even if as little as 0.1 percent of the…

regulations can prevent abuse of the right to choose when to die with dignity and respect. To prolong a life that is creating more pain for not only the individual and the loved ones of that person can be considered inhumane. To determine ones fate on the opinion of others is not a reasonable premise to decide laws pertaining to another’s life. Since current laws hold responsibility for an individual’s actions, then right to choose life or death can only be decided by that sole individual.…