Physician-Assisted Death

Life itself is something that is a journey and therefore that journey leads you to something that is guaranteed which is death. In actuality we are only living to die, so why not make the most of the time that we are here, why because this is a statement that corresponds to us as human beings, we are only living to die. However, the question remains how do you want to live, what are you remembered for, what did your life even mean? Well as the content of your character is judged by your own peers does death really mean something, or are you remembered bye the cause of death? This question will never be answered only to the ones who grief of the losses of their loved ones and others who have a vivid memory of what it was like to have that person here. People arent satisfied with their life and continue to figure out if they would rather live or die, so they decide to not live at their own personal risk without taking anything to extreme measures, but to end the suffering with a bit of help. The legal term for assisted suicide includes a licensed doctor providing lethal drugs to patients who have an incurable disease or illness that they no longer continue to manage. This is a gateway for people to go out on their own terms recollecting with their family as they share moments with them until they decide to go out in peace. Many believe that this practice is a wrong practice of medicine by law, allowing these professional doctors to use what they know to affect the people in harm's way. In other countries including the united states the practice of unlawful use of medicine has been used putting many in harmful situations.

A number of issues have begun to surface through the practice of assisted suicide, questioning judgement on how can professional physicians kill patients? As a licensed physician, you are able to practice the uses of medicine to ensure the well-being of patients mentally and physically. Normally, physicians understand the importance of life itself, as well as the functions of the body more than the average person, so they know the risk of death because they see it on an everyday basis. The patient understands before the departure of life they want to end their life with the dignity and happiness on their terms. Physicians who remain confused about the difference between killing a patient and allowing a patient to die should not be practicing medicine. (Solomon) Andrew Solomon was a writer and lecturer on psychology, politic and the arts.

Wanting to know how many people deal with assisted suicide has been a topic of interest to many that are not informed and know not much about the issue. When seeing one of your loved ones or a close one in this specific position it hurts. Laws and regulations were created and is known to be the Suicide Plan. It explains the plans to continue the insurance based on conditions of the patient. Most of us have trouble imagining so far in advance what we would have to lose before we, in our present state of mind, would judge our future, deeply demented selves no longer desirous of living. ( Borson ) Soo Borson is a professor of Psychiatry and behavioral sciences and also a community health nurse. The Quote that Borsons gives us means how are we to judge our own fate into the future. While everyone thinks seeking aid in dying is a special case with and for whom decisions must be individualized with framework of existing laws.

Questioning whether the doctors that take these orders and go through with the procedure should be protected or not or should we protect the patient only and spare their lives. Ones who don't have access to aid in dying can be affected by this knowing that their will be an end coming to their lives as well as many trying to use this for the wrong reason to die. Relationships that patients have with doctors and others outside the hospital test their rights to make choices of their own. The choices that these patients make can be as hard for the family members, friends and the physician who has to follow these orders. We subject people far more people in my own view to gracious agony. ( Solomon, Liberty and the right to die) Pain that the patients go through every day can only get better or worse for them. Time is everything to the patients, but sometimes they feel they have none left. Knowing that you might not have that much time left to live, you would want to end your life on your own terms instead of someone elser's or being operated on living a way that you don't want to live.

Assisted suicide comes with disagreement as the topic explains reasoning for any deaths that are expected and could have been prevented. Today many people and experts look at this issue and wants to know more about the issue. Politicians compare this subject, assisted suicide, with socrates. Socrates was a greek philosopher who helped establish the new eastern civilization. Socrates was a great man with great ideas but was troubles making choices to end his life. He had a decision to make. Socrates was given the chance to accept a death sentence or an exile from the country whom he corrupted. Socrates corrupted his countries youth of the Athens in 329 B.C. I believe that this was the first rule of assisted suicide used as an example for future generations.

Physician assisted suicide is legal in only seven US states and also the district of Columbia. Assisted suicide is a option that is given to some individuals by law in these seven states including district of columbia. In montana Assisted suicide is also legal but it is an option via court decision only. In order to receive assisted suicide you must have a terminal illness as well as an estimate of six months or less to live. Each legal state has a specific method they use for assisted suicide but they mostly involves a prescription from a licensed physician approved by the state in which the patient is a resident. Physician-assisted suicide differs from euthanasia, which is defined as the act of assisting people with their death in order to end their suffering, but without the backing of a controlling legal authority. Euthanasia is the painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma. Euthanasia and physician assisted suicide refer to deliberate actions taken with the intentions of ending a life, in order to relieve suffering. In most countries, Euthanasia is against the law and it may carry a jail sentence.

The difference between assisted suicide and Euthanasia is assisted suicide a doctor assist a patient to commit suicide if they request and Euthanasia a doctor is allowed by law to end a person's life by painless means, as long as the patient and their family agree. In Oregon the physician has to be a doctor of medicine to practice medicine and must be willing to participate in the act of assisted suicide. Vermont you have to be a doctor of medicine or Osteopathy to even write a prescription for a patient wanting to seek assisted suicide, and same for those that live in washington where it is also legal. In Colorado, the law allows an eligible terminally ill individual with a prognosis of six months or less to live to request and self administer medical aid in dying medication in order to voluntarily end his or her life ( CNN Physician Assisted Suicide)

Many states have tried to implement the legal right to die movement but most have failed at it, as many states passed a law making it illegal. The practice of this is illegal in at least forty states in the U.S. Washington and Oregon can practice this through the Death with Dignity Act. The Death with Dignity act is based on a growing movement in the United States that believes that terminally ill people should have the right to decide when, where and how their death occurs. Oregon was the first to adopt a Death with Dignity Act. Medication used for the death with dignity act is Secobarbital, which helps with falling asleep and keeping a patient sleep during a medical process or surgery. It is the most common medication prescribed, followed by pentobarbital. Typically 9 gram capsules of secobarbital and 10 grams of pentobarbital liquid all at once. Most patients fall asleep peacefully after about 10 minutes of drinking the life ending medication. These patients die within 1-3 hours later.

Life insurance policies issue a benefit even when the insured has taken their own life. Whether or not they have committed suicide or had aid with assisted suicide it would not affect the policies pay out. Both permanent life and term life insurance the first two years of coverage is known as the contestability period, meaning if you pass away during that period of time, your life insurance company will investigate your death by any means to make sure that you did not commit fraud or lie about your death. Many insurance companies would not pay but if the person who owns the life insurance policy commits suicide within the first 1-3 years. Insurance companies usually refund the family all the monthly payments made up to that point. The death benefit of the life insurance does not get paid. Assisted suicide is a type of suicide (hence the name). So in the past, an insurance company could deny your family your life insurance benefits if you chose to end your life due to a terminal illness. ( end of life act ) This can be beneficial to those that wants to look into assisted suicide and wants to know more about whether or not their insurance company will accept this.

Physicians increasingly support the concept of assisted death, but few have been part of one, even in states where itr's legal ( Health Leaders ). The number of doctors/physicians who support the idea of assisted suicide had risen, but in states where assisted death is legal there haven't been many doctors willing to be a part of the act. Almost 300 physicians said that they have practiced in states where assisted death is legal. 300 physicians which is nearly 16%, yet only 17% of physicians have actually assisted a patient. 13% received a request but kindly declined it and 70% never been asked to assist a patient's death. many respondents wrote comments that reflected the struggle between patient wishes and not wanting to prolong suffering, and the physicians commitment to First, do no harm. They differentiated between withholding components of ICU care, for instance, and actually helping to end someoner's life. Our role is to ease the suffering of the dying patient and their family. I am acutely aware that our modalities of treatment can become modalities of torture. As such, components of ICU care should be withheld at times, Medscape reported that Ian Hunt, MD, a pulmonologist, said. He added, I am very concerned that patient-assisted suicide could be misused. Physicians also expressed concern regarding mentally ill patients ( health leaders ). With only a year since assisted death became legal in some states, only a small number of doctors are willing to perform the procedure. This number is decreasing more and more as physicians believe taking a life is harder than they thought.

Cite this page