Legalizing Assistive Suicide - 1278 Words

Assistive suicide, also known as euthanasia, â€Å"is suicide committed by someone with assistance from others, typically to end suffering from a severe physical illness† (American Heritage Dictionary, 615). This action is most commonly committed between doctor and patient interactions. This controversial issue depicts suicides as a helpful solution to personally benefit terminally ill patients, as opposed to a forbidden social issue. Assistive suicide has become a major debate of legalization. â€Å"This is an act of a physician prescribing a drug to a patient which drug the patient is able to take on his or her own without the assistance of a medical provider or another person. This drug generally results in unconsciousness within five minutes and death within thirty† (Levin, May 08, 2002). My concern with this matter has reached high limits. Due to the fact that is still illegal in certain states many patients aren’t able to relieve their pain or suffering. Assistive suicide is meant as a solution to end personal suffering, its not to involve the public’s opinion or decisions. This should be a personal choice. Assistive suicide should be an elective choice for anyone and everyone facing terminal illness. Not enabling assisted suicide violates human rights and infringes inalienable rights. Although illegal and a crime, assistive suicide has been attempted in the past. In February 2013 a case of assisted suicide was â€Å"charged against Philadelphia nurse Barbara Mancini, accused ofShow MoreRelatedMedical, Social And Ethical Reasons Essay1537 Words   |  7 PagesSince the development of medicine, people have requested doctors to end suffering through physician assisted suicide (PAS) (Boudreau 1). PAS refers to the practice in which physicians knowingly provide an individual with the means and/or knowledge to commit suicide, which includes counselling about medication and prescribing or supplying such drugs (Pereira 1). In my opinion, terminally ill patients should be allowed to end their lives through PAS because it affords the patients the choice of whether