Physician-Assisted Suicide

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that assisted suicide is a complex moral and legal issue concerning procedures that expedite the deaths of patients by physicians. The paper cites the Oregon Death with Dignity Act, which is at the center of the debate among the advocates and enemies of assisted suicide. The paper also points out that, currently, strict restrictions exist that prevent any person from obtaining a prescription for the purpose of killing him or herself. The paper concludes that if a physician helps someone to die rather than to live, he is going against the very goals of medical science to sustain health and life.

From the Paper:

"However, by focusing completely on the physical aspects of the disease, the mental aspect has been overlooked. Anyone driven to suicide is neither mentally stable nor able to rationally assess his or her situation. More than likely, they are suffering from clinical depression due to their condition and need psychiatric help to bring them out of their depressed state back to a functional one. This condition, resulting from both a lack of moral support from fiends and family during this tough period as well as a inattentive physician, causes patients to often lose hope themselves when they assume that their doctor sees them as a lost cause."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Drinan, Robert F. "The Constitution and the Right to Die." America: April 20, 1996.
• Egan, Timothy. "Threat From Washington Has Chilling Effect on Oregon Law AllowingAssisted Suicide." The New York Times: November 19, 1997.
• McHugh, Paul M. "The Kevorkian Epidemic." The American Scholar: Winter 1997.
• Neff, David. "What Really Died In Oregon." Christianity Today: January 12, 1998.
• Verhy, Allen. "Choosing Death: The Ethics of Assisted Suicide." The Christian Century:July 17- 24, 1996.

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• Analytical Essay # 126105 : "Physician Assisted Suicide"
• Term Paper # 88106 : "Physician Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia"
• Argumentative Essay # 97355 : "Support for Physician Assisted Suicide"

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