Legal and Ethical Issues Surrounding Physician-Assisted Suicides

Legal and Ethical Issues surrounding Physician-Assisted Suicides
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 Legal and Ethical Issues surrounding Physician-Assisted Suicides
Physician-assisted suicide is the death of a patient facilitated by information or means provided by a practitioner aware of the patient’s intention. In physician-assisted suicides, doctors prescribe lethal drugs to patients. The patient then takes medicine without assistance from a medical practitioner or another person. Discussions about the legality and ethics of physician-assisted suicide have been around and will presumably last for years. Healthcare providers have found themselves operating in an environment where this kind of death is not a unique occurrence. This paper presents some of the legal and ethical issues surrounding physician-assisted suicides and their implications on health economics and health services.
Philosophers and religious opponents believe that life is a gift given by God, and the mandate to end it only rests on Him (Shuriye, 2011). The proponents argue against this because human life is only practical when its quality is considered, and the brain is operational (Singer, 1994). PAS supporters believe that assisting a patient with terminal disease to die presents no ethical implications per se, particularly where the patient is experiencing immense, unbearable, and uncontrollable pain. To the US supreme court and PAS proponents, heightened pain relievers’ administration to alleviate distress is professionally and ethically acceptable. This applies even when administration leads to “terminal sedation,” where the patient is likely to die.
Many laws prohibit murder. Murder is regarded as a deliberate execution of another person’s death. Even when a person asks to be assisted to die, it is viewed as manslaughter. Different states offer specific prosecution measures to murderers. For instance, in Britain, a person who helps or counsels another about taking thei...