Physician Assisted Suicide
However, it is in concern of living a quality life that other members of the society push for the legalization of the physician assisted suicide (Foley Hendin, 2008). Indeed, it is the right of every individual in the society to live and die in a dignified manner. Just to note here is the fact that the ultimate destiny of terminally ill patients is death. Still to be noted is the fact that those with terminal illnesses are subjected to both physical and psychological pain, which for all practical reasons should not be equated to any logical concerns for living. This makes it quite inhuman for any sober minded member of the society to reject the legalization of physician assisted suicide.
This paper is a discussion on the physician assisted suicide as an ethical issue of concern to the nursing and health care sector. The author first gives arguments on both the pros and cons of nationwide legalization of physician assisted suicide. The author then argues in support of the claim that the Oregon law on assisted suicide should be implemented nationwide.
The Oregon law as it relates to physician assisted suicide
The Oregon physician assisted suicide law, popularly referred to as death with dignity act is an enactment by the American state of Oregon that allows for physician assisted suicide of the terminally ill patients in. The law allows physicians to prescribe lethal medication to the terminally ill patients as a way of ending their suffering and pains through death. It is however to be noted here that the law is not quite open in allowing death with dignity for all but has some restrictions. The first restriction is that the act only allows physician assisted suicide on patients who are expected to die within a period of six months. Another condition is that the assisted suicide activity must be a self determination by the terminally ill patient. It is nevertheless worth noting here that the law allows the physician to apply morality reasons to reject his or here involvement in the suicide.
Other restrictions include the provision under the Oregon law that the execution of the physician assisted suicide must be witnessed by two witnesses. It is worth stating here that at least one of the witnesses should be an independent entity to the patients. This is because failure for such could give discriminative assisted suicide practices based on property ownership fights as well as reduction of the patients stress and constrains both to the family and the hospital staff.
It is however to be understood that the law is quite protective of the doctors for assisting the terminally ill to commit suicide. The law owes no liability to the doctor for the prescription of lethal medication to the patients provided the victim is a competent adult. It is due to this that the law requires the participating physician to dictate for a psychological report about the patient if it is not clear of the victims mental stability. Also dictated by the law is that the patient must comply with physicians demands for a mental impairment test. Still to be noted is the fact that the law clearly regards assisted suicide as an individual right thus excluding liability to any insurance policy.
Pros of physician assisted suicide
Proponents of the legalization of physician assisted suicide claim that it helps in ending the pain and suffering that is found in terminally ill patients. It has been evidently established that some terminal diseases like cancer and AIDS in the society are slow to establish but have the end result of bringing an agonizing death to the victims. Still to be noted is the fact that with the modern technological advancements the process of determining the remaining days for terminally patients is quite reliable. It is based on this reasoning that many proponents of the assisted suicide law find no logic in letting the human person suffering up to the final day. Just to be given as an example, what is the ultimate essence of living with a persistent and incurable problem for over five month while death is clearly the confirmed destiny Also claimed is the fact that a terminally ill patient undergoes severe psychological suffering as well as physical pain. This is first because the victim has a clear knowledge that he or she has no chances of surviving death. The second reason is that the patient is always out to see his or her physical pain increase day in day out until the body gives in for death.
The second pro of legalizing physician assisted suicide is the fact that life is the most fundamental right of any human being, which cannot be taken always from him. Based on this universally accepted and by applying the principles of conclusion by sufficient reasoning, it is evidently clear that the right to death must be a fundamental individual right. It is evidently clear that our constitution does not give the government any legal authority to prevent citizens from committing suicide. Still to be questioned is the high rates of committing suicide in the American society by health and reliable member of the community. What is the importance of protecting the terminally ill from terminating their lives while doing less to protect the productive and reliable members of the society from commuting suicide Still to question is how logical it could be to force the terminally ill victims and their families to increasing investment in paying for the medical expenses at the expense of overseeing the social and economic development of those to be left behind.
It is to be understood that terminal disease are a great negation to the individual self esteem and dignity in the society. This is mainly because such diseases usually lead to the individuals loss of ability to care andor provide for him or herself. It is actually not the wish of any sober individual to see their loved ones loss their capabilities in the society. However, it is quite clear that such terminal diseases end up negating this crucial human desire. This makes the victims a burden to the care providers. It is because of this reasoning that each and every person should have the ultimate right to live and determine when and how to die. Such is the only logical solution to the elimination of the shameful problem of negating an individuals self-esteem and dignity in the community due to terminal diseases.
The cost of health is nowadays quite high. Still evident is that the modern economic environment is quite tough. It could thus be based on the cost concern that physician assisted suicide should be implemented nationwide. There are many concerns of public health in our nation. In fact, it is basically due to the need for having quality and affordable health care for all citizens that the American government is in the process of implementing a comprehensive health care scheme. Now, why for all practical reasons should our government invest so much in a health care scheme only to be serving terminally ill patients who are otherwise highly compromised to provide any economic advantage to the nation It is here to be clearly stated that the sole aim of having a quality and affordable health care for all is to ensure good health to the citizens. This is because health is energy and could thus mean increased productivity and individual economic independence.
Still claimed by proponents of the legalization of physician assisted suicide is the question of wasting human resources. It is evidently clear that most terminally ill patients are a great concern for doctors and nurses. Our nation is faced with a great shortage of health care practitioners. What is the importance of having so many nurses and doctors spending their time with terminally ill while others citizens of the nation are dying avoidable death due to lack of physician assistance
The question of life and religion should not be misunderstood to compromise the lives of the greater minorities in the society. Such should also not be taken as a tool for compromising the social-economic life of families. Who can stand and qualify the emotional pain families are suffering due to the long term painful existence of their terminally ill loved ones Physician assisted suicide should therefore be implemented nationwide as such could lessen the pain that family members and friends undergo watching their loved one go through the suffering until death.
Lastly, it is worth noting that the ultimate resolving of the dangerous committing of suicide can only be realized by legalizing and implementing the involvement of a physician in the suicide committing process. It is in our existing statistics that the teenagers in our society are marked with high rates of committing suicide. Still clear is that most of these deaths are usually horrific and traumatic in their own way. It is based on this reasoning that it could be more respectable and less traumatic to the family member to have physician allowed to assist suicides in the society.
Cons of physician assisted suicide
It has been a claim by many that legalizing physician assisted suicide could greatly negate respect for the dignity and value of life in the society. It is in the provision of the American constitution that human life should remain the most fundamental human right. Still clear is the much respect members of the society have for the value of life. Such are best portrayed in the way we treat the dead. It is based on this reason that legalizing and implementing such a law could make life and death a common thing in the society thus negating the core values of our society with regard to human life.
Another con of accepting this law is that it is a bleach of the code of conduct signed by medical practitioners during their ordination into the health care mission. Doctors are by law not allowed to harm any body let alone killing them. It is also to be noted that legalizing such a law could not only compromise sustainable development in the health care sector but also increase ignorance of doctors when attending to patients. Both of these are a sign of potential discriminative application of the law by the physician. It has also been claimed that most religions condemn the law due to the fact that it encourages intentional killing of others, an act which is not allowed in the holy bible.
Implementing physician assisted suicide nationwide could also lead to corruption as insurance companies could use it as an excuse for not accepting liability upon the death of the patient. This can be best portrayed by the fact that the insurance will always be out to have the doctor recommend for assisted suicide on terminally ill patients even without their inner conscious.
Reasons why the Oregon law should be adopted nationwide
It is the right of every individual citizen to live and have a dignified death. Because of this reason, the law on death with dignity should be adopted nationwide. Many claim legalizing assisted suicide could lower the value of human life. What respect for the value of human life is realized when ones becomes a real bother to other due to lack of ability to care for him or herself
The legalization of the law is a great economic relief to both the government and the members of the society. Just to note here is that the planned implementation of a comprehensive health care scheme might never yield long term plan success. This is because the much investment could be used in catering for the terminally ill in the society.
It is also to be noted the law will reduce the economic loss incurred by the family to settle hospital bills. Just to be stated is the fact that most of the terminally ill individuals spend much of their reserve money for treatment cost. This means that the family to be left behind will have nothing to continue with their normal lives.
Conclusion
It is evidently clear that physician assisted suicide is a good tool in reducing the economic expenses of investing in a confirmed lost path. It is also by legalizing physician assisted suicide that our community will appreciate the need for all to respect the right to dignified death as a basic human freedom.
It should however be understood that even with the need to adopt the Oregon law across the whole nation, concerns of discriminative application of the law should be safeguarded by making the necessary amendments to the law.
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