Physician assisted suicide :: essays research papers

The Effects of Assisted Suicide Legalization   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While slowly experiencing an eventual death, the pain of a life-threatening disease is unbearable. The constant anguish of a helpless cancer patient, Richard, is driving away all sanity. As he lies there on the hospital bed near his family, Richard finally makes a grave decision. He decides to call upon a physician to end his pain. The doctor would give him medication which would lead to an inevitable death. As he knows he is going to die within a few weeks anyway, Richard questions the doctor about the medication. â€Å"Just give me the word, and I will hand it over to you,† the doctor says. â€Å"Let me add, however, that even though it may be an option, do you think it is morally right?† The doctor is obviously an honest, noble man who gives all of his patients his sincere opinion. That, in most cases, is not common in a doctor’s character. Richard is left with those words from the doctor and given time to talk about the situation with his family. After a long discussion, they realize that life is a privilege and should not be taken by choice, no matter how intense the pain is. Weeks later, at Richard’s funeral, the family feels proud of him for enduring the agonizing experience and to die naturally. The choice of physician assisted suicide may be an irrelevant issue to some, but when it comes to terminally ill patients, it is definitely an observable option. These people must realize that taking a life, whether someone else’s or their own, is dishonorable. Assisted suicide should be against the law in all states because it would have an affect on medical procedures, persuade doctors to make the wrong decisions, and change the morality of people around the country.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The people of this country are partially represented by the United States Supreme Court. In fact, the United States Supreme Court is going to become the final judge of this important issue because two United States Court of Appeals decisions have recently ruled laws forbidding physician-assisted suicide unconstitutional (Court 1). There is no doubt that the effect of the speculations by the highest court in this country on physician-assisted suicide will be as important as anyone has witnessed in a long while. Physician-assisted suicide is one of the most controversial medical issues there is. Although a recent poll shows that 64 to 73 percent of Americans believe doctors should be admitted to end the lives of terminally ill patients under their permission, Americans may not realize what could actually happen if