Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS)

1

Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS) Euthanasia Euthanasia is a terminology used to describe the deliberate ending of someone’s life.

Medically, euthanasia is described as administering a fatal dose of a drug by a medical practitioner to the patient to relieve intolerable suffering. Medical practitioners perform euthanasia upon the request of a person suffering from a terminal. The doctor selects the most effective but painless way of ending a person’s life. Euthanasia is a complex process that generates numerous ethical issues. The medical practitioner has to consider various factors including the local laws and regulations, the ethical guidelines, the mental and physical health of the patient and the patient’s beliefs, interests and values. Euthanasia is categorized into active and passive forms. In Active euthanasia, the physician is actively involved in the process whereby he or she administers a lethal dose of a specific drug. In passive euthanasia, the physician withholds life-sustaining treatment leading to the death of a person.

Buy this excellently written paper or order a fresh one from acemyhomework.com

2

Pain and suffering in the context of faith The question of why people experience pain and intense suffering comes up often during grief and tragedies. Many people wonder why suffering is an inseparable aspect of human life, yet God is portrayed as loving and capable of eliminating pain. People have over the years used religious principles to explain pain and suffering. One of the explanations provided is that pain and suffering emanate from sins. However, many people argue that the righteous seem to suffer more than the sinners. This discrepancy is explained by the notion that suffering refines people and brings them closer to God (Bible.org, 2021). The Bible makes it clear that gold must be tested through fire to determine its purity. The righteous also argue that suffering equips them with the capacity to comfort others going through similar situations. It also sets up people to experience the supernatural working of God in their lives (Bible.org, 2021). Faith-based explanations also have it that pain and suffering refine people besides producing growth and maturity.

Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS) Physician-assisted suicide is described as the voluntary termination of someone’s life by administering a lethal agent with a medical practitioner's help. The physician gives a prescription for a specific medication to a competent patient to end his/her life. PAS is a controversial medical practice that generates heated ethical debates. Opponents believe that PAS violates the moral and fundamental tenets of medicine. Opponents also believe that physicians should not participate in assisted suicide as it is incompatible with their roles as healers. Although people have a right to decide concerning their health and treatment, opting for PAS should not be taken lightly (O’Rourke, O’Rourke & Hudson, 2017). I believe that the right to end one’s life should be limited to individuals with terminal conditions such as cancer. These people are at risk of

3

losing independence, experiencing intense suffering in the future, inability to enjoy life, and severe pain than other patient populations. However, physicians should not compel clients to consider PAS as an alternative to treatment to limit the risk of misuse (Dugdale, Lerner & Callahan, 2019). All patients need high-quality care regardless of their health.

Better alternatives to PAS: Hospice and Palliative Care The main alternatives to PAS are hospice care and terminal sedation. Hospice care refers to the compassionate treatment given to people suffering from life-threatening conditions.

Hospice care aims to improve comfort and the quality of life of a person and reduce the risk of complications and a chronic condition's progression rate (Holtslander, Peacock & Bally, 2019).

In hospice care, nurses use non-curative interventions to minimize pain, manage symptoms, and improve patient comfort. Nurses usually provide patients with spiritual and emotional support to enhance self-control. This treatment is offered to people in their last phases of incurable conditions (Marrelli, 2018). Hospice care enables the chronically ill to remain in control and die peacefully at home. The other alternative to hospice care is palliative care. This form of treatment is initiated after the diagnosis of a chronic condition. It is given regardless of the prognosis. Hospice care, on the contrary, starts once treatment for a chronic condition is stopped and the client is in the last stages of life (Marrelli, 2018).

Summaries: Hemlock Society The Hemlock Society was a U.S based organization advocating for the right to die and assisted suicide. This organization was founded in 1980 and existed until 2003, when it changed its name to end-of-life choices. This organization's mission was to offer information regarding

4

assisted suicide to the terminally ill and support regulations legalizing PAS. The motto of the Hemlock was good life good death (Patients’ Rights Council, 2013).

Jacob Kevorkian Jack Kevorkian was an American doctor who gained international attention following his role in assisted suicides. Doctor Kevorkian facilitated physician-assisted suicides for over 100 terminally ill patients (Rosenthal, 2020). He lobbied for medical experiments to be conducted on death-row inmates before execution and the establishment of suicide clinics.

Brittany Maynard Brittany Maynard was an American activist who lobbied for the legalization of assisted death in California. She partnered with compassion and choice to publicize her story and progress the fight for medical aid in dying for the terminally ill (Peralta, 2014). She decided to end her life to escape the intense pain and suffering caused by brain cancer.

5

References Bible.org (2021). 6. Psalm 73: The Suffering of the Righteous and the Success of Sinners. https://bible.org/seriespage/6-psalm-73-suffering-righteous-and-success-sinners Cholbi, M., & Varelius, J. (Eds.). (2015). New directions in the ethics of assisted suicide and euthanasia (Vol. 64). Springer.

Clark, P. A. (Ed.). (2016). Bioethics: Medical, Ethical and Legal Perspectives. BoD–Books on Demand.

Dugdale, L. S., Lerner, B. H., & Callahan, D. (2019). Pros and Cons of Physician Aid in Dying.

The Yale journal of biology and medicine, 92(4), 747–750. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6913818/ Holtslander, L., Peacock, S., & Bally, J. (Eds.). (2019). Hospice Palliative Home Care and Bereavement Support: Nursing Interventions and Supportive Care. Springer.

Jones, D. A., Gastmans, C., & MacKellar, C. (Eds.). (2017). Euthanasia and assisted suicide: lessons from Belgium (Vol. 42). Cambridge University Press.

Marrelli, T. M. (2018). Hospice & palliative care handbook: Quality, compliance, and reimbursement. Sigma Theta Tau. O’Rourke, M. A., O’Rourke, M. C., & Hudson, M. F. (2017). Reasons to reject physicianassisted suicide/physician aid in dying. https://ascopubs.org/doi/full/10.1200/JOP.2017.021840 Patients’ Rights Council. (2013). Facts about Hemlock* and Caring Friends. http://www.patientsrightscouncil.org/site/hemlock-and-caring-friends/

6

Peralta, E., (2014). As Planned, Right-To-Die Advocate Brittany Maynard Ends Her Life. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/11/03/361094919/as-planned-right-todie-advocate-brittany-maynard-ends-her-life Rosenthal, M. S. (2020). The Kevorkian Chapter: Physician-Assisted Death in You Don’t Know Jack (2010). In Healthcare Ethics on Film (pp. 143-182). Springer, Cham.