Physician Aided Suicide: The

Wrong Solution By: Kevin Kruse

Introduction For quite some time now a debate there has been

an epic within the medical community This debate is over whether or not physician

aided suicide, or PAS, should be legalized It was highly publicized several years ago during

the Terri Schiavo case

Using Modern Medicine to Manage Pain In a poll taken in 1997 70% of Americans wished

to have the option of PAS when they were uniformed about the alternatives

Once individuals knew about the alternatives the number of those supporting PAS dropped drastically

In short people would choose to die naturally as opposed to unnaturally

Intro Cont. There are many different alternatives to PAS

where individuals could live out their lives comfortably and die naturally

Most people who would choose to have a physician assisted suicide are not aware of the alternatives such palliative or hospice care

PAS shouldn’t be legalized because Medicine could be used to manage pain, it is ethically and morally incorrect, and it could be over used for health care cost containment.

Modern Medicine Cont. Doctors and physicians are required to give a

patient what they need to feel comfortable The use of medication and other drugs can

virtually eliminate all experienced pain people are also unaware that it is legal for a

doctor to give you pain medication that may unintentionally hasten a person’s death

the word unintentionally is the key word because doctors are not permitted to give a patient a drug with the intention of killing them

Modern Medicine Cont. There are many organizations that specialize in

hospice care or palliative care Hospice care and palliative care is care given to

those with a terminal illness with the goal of making the patient comfortable while he or she lives out the rest of her life

Hospice and palliative care is sometimes also referred to as comfort care

Modern Medicine Cont. There are many organizations out there that are

donating money for research to discover better pain management tactics

These organizations include State Cancer Pain Initiatives, the American Pain Society, the Oncology Nursing Society, and the National Association of Oncology Social Workers

Controlling pain can help ease these mental states and change the belief that a premature death and a painless "final exit" is the solution

patients at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center who had requested suicide dismissed this as an alternative once satisfactory pain control was established

It is Morally and Ethically Wrong Also how is it morally and ethically correct for a

doctor whose main objective to help people to practice active or passive euthanasia

Active euthanasia is when a physician accelerates a patients death

Passive euthanasia is when a doctor lets the disease take its course and doesn't treat the patient

Morals and Ethics Cont. Then the question what is the real big difference

between passive and active euthanasia In both cases a physician is responsible for the

death of another person whether it be if the death was accelerated in some way or if they just let the patient die

both incidences could be considered murder because that doctor was responsible for the death of a person

Morals and Ethics Cont. Some consider passive euthanasia more morally

expectable because nothing is actually done to accelerate that persons death

Many ask how a physician can be held accountable when nothing was actually done by him or her, but they did do something, they let that patent die as opposed to doing their job and caring for the patient

Health Care Cost Containment Legalized euthanasia could be used to contain

spending on healthcare This could lead to corruption within the both the

government and medical field Doctors could do less and the government could

cut budgets so that it would be better for them financially as opposed to doing more to help the patient

Health Care Cost Containment Cont. Possibilities such as government budgets cuts

could become very real if PAS was legalized Our national debt continues to increase and the

government will be looking to make cuts everywhere

The first to be affected by healthcare cuts would be the poor and the elderly, those who either cant afford medical care or have declining health that may be costly to maintain

Health Care Cost Containment Cont. Evidence of healthcare budget cuts due to the

legalization of PAS is already apparent hear within the United States

Oregon is the only state in the U.S. where euthanasia is legal

Once the bill was passed 18 months later health care budgets for the poor were cut making it harder for those residents to receive medication or treatment needed to deal with their illness and to be comfortable

Proponents of Euthanasia Proponents to euthanasia do not see the point for

someone to suffer greatly They argue that the laws preventing PAS is like a

government mandate for people to suffer They argue that people with terminal illnesses

such as cancer should be allowed to choose to end their own pain and suffering

Refutation to Proponents Argument Many suffering from terminal illnesses such as

cancer would often lose all will to live wishing to pass because they have become helpless to the point where they can’t live without medical treatment or the help of others

These are hard times and I don’t see that one would be thinking in their right mind to make such a decision

Refutation Cont. For those who see the government restrictions as

mandated suffering aren’t arguing against laws that restrict the selling of tainted food and claiming it to be government mandated starvation

Laws are made for a reason and more times than not they are made to prevent bad things from happening

Refutation Cont. Who even has the right to even decide who has

the right to live or die? If a law was passed legalizing PAS the law would

be taken advantage for the wrong reasons People would abuse the right or find loop holes to

take their own life regardless if they are “deserving” or not

Physicians and the government could use the law to what is best for them financially

Closing Statements Euthanasia, also know as physician aided suicide,

should not allowed in the U.S Yes, people fear suffering and sometimes feel

that it would be best to take the easy way out, but with modern medicine and better education in the alternative options people would discover that they can live comfortably and die naturally