Physician Assisted Suicide

Physician Assisted Suicide

In recent years, Physician Assisted Suicide (PAS) has become an intensely debated subject. PAS is a voluntary decision to end one's own life by taking in poisonous substances, with direct or indirect assistance of a physician. Currently, Oregon, Washington, and Montana are the only states in the United States that allow a physician to assist a patient in ending his or her life. "The Oregon law states that an Oregon resident who has been diagnosed, by a physician, with a terminal illness that will kill the patient within six months may request in writing, from his or her physician, a prescription for a lethal dose of medication for the purpose of ending the patient's life" (oregon.gov). The Oregon law also has many restrictions, which includes a request to be confirmed by two witnesses. Since the law has already passed, they should make it stricter on physicians to assist patients with suicide. Physician assisted suicide should not become legalized in California because of the Hippocratic Oath, its immorality, and its possibility of abuse.

Proponents argue that having a physician assist a patient to commit suicide does not go against The Hippocratic Oath because they will be helping the patient end their life peacefully and calmly. The Hippocratic Oath is an oath taken by doctors swearing to ethically help all patients with medicine. This clearly does not make sense because the modern version of the oath mentions, "I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody if asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect" (pbs.org). A doctor helping people who want to commit suicide is going against the Hippocratic Oath. This oath's intention is to have doctors try their best to save lives and care for the people. If physicians are allowed to assist patients in suicide it will be contradicting the Hippocratic Oath. A doctor who is seen as an executor as well as a healer can also lose the trust people have for him or her. How would a patient feel if they knew that their doctor gave up on another patient, especially if they were fatally ill? In the article, "Physician-Assisted Suicide: For and against" Andrew D. Boyd (University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas) states, "The doctor-patient relationship is the foundation of all interactions and to have aided in death comes in the middle of it, would make more than a few patients uncomfortable. Also another maxim of a physician is to first do no harm; suicide can be seen as harm to a patient" (Boyd). Patients often look for trust, comfort and a relationship with their physician. Patients go to specific doctors because they have heard good news about their healing. If PAS gets passed more doctors will be known for helping people take their lives, which will crumble their reputation with other patients.

Others who agree with Physician Assisted Suicide, like Margaret A. Drickamer, MD, Melinda A. Lee, MD, and Linda Ganzini, MD wrote in their article called, "Practical Issues in Physician-Assisted Suicide" that "Depression, however, does not necessarily impair a patient's decision-making capacity or result in decisions that hasten death." This does not make sense because terminally ill patients have often fallen into depression and once they have been treated for depression, they have changed their minds about suicide. Another reason why this statement should not be taken into consideration is because doctors always inform patients, who are taking depression pills, to see a doctor immediately if they are having thoughts of suicide. Hilary Evans, M.D., studies the conditions and process of disease at Lee Hospital in Johnstown. In her article, "Pitfalls of physician-assisted suicide," Evans states, "Studies have shown that depressed patients who request suicide frequently change their minds after their depression is treated, even though their physical condition is not improved. Yet physicians fail to recognize treatable depression in about 50 percent of cases" (Evans). Patients who are in a fatal condition often risk a higher chance of falling into depression. If physicians can correctly help patients treat their depression, they will be less likely to want to commit suicide. Even thought their physical health will not be improved, they will no longer have feelings of hopelessness, emptiness, guilt or worthlessness (Evans). Other