The ethics of legalizing physician assisted suicide by Julia Schoellkopff

What is the morality of legalizing physician assisted suicide in those with terminal illnesses?

jgs204_ — 2023-11-13 01:16:20 UTC

Should non terminal illnesses be included?

jgs204_ — 2023-11-13 04:43:17 UTC

While it is not currently allowed in the US, most other nations that allow physician assisted suicide include non terminal illnesses as valid reason to end their lives. The label is much wider there and allows for those with mental illness to seek out physician assisted suicide along with those with physical illnesses. Essentially anything that makes a patient's life unenjoyable is an approved reason. This has sparked a lot of controversy and brings up other more targeted conversations of what the ethics of physician assisted suicide really are. How can one draw the line when each individual has a different threshold of what is livable and what isn't?

What is the criteria in the USA right now to be eligible

jgs204_ — 2023-11-13 04:45:00 UTC

Although it does vary slightly in each of the ten states it is currently legalized in the United States, there are overall the same criteria in place. The patient must be at least 18 years old, been diagnosed with an incurable terminal illness with a prognosis of 6 months or less to live, are psychologically stable, are well informed of all hospice and other treatment options, and are able to administer the lethal medication themselves without assistance from others.

What is physician assisted suicide?

jgs204_ — 2023-11-13 04:45:32 UTC

It is when a patient has been diagnosed with or has long been suffering with an incurable disease that will not get better and has opted to die of their own will with the assistance of a doctor prescribing a lethal dose of medication.

Why would patients consider this?

jgs204_ — 2023-11-13 04:46:22 UTC

Patients could have a wide variety of reasons for considering this depending on their individual diagnosis and their perspectives on how they want to spend the end of their lives. Based on a study done in Oregon on patients who sought out physician assisted suicide, some of the reasons include “losing autonomy” (90.6%) or are “less able to engage in activities making life enjoyable” (89.1%). Some fear a “loss of dignity” (74.4%); being a “burden on family, friends/caregivers” (44.8%); or “losing control of bodily functions” (44.3%) and concerns about inadequate pain control in 25.7% of cases. It all comes down to a similar core idea of trying to retain a sense of self or control in how their life ends when so much choice has already been robbed from them with their illness.

Why some doctors are for it

jgs204_ — 2023-11-13 04:46:38 UTC

Some doctors support physician assisted suicide as they believe it is more merciful to allow the patient to die of their own accord. Another reason I have seen stated in my research is that doctors see the importance of a patient maintaining their autonomy over themselves which includes choosing how and where they die.

Why some doctors are against it

jgs204_ — 2023-11-13 04:46:49 UTC

There are a multitude of reasons as to why a doctor may refused to be part of as assisted suicide. This is very personal to each individual but across my research I have seen some general trends. For some it goes against their religious beliefs or their morals. Others don't support it because the AMA doesn't support it. Others worry about the effects it may have on our populations suicide rates as a whole despite there being little effort that suicide rates have increased in states where it is permitted.

The perspective from a woman who chose to go through with physician assisted suicide

jgs204_ — 2023-11-13 05:14:14 UTC

I found this article as a source cited for a different article that I was reading, and I found it really eye opening to see the firsthand perspective of someone who went through with physician assisted suicide. So often in this topic do we see this issue presented as a ethical decision that doctors must make rather than the equally important side of how physician assisted suicide impacts that patient and those close to them.

Additional article about the perspective of nurses

jgs204_ — 2023-11-13 05:49:34 UTC

I found this article to be very helpful in my research as it offered the health care workers point of view on physician assisted suicide along with statistical data to back it up. With the sensitivity needed to do this topic justice, it was very important to me to thoroughly cover all angles possible.

Why legalizing it would bring standards and control into place

jgs204_ — 2023-11-13 05:50:12 UTC

Currently, the Us supreme court does not consider assisted suicide a right to be decided by the government which leaves the decision up to each state themselves. This is problematic as it not only means that people in 40 states don't have that option but also because it means there are no country wide standards or regulations in place. Right now, not even the AMA has released a set of standards for physicians to follow and without this guidance, there is very little regulation about the whole process. If it was legalized everywhere in the US, countrywide regulations and rules could be set to ensure that the patient's best interest is always the priority.