Physician-Assisted Suicide Is Defined As Suicide In Which A Physician

Physician-Assisted Suicide is defined as suicide in which a physician supplies information and/or the means of committing suicide (e.g. a lethal dose of sleeping pills, or carbon monoxide gas) to a person, so that individual can easily terminate their own life ("Passive Euthanasia"). Some terminally ill patients are in unbearable pain and/or experiencing an unbearably poor quality of life ("Passive Euthanasia"). They would rather end their lives than continue until their body finally gives up. Does the state have the right to deny them their wish ("Passive Euthanasia")? During the first year of legalized physician-assisted suicide in Oregon, the decision to request and use a prescription for lethal medication was associated with concern about loss of autonomy or control over the bodily functions, not with fear of intractable pain or concern about financial loss ("New England Journal of Medicine"). Suicide is a legal act that is theoretically available to all. But, a person who is ter minally ill or who is in a hospital setting or disabled may not be able to exercise this option, either because of mental or physical limitations. In reality, they are being discriminated against because of their disability ("Passive Euthanasia"). Euthanasia, or physician-assisted suicide, should be legalized, and an open option to patients who are mentally or terminally ill. It should be the patients right and choice. Religious opposition to medical relief of suffering is not a new topic. In 1591, Eufame Macalyane, a lady of rank, was charged with seeking aid for the relief of pain at the time of birth of her two sons and was burned alive on the Castle Hill of Edinburgh (Brazil). Using pain killers such as chloroform was considered contrary to the will of God as it avoided one part of the "primeval curse of woman" (Brazil). The same thinking is shown in the modern-day opposition to physician-assisted suicide; with Catholics believing that end of life suffering purifies the soul and must therefore be ended (Brazil). In a personal interview with Father Edward Domin of St. Jane Frances de Chantal Church, Father Ed stated that the Church was against any type of suicide regardless of the knowledge of the action (Personal interview). "Some opponents believe that physician aid-in-dying would undermine public trust in medicine's dedication to preserving the life and health of patients..."(Egendorf 116). P hysician-assisted suicide is active voluntary euthanasia. It is active euthanasia because it concerns methods that intentionally cause the death of the patient. It is voluntary because the patients make the decision to have their lives ended ("Physician-Assisted Suicide"). When one looks at the issue in terms of these distinctions, two separate moral questions arise: Is it morally acceptable for a Christian to request assistance in indirectly causing his or her own death? Is it morally acceptable for a Christian physician to adhere to the wishes of a patient who makes such a request ("Physician-Assisted Suicide")? What Christians say about issues of morality should be and is usually reflective of their fundamental faith convictions ("Physician-Assisted Suicide"). "It is a pledge by medicine to find more effective ways of eliminating pain, or providing emotional support, and of assisting the sufferer to experience a "good death" (Physician-Assisted Suicide)". The refusal by medical caregivers to assist in a patient's suicide is a pledge that the caregiver will never give up on a patient and never cease active forms of care ("Physician-Assisted Suicide"). The argument here is that it is neither a part of the cure nor is it a form of care ("Physician-Assisted Suicide"). Why isn't eliminating the suffering person an acceptable part of the cure ("Physician-Assisted Suicide")? Proponents of physician- assisted suicide argue that people care for pets and animals who are in pain by "putting them to sleep" therefore, shouldn't everyone do the same for their loved ones (Physician-Assisted Suicide)? (Beliefs about suicide varied considerably in ancient Greece. The Stoics and Epicureans believed strongly in the individual's right to choose the means and time of his death (Jamison 13). This is also supported by today's Right to Die society of Canada: "...the right of any...individual...to choose the time, place, and means of his or her death" ("Right to Die Society")). Aside from the fact that people and animals are treated differently