Physician-Assisted Suicide: Pros & Cons of an Ultimate Option - Essay Sample

Introduction

Physician-assisted suicide has been a controversial discussion topic over the past decades. There is a group of people who support the question, basing their arguments on physician-assisted suicide as an ultimate option for ending a person’s life, especially when the person undergoes severe and painful medical complications. However, assisted suicide is not always the solution to the sufferings of a person. Numerous analyses and studies have confirmed that there are a lot of blind spot issues regarding assisted suicide. Therefore, the primary objective of the paper is to persuade people to oppose physician-assisted suicide in light of different arguments. Thus, my specific goal is to share the reasons such as legal framework, irrational judgment, and technological improvements in the field of medicine that outweigh the assisted suicide option.

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My first main point for the discussion is the legal implications surrounding physician-assisted suicide. Assisted suicide means that people will have the right to order the killing of those with medical conditions that they feel cause pain. Cases of the family member proposing assisted suicide on loved ones, especially those they do not like, are most likely going to rise. As a result, people may lose their lives in the hands of others for minor medical issues. Factors such as stigmatization increased medical bills, and the time lost in providing palliative care services to terminally ill patients may be the primary cause of assisted suicide. Thus, people are most likely going to have premature deaths simply because others wish to get over with healthcare provision.

The second main point for the discussion is the irrational judgment of people in suffering situations, which may inhibit the right decision making. An individual may make the assisted suicide decision as an unreasonable judgment. According to Shah (2018), the severe pain that patients in the terminally ill conditions undergo may, at times, make them feel like they want to die just to stop the pain. People recovering from serious accidents may also feel like living with artificial body parts such as limps and arms would be challenging and thus opt for assisted suicide. However, these are usually irrational decisions that people make in their worst and darkest moments. Therapeutic and palliative care and counseling have proved that people who, at one point, wished for assisted suicide lived happily after that. Therefore, supporting assisted suicide would mean that individuals in such conditions will never have a chance to take back the irrational decision they made at their horrible moments. Cases of people dying and blaming others would increase. The world would also be losing lucrative people in the name of assisted suicide to overcome the pain. Moreover, physician-assisted suicide does not provide a quantitative measure for the amount of pain that governs people’s choice of assisted suicide. Life is full of pain, and thus, upholding assisted suicide would mean everyone will have to die to overcome the pain.

My third and final point is the technological application in the field of medicine. Technological advancement in the realm of medicine and healthcare may render physician-assisted suicide an insignificant option. Scientific and medical research has brought about vital changes in the field of medicine. These changes include the development of curative drugs for some terminal illness, provision of medication, and palliative care that ease pain and increase an individual’s life. An excellent example is the development of the ARVs drugs that prolongs the lives of the people living with HIV/AIDs (Wachter & Howell, 2018). With these advancements, a person who opts to assisted suicide today may not live long enough to have the chance to survive posed by inventions in the field of medicine. Research and analysis are always promising. Therefore, assisted suicide would inhibit research for challenging medical areas that cause pain to the patients.

Conclusion

In conclusion, assisted suicide is undesirable for the betterment of the patients. It might seem like the most suitable option for a desperate situation, yet it has a lot of effects on the lives of people. Some of the reasons for opposing assisted suicide include the legal loop-hole existing in its application, the irrational judgment of the patient in suffering condition as well as the technological advancement which revolutionize the field of medicine each and every day. Technology always promises a better future where medication and treatment for the sufferings of patients will be available. Supporting assisted suicide means inhibiting these positive changes that technology brings in healthcare.

References

Shah, D. R. (2018). Euthanasia & personal autonomy rights for the terminally ill.

Wachter, R. M., & Howell, M. D. (2018). Resolving the productivity paradox of health information technology: a time for optimism. Jama, 320(1), 25-26.