Is There A Duty Of Die?

Math and Chaturvedi (2012) observe that a common claim on euthanasia is the idea that most patients with chronic illnesses do not want to be a burden to their loved ones. In such instances, the patients come to consider it as the best alternative. It is regarded as an honor to the “right of living” through accepting the “right to die” (Math & Chartuvedi, 2012).

possible choice that a person who is suffering from an incurable disease might have to make.

The process of deciding when a terminally ill patient should die lies within the patient, family members, and the

A Life or Death Situation, by Robin Marantz Henig, New York Times, July, 2013, is a review of the debate surrounding the right to a dignified death. It examines the purely philosophical view of the issue; as well as the heart wrenching reality of being faced with that question in one 's personal life. Does a person have a right to choose how he or she dies? How does that choice impact the people who care about about him or her? Should a person who cares about someone be required to cause or aide in his or her death? These questions weigh heavy on the minds of many people, who live

In today's society, one of the most controversial issues is physician-assisted suicide for the terminally ill. Many people feel that it is wrong for people, regardless of their health condition, to ask their health care provider to end their life; while others feel it is their right to be able to choose how and when they die. When a physician is asked to help a patient into death, they have many responsibilities that come along with that single question. Among those responsibilities are: providing valid information as to the terminal illness the patient is suffering, educating the patient as to what their final options may be, making the decision of whether or not to help the patient into death, and also if they do decide to help,

By using this article, it will provide reasons why a patient seeks assisted suicide when facing a terminal diagnosis, with 6 months or less to live. It offers the physician perspective on assisting terminal patients at the end of their life span. An explanation of the Death with Dignity Act provides an example of legislature in the United States addressing this controversial subject.

In the story of “Confronting Physician-Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia: My Father's Death” by Susan Wolf, she talks about the difficulties of her dad fighting cancer, and his final days. “Her father had always said that he would want everything, even in a persistent vegetative state (Wolf, 2008). However, his body reaches the point and the daily fight, pain and the struggle he was enduring just to stay alive was more painful and draining than it was really worth. He always told his daughter to fight until the very end and do what was necessary to do so. However, there is only so much pain your body can endure and even though he has always said to fight until the end. Effort They have reached the end of their road and should not have to suffer any longer if they so choose. After all the pain, they have been through and knowing that they are closer to death with each passing day, it should be their choice to end their suffering sooner and pass on peacefully without the suffering. In addition, let them quality of life the person to slip peacefully into the next life without pain and suffering.

Every individual has to make choices in life; life can be seen as a plethora of crossroads veering off into different directions with every which way. Choices that can create or destroy life; in the blink of an eye a life could end, but in the same moment a new life could be brought into existence. The choice of physician-assisted suicide provides control, familiarity, and closure to the terminally ill patients. The patient is able to choose where he or she will be, when the time is right, and the ability to be surrounded around loved-ones and gain closure by saying goodbye in a timely-manner.

In addition, at a medical perspective, the responsibility of physicians is to save people in all circumstances under the Hippocratic Oath – the oldest binding document in human history. That was another reason for those who believe Assisted Suicide is immoral with physicians, but is this Oath fair when applied to incurable patients? To be honest, death is a natural law that every living creature on the Earth will face one day and it is just a matter of time. In most cases, we usually see the death of our loved ones as an unfortunate occurrence or a painful loss rather than a solution to end the pain, especially with terminally ill patients. Based on a recent PEW Research Center study, the author Gary Stein stated that, "62 percent say suicide is morally acceptable for

A Death of One’s Own sheds light onto the controversial issue regarding end of life decisions, providing a few examples of people struggling with these choices. The film tells the stories of three particular individuals, Jim, Kitty, and Ricky, each with a unique end of life situation. Jim suffers from ALS and has specific care requests, 56-year-old Kitty struggles with her uterine cancer and constant pain, and Ricky is a patient dying from severe liver failure who can no longer speak and make decisions on his own. All of these individuals present different, yet similar issues regarding end of their life care. This film describes the importance of advance directives, the arguments surrounding physician assisted suicide, and this prompted me to form my own opinion on preparing my own directives and thoughts on these tough decisions.

Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal focuses on patients and their end of life care. On a visit to Lou Sanders, Gawande asked, “What makes life worth living to you?” and Lou hesitated before answering, “I have moments when I would say I think it’s time, maybe one of the days when I was at a low point…” As people near death, they have this innate fear of dying where they may want to have every intervention possible. However, patients nearing the end of their life due to medical issues often have clouded judgment and may not be in a position to determine what step they want to take next or may even be a minor, legally unable to make decisions. In any case, family members or a guardian of the patient should be responsible for making end of life decisions for the patient.

To begin with, the burden on family members make people want to choose euthanasia. Fensterman (2006) claim that illness makes his family members and friends have to endure many afflictions and he cannot stand that he causes pain to others (p.22). Therefore, He begins to understand why many people who have incurable disease prefer to choose death rather than keep alive because death is a good way to reduce the loved one’s burden (Fensterman, 2006, p. 22). He also states that although he will not choose assisted suicide now, he is uncertain whether he will choose later (Fensterman, 2006, p. 22). In other words, Fensterman realizes that euthanasia is a good choice to ease the burden effectively for his family members. Therefore, the author Fensterman

Our society finds it difficult to talk about dying and euphemisms are the norm. It is typical for both doctors and patients to be hesitant to initiate a discussion on dying. Focus instead is often more often placed on interventions and actions for managing symptoms. This avoidance can leave patients and their families unprepared for the inevitable death. (Schapira, 2010) It also often results in requests for therapies which may be excessive, costly and even painful in the hopes for a cure. One study demonstrates that when patients are aware that they are terminally ill, the majority are able to reach a state of peacefulness and also exhibit lower levels of distress. (Ray, Block, Friedlander, Zhang, Maciejewski & Prigerson, 2006) It is also important that family members are willing to discuss end-of-life options with their loved ones. According to elderly patients, they are most often the ones who initiate these conversations with their

     Once having a mere glimpse into the lives of the terminally ill or disabled, some are able to understand their plight; but usually most are not. In most cases, these people are able to take what they've been given and deal with it. However, in some cases, some simply can not tolerate their lives as they are. They feel that the only solution to their problem is to end their lives. Unfortunately, in some cases, the terminally ill or disabled are not capable of accomplishing this task by themselves, and are left trapped in a life that they do not want. In these cases, when one wishes to end his life and is terminally ill, disabled, or otherwise unable to do so independently, he should have the right to die by assisted suicide. Although most people that are terminally ill or disabled do not wish to end their lives, there are still those few who do. While examining the issue of assisted suicide, three facets of the controversy must be considered: the political, the moral, and the human or compassionate views. By supporting their decision, we support their right to choose and decide what they want to do with their bodies and their lives, we do not

Such a controversial topic as euthanasia and physician assisted suicide obviously brings about both proponents and opponents. When it comes to the case of a terminally ill person who is fully competent, how can one say no to his desire in having