Physician Assisted Suicide And The United States - 1905 Words

Physician-Assisted Suicide in the United States Jacob Lutgen Fort Hays State University Abstract Physician-assisted suicide is a topic that hits home to many people, both in the United States and across the world. Currently, five states have legalized physician-assisted suicide in the United States and it is crucial that every state reconsiders their stance on the issue. Each state needs to look at the pros and cons, as well as the implications of their decision on their stance on physician-assisted suicide. Citizens also have a critical role, as they must tell their legislators their stance on physician-assisted suicide so that the legislators can properly represent their states. This paper looks to show the major arguments for both the groups that support physician-assisted suicide as well as the groups that oppose physician-assisted suicide, while also taking other issues into consideration, such as different pressures legalization of physician-assisted suicide would have on different demographics. Although controversial, physician-assisted suicide laws affect thousands of people across the country annually. Physician-assisted suicide is the process in which a doctor prescribes a lethal dose of medication, usually painkillers or sedatives, to a patient to end their own life (Euthanasia Glossary, 1999; United States, n.d.). In many states in which physician-assisted suicide is legal, the patient must be at least eighteen years old, terminally ill and haveShow MoreRelatedLegalizing Physician Assisted Suicide Across The United States Essay2115 Words   |  9 PagesLegalizing Physician-Assisted Suicide Across the United States Physician Assisted Suicide (PAS) has grown into quite a contentious topic over the years. According to Breitbart and Rosenfeld (1), physician-assisted suicide can be defined as â€Å"a physician providing medications or advice to enable the patient to end his or her own life.† One may find many articles that are written by physicians, pharmacists, patients, and family of patients who receive PAS; from there, it is possible to gain a betterRead MoreShould Physician Assisted Suicide Be Allowed? All Of The United States? Essay1314 Words   |  6 Pages Should Physician Assisted Suicide be allowed in all of the United States? That is the topic I will be discussing in my paper. 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TheRead MoreShould Physician Assisted Suicide Be Legal?847 Words   |  4 PagesShould-Physician Assisted Suicide Be Legal In Every State When it comes to the topic of, should physician-assisted suicide be legal in every state, most of us will readily agree that it should be up to a terminally ill person to make that decision. Whereas some are convinced that it is inhumane, others maintain that it is a person’s decision to end their own life. I agree that physician-assisted suicide should be legal in every state because in most cases, people that are terminally ill should have