Argument Against Physician Assisted Suicide
Argument Against Physician Assisted Suicide
Running head: PHYSICIAN ASSISTED SUICIDE 1
PHYSICIAN ASSISTED SUICIDE 2
Argument Against Physician Assisted Suicide (PAS)
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Introduction
The American Medical Association asserts that “Physician-assisted suicide occurs when a physician facilitates a patient’s death by providing the necessary means and/or information to enable the patient to perform the life-ending act”. The main aim of this paper is to argue against physician assisted suicide (PAS)and give health care practitioners reasons to avoid the practice. Health care providers should be guided by the position that patients always opt for life. This argument will be supported by the facts that;
1. Physicians are supposed to save life (ensure continued healing) by healing the sick and not end their lives.
2. Physicians are well equipped to provide the best care at every point of a patient’s sickness up to death.
3. Life is sacred and no one has the right to take it except the creator.
The main role of physicians is to ensure safety of life by providing high quality care. This is stated by the principle of non-maleficence. Why would someone supposed to protect life help terminate it? it is morally wrong. According to Sulmasy and Mueller (2017), carrying out PAS is being unprofessional on the side of the physician. Imagine if the person who was helped terminate life after that were to survive. It is like carrying out the work of God and forgetting yours is only to help the patients get better and lead a healthy life.
This paper targets physicians because it is their role to ensure life is saved through healing. For one to become a physician, they must get all the necessary training necessary for treating patients in all stages of their illness. According to Cohen-Almagor (2016), Physicians have the necessary knowledge to heal patients whichever the point of sickness, including their death. So, when a patient is terminally ill, physicians should use their knowledge to apply the best care that will help relieve the pain of the patient and terminating life is not an option.
Some could argue that if the patient has given consent there is no problem to carry out PAS. But if that was the case then we could not have been having medicine prescriptions. Patients could get sick and take whatever medicine they feel like because its their life. But physicians have to give prescriptions to ensure patients are safe. As Sulmasy et al. (2016) puts it, the interests of a person are important when the value of that person is considered. Our society is built on religion which guides our moral doing and actions. It will be morally and ethically wrong to take life which is something society values.
Acting against PAS is not an easy thing to carry out though. This is because the issue of patient decision on their life matters and the principle of autonomy. Many have argued that everyone has the right to decide on matters to do with their life and that physicians have to respect the decision of the patient. Opponents say you cannot heal the life of a person who wants to die. O’Rourke, O’Rourke, and Hudson, (2017) says that some have justified PAS from the fact to be a physician you have to be compassionate, so PAS is the compassionate thing to do.
Conclusion
From whichever point one may try to justify PAS, it is ethically and morally wrong. There is value to life and all physicians are supposed to do is help protect and keep that life safe. The interests of a person may be important but not when the value of that person is at stake. Physicians are fully trained to heal the sick and there is no justification in helping them terminate life. This is why this essay will support its argument with evidence of PAS cases from the past and each argument will focus on the main issue. Feedback on this draft will be helpful in making a stronger argument in the final paper.
References
American Medical Association, (2020). Physician-Assisted Suicide. retrieved on 07 February 2020 from https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/ethics/physician-assisted-suicide
Cohen-Almagor, R. (2015). An argument for physician-assisted suicide and against euthanasia. Ethics, medicine and public health, 1(4), 431-441.
O’Rourke, M. A., O’Rourke, M. C., & Hudson, M. F. (2017). Reasons to reject physician assisted suicide/physician aid in dying.
Sulmasy, L. S., & Mueller, P. S. (2017). Ethics and the legalization of physician-assisted suicide: an American College of Physicians position paper. Annals of internal medicine, 167(8), 576-578.
Sulmasy, D. P., Travaline, J. M., Mitchell, L. A., & Ely, E. W. (2016). Non-faith-based arguments against physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia. The Linacre Quarterly, 83(3), 246-257.
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