ASSISTED SUICIDE AND EUTHANASIA 1

Assisted suicide is a very controversial subject. Everyone has an opinion on the matter and it

is likely that everyone will not agree on the matter. I have always been of the opinion that god

gave us life and is the only that should take it away. However, I have never been in a terminally

ill state and do not know the feeling of living everyday in unbearable pain. I can only imagine

what a person is going through in this matter and can understand why they would wish to be

dead. My opinion of assisted suicide being wrong is based on my moral belief and that fact that I

do not think I could ever been able to commit such an act. Because of how I feel, it seems

morally wrong for anybody else to commit such an act as well. Since taking my class on ethical

behavior, I have come to realize that what one believes to be morally correct is not necessarily

how another person may feel. This belief is called moral relativism. “Moral relativism is

whatever anyone claims to be morally acceptable is morally acceptable, at least for that person” [

CITATION Vin08 \l 1033 ].

“For years, doctors have been prohibited from assisting patients in taking their own lives. Dr.

Jack Kevorkian gained world attention by assisting in several suicides to dying patients; he was

sentenced to over 60 years for his efforts, despite the gratitude of the patients and their families.

Recent laws in Oregon and the U.K. have started a trend of legalization. But some, most notably

the U.S. Attorney General's office, are determined to prevent the laws from going through”

(BalancedPolitics.org. (2007). When I was first introduced to the subject of assisted suicide, it

was due to a man named Dr. Jack Kevorkian. I couldn’t believe that someone, a doctor no less,

would purposely give someone a drug that would kill them. I always thought doctors took an

oath to save lives, not take it away. I am now beginning to understand that Dr. Kevorkian was
ASSISTED SUICIDE AND EUTHANASIA 2

acting in a way that he believed to be morally correct. When looking into the matter of assisted

suicide, we have to consider the consequences and ask ourselves the “Three difficult Questions”:

 Is it justifiable to perform an evil act in order to achieve good consequences?

 Is it justifiable to perform an act that is not in itself evil, but produces mixed

consequences – some beneficial and some harmful?

 When only two actions are possible, and both produce good (negative) results, which

should be chosen?

[ CITATION Vin08 \l 1033 ]

When I think of answers to the questions above, I would have to say that I do not believe that

assisting in suicide is right even though it may relieve the person of the pain they may feel. I do

not feel that we, as humans, have the right to take a life unless it comes down to a matter of self

defense. Helping in assisted suicide can produce mixed consequences. Many people will be

against it and many will be for it. I think the only person that benefits from the assisted suicide is

the patient. As far as the last question, I think only negative results are the outcome: the patient

has committed suicide and the doctor is guilty of murder. I also believe that the patient believes it

isn’t suicide if the doctor is the one giving them the drugs to be put to death. We have all call

what Dr. Kevorkian did assisted suicide, but it is actually called voluntary euthanasia. There is a

difference between the two forms of death. “One way to distinguish them is to look at the last act

– the act without which death would not occur. Using this distinction, if a third party performs

the last act that intentionally causes a patient’s death, euthanasia has occurred. For example,

giving a patient a lethal injection or putting a plastic bag over her head to suffocate her would be
ASSISTED SUICIDE AND EUTHANASIA 3

considered euthanasia. On the other hand, if the person who dies performs the last act, assisted

suicide has taken place. Thus it would be assisted suicide if a person swallows an overdose of

drugs that has been provided by a doctor for the purpose of causing death. It would also be

assisted suicide if a patient pushes a switch to trigger a fatal injection after the doctor has

inserted an intravenous needle into the patient’s vein” (Patients Rights Council, 2010).

Should an incurably-ill patient be able to commit physician-assisted

suicide?

Yes
1. Tremendous pain and suffering of
patients can be saved.
2. The right to die should be a fundamental
freedom of each person.
3. Patients can die with dignity rather than
have the illness reduce them to a shell of
their former selves.
4. Health care costs can be reduced, which
would save estates and lower insurance
premiums.
5. Nurse and doctor time can be freed up
to work on savable patients.
6. Prevention of suicide is a violation of
religious freedom.
7. Pain and anguish of the patient's family
and friends can be lessened, and they
can say their final goodbyes.
8. Reasonable laws can be constructed
which prevent abuse and still protect the
value of human life.
9. Vital organs can be saved, allowing
doctors to save the lives of others.
10. Without physician assistance, people
may commit suicide in a messy,
horrifying, and traumatic way.
No
1. It would violate doctors' Hippocratic
Oath.
2. It demeans the value of human life.
3. It could open the floodgates to non-
critical patient suicides and other
abuses.
4. Many religions prohibit suicide and the
intentional killing of others.
5. Doctors and families may be prompted
to give up on recovery much too early.
6. Insurance companies may put undue
pressure on doctors to avoid heroic
measures or recommend the assisted-
suicide procedure.
7. Miracle cures or recoveries can occur.
8. Doctors are given too much power, and
can be wrong or unethical.

BalancedPolitics.org. (2007).
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References

BalancedPolitics.org. (2007). Physician Assisted Suicide: Pros and Cons. Retrieved on March 15, 2011,
from http://www.balancedpolitics.org/assisted_suicide.htm

Marker, R. L., Hamlon, K. (2010). Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide: Frequently Asked.

Questions Retrieved on March 15, 2011, from

http://www.patientsrightscouncil.org/site/frequently-asked-questions/

Ruggiero, V. R. (2008). Thinking Critically About Ethical Issues. New York: McGraw Hill

Higher Education.