Ethical Reasoning Final Paper (Assisting Suicide)

Running Head: ASSISTING SUICIDE ! 1

Assisting Suicide

Shaketa Robinson

PHI 208: Ethics and Moral Reasoning

Prof. Paul Pistone

June 15, 2020

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Assisting Suicide

Part 1: Ethical Question

Should physicians be allowed to opt-out of assisting with suicide if it is legal and a person

requests it?

Part 2: Introduction

There are countries in the glob that have allowed euthanasia in which is a way physicians

are involved in termination of life of a patient would wish to die. This has been a controversial

issue in many states in which some states have allowed physicians to assist opting out when a

person requests it (Thomson, 2019). In most cases, this kind of situation is evident when the

patient is under an extreme condition where pain is more than a human can handle therefore

patients decide their life to be terminated to avoid suffering (Lee et al, 2016). Suffering can only

be estimated by humans in this situation the patient can be the only one who testifies its

magnitude.

However, this has been controversial since it is against some religious beliefs that do not

believe in life termination by humans as well as considering the patient might not be making the

right decision due to his or her condition (Thomson, 2019). There have been several cases in

which physicians are sued after terminating the life of a patient afterward the family members

reclaim that was wrong since the patient would recover. Some cases, for example, Brittany was

involved in such a case where she had to move to Oregon to be allowed to terminate her life. In

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brief, the argument from autonomy maintains that just as everyone has the right to determine for

themselves how to live their lives, they should have the right to determine for themselves the

timing and manner of their death (Thames, 2018).

Part 3: Position Statement

It is among the right of a patient to be assisted when the need comes and therefore a

physician should not opt-out when it comes to initiating suicide when a patient wishes to when

the law has allowed the act.

Part 4: Reasons in Support of Your Position

According to my statement position, there are various reasons in which a patient should

be allowed to commit suicide mores when the law gives in a go-ahead. It is upon personal rights

to either life or death and there are tangible reasons why one should die. Initially one fills suicide

death forms when the individual is in a critical condition as fur as health status is concerned. The

law has defined that humans have the right to die and therefore, this right should be executed in

the right way (Lee et al, 2016). When a physician opts out to help a patient in suicide after

following the required procedure it would be a denial of personal rights. In most cases such

situations this turns out to the only option that is remaining.

Apart from having the right to die other reasons would force one to have legal suicide.

Initially, this process tends not to harm others in that there no conflicts that exist it is also part of

respecting selfhood and human dignity in that the aspect of being able to determine what one

needs is part of human dignity that should be upheld (Thomson, 2019). This means that opting-

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out in such a situation results in more suffering and therefore physicians ought not to opt-out

more so when they are covered by the law.

Part 5: Opposing Position Statement

Taking the fact that it is unethical being involved in act of life termination acts despite the

law standing in between to protect an individual it is not morally upright in terminating human

life for it is not the role of humans to terminate life rather a role of subring being.

Part 6: Reasons in Support of the Opposing Position

In every act of life, there are pros and cons in which both sides should be taken into

consideration. When it comes to life termination this act brings life to a complete end in that

there is no other chance of living. (Fischer et al, 2018) A physician opting out may give a patent

a chance to survive despite the condition in that pain can cease making that patient have a change

of mind in that this will be possible if the physician had decided to opt-out.

It is also important to consider religious stands and ethics that ought to be used in such

situations in which it unethical to allow humans to terminate their life regardless of the condition

(Thomson, 2019). It is also part of devaluing human life such that one takes part in terminating a

life that shows less value of human need to live.

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References

Fischer, S., Huber, C. A., Imhof, L., Imhof, R. M., Furter, M., Ziegler, S. J., & Bosshard, G.

(2018). Suicide assisted by two Swiss right-to-die organizations. Journal of medical

ethics, 34(11), 810-814.

Lee, M. A., Nelson, H. D., Tilden, V. P., Ganzini, L., Schmidt, T. A., & Tolle, S. W. (2016).

Legalizing assisted suicide—views of physicians in Oregon. New England Journal of

Medicine, 334(5), 310-315.

Thames, B. (2018). How should one live? An introduction to ethics and moral reasoning (3rd

ed.). Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu

Thomson, J. J. (2019). Physician-assisted suicide: Two moral arguments. Ethics, 109(3), 497-

518.