Euthanasia and assisted suicide are controversial issues central to doctors’ responsibilities. These procedures happen when physicians offer the required facts and methods to facilitate a patient’s choice in their life. Many people consider life preservation as the higher drive of humanity’s existence. Numerous physicians graduating every year vow to utilize their abilities to help clients in pain and lengthen their existence. However, survival becomes extra complicated when the patients are experiencing unimaginable pain. Some suggest that offering such folks legitimate and safe ways to end their suffering is rational and humane. However, others oppose legalizing this practice due to severe medical and lawful obstacles. Assisted suicide and euthanasia are vital additions to the standard end-of-life care practice; thus, the government should legalize these practices.
The government should legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide as a relief of suffering. Validating euthanasia would help lessen the suffering of fatally ill individuals (Luzon). It would appear biased and inhuman for physicians to make clients undergo unbearable pain. Generally, medicine always aims to relieve patients suffering from diseases. Hippocrates’s ancient oath assured to utilize therapies to assist clients but never administer toxic substances to those who demanded such procedures. However, supporters of assisted suicide and euthanasia contend that relieving suffering using lethal ingestion is sympathetic and humane. This situation applies if the client is dying and suffering becomes refractory.
The privilege to die must remain a personal decision but never mandated by administrations. Individuals possess the right to select many life routes that may lead them in varying directions. Most of these choices receive minimal governmental interference. Generally, some spiritual opinions regarding suicide may influence this discussion and the personal challenges involved in helping somebody die (Luzon). However, terminally ill individuals may desire to pass independently (McKinnon and Orellana-Barrios 39). Integrating dignity and death laws can assist in making this option possible. The patient has the final decision rather than waiting for review boards. Also, the sick finally take fatal prescriptions instead of the physician. Therefore, the decision to apply euthanasia and assisted suicide remains in the patient’s control. This phenomenon shows that the government should legalize these practices, giving people the right to end life.
Assisted suicide and euthanasia offer extra control regarding the ultimate life choices. A person’s death begins the financial expedition for their esteemed ones (Dugdale et al.). People never forgive arrears after death. The family and society become responsible for paying off the remaining obligations. In this case, these people can take extended periods to resolve multifaceted financial problems. Thus, once these practices become a portion of the discussion for people with terminal diseases can help, individuals can plan to make such a transition straightforward for everybody. A disease’s physical and emotional toll can decrease for everyone involved by possessing extra control over the ultimate life decision (Dugdale et al.). Therefore, euthanasia and assisted suicide can relieve family members, caretakers, and the sick. This family can have peace by recognizing the time to end such a circumstance. The phenomenon shows the need to legalize the practices, giving everyone control over their life choices.
Assisted suicide and euthanasia can help patients evade caregiver culpability. The most substantial challenge that happens with a fatal diagnosis is the emotions of shame and guilt that patients have concerning their caregivers. In this case, the sick start feeling like a burden on their loved ones. This situation creates reactions resulting in association difficulties. Authorizing euthanasia and assisted suicide may not be widespread in various groups, but it may establish a plan for the brief period that everybody faces these circumstances (Dugdale et al.). Helping a person find needed physical peace allows the emotional healing procedure to assist everyone in pushing through their misery more consistently.
Assisted suicide and euthanasia are safe medical practices. Many advocates laud these procedures for being safe medical practices. In this case, physicians can ensure safe death in ways other suicide means can never guarantee (Piili et al.). Therefore, euthanasia and assisted suicide are vital options among numerous possibilities for the care of the dying (Piili et al.). Though individual state rules and regulations differ, most recommend various precautions to inhibit misuse and offer an arrangement for actions that folks will conduct, notwithstanding extra messily. Generally, precautions require patients electing these practices to remain informed of every end-of-life option. The law requires two witnesses to confirm that the client demands assisted suicide or euthanasia autonomously. It also ensures the patients are free of coercion and can ingest the toxic prescription themselves. These phenomena demonstrate that euthanasia and assisted suicide are safe clinical practices because the rules and regulations ensure that doctors and patients follow the correct process before carrying out the procedures.
These practices fulfill the doctor’s duty of beneficence. This principle requires a physician to act in ways that promote patients’ welfare. Still, controversy arises over what actions doctors should undertake to fulfill the obligation appropriately. Also, some people proclaim that beneficence needs physicians to preserve life no matter the cost (Vargić 56). Other individuals argue that patients’ interests get best served by doctors who respect the client’s autonomy. In this case, the physician is sensitive to the patient’s pain and ready to take the necessary steps to end such suffering. Thus, the most generous act in the case of terminally ill patients requesting an end to their life and suffering intractable pain would entail terminating the life using merciful methods. In these instances, death is imminent, and physicians have two choices remaining. For example, the doctors may end the patient’s life or let the illness take its course. The second option achieves nothing except prolonging patients’ suffering and permitting painful deaths. However, the second method accomplishes the physician’s obligation of beneficence by making patients’ inevitable death easier and acting to end their life (Mroz et al.). Therefore, euthanasia and assisted suicide should get legalized because they fulfill the physician’s beneficence duty.
Numerous medical experts whose views are highly relevant agree that assisted suicide and euthanasia are sometimes the only options when dealing with a terminally ill individual. Doctors sometimes lack other methods to help but medicate the person to ease the pain. The patient is hardly aware of their environment. Physicians should never inflict more suffering upon the person entrusted with the patient’s care. Therefore, legalizing assisted suicide and euthanasia would permit medical experts and patients to cooperate in developing an end-of-life care strategy (Mroz et al.). This situation will eliminate the pain of an extended death; therefore, the government should validate these practices.
Assisted suicide and euthanasia should become legalized and be fundamental privileges because they allow patients to make conscious choices regarding their fate. These practices help relieve suffering, are safe medical procedures, and assist physicians in fulfilling their beneficence obligation. They also assist patients in avoiding caregiver guilt and provide more control over final life decisions. Numerous terminally ill individuals desire to die with self-respect. Thus, regimes should never deny patients this choice. Thus, the government should legalize these practices and establish relevant legislations to inhibit abuses.
Dugdale, Lydia S et al. “Pros and Cons of Physician Aid in Dying.” The Yale journal of biology and medicine vol. 92, 4 747-750. 20 Dec. 2019
Luzon, Golan. “The Practice of Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide Meets the Concept of Legalization.” Criminal Law and Philosophy, vol. 13, no. 2, 5 July 2018, pp. 329–345, 10.1007/s11572-018-9474-9.
McKinnon, Brandi, and Menfil Orellana-Barrios. “Ethics in Physician-Assisted Dying and Euthanasia.” The Southwest Respiratory and Critical Care Chronicles, vol. 7, no. 30, 19 July 2019, pp. 36–42, 10.12746/swrccc.v7i30.561.
Mroz, Sarah, et al. “Assisted Dying around the World: A Status Question.” Annals of Palliative Medicine, vol. 9, no. 6, Sept. 2020, pp. 57–57, apm.amegroups.com/article/view/50986/html, 10.21037/apm-20-637.
Piili, Reetta P., et al. “Ambivalence toward Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide Has Decreased among Physicians in Finland.” BMC Medical Ethics, vol. 23, no. 1, 11 July 2022, 10.1186/s12910-022-00810-y. Accessed 30 July 2022.
Vargić, Hrvoje. “Should Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide Be Legal?” Disputatio Philosophica, vol. 20, no. 1, 7 Feb. 2019, pp. 45–75, 10.32701/dp.20.1.3. Accessed 14 Jan. 2020.