The Issue Of Legalizing Physician Assisted Suicide

â€Å"You have a terminal illness.† These words are a death sentence and can completely turn a person’s life upside down. All hopes and dreams for the future are lost in a single second; all that remains is death staring straight into your face and from that moment on, the process of preparing for one’s death begins. Some individuals with terminal illnesses find solace in knowing that they can exert some power over their illnesses and choose how they want to die. Just as any individual has the legal right to plan out their healthcare wishes and ensure that their end-of-life concerns are taken care of, terminally ill patients should also have the right to have the choice to want to die naturally or end their lives. Legalizing physician-assisted suicide can give the dying individual comfort in knowing that they have options. Physicians presently are allowed to relieve the dying of their pain and suffering by administering lethal doses of pain medications. Terminally ill patients should be able to access lethal doses of medicine voluntarily through their physician to allow them the choice of death. Strong morals and ethics surrounding this issue have split society on whether or not physician-assisted suicide should be legalized across the United States. Nevertheless, the diagnosis of a terminal illn ess can create feelings of uncertainty, fear and helplessness and therefore, physician-assisted suicide laws should be passed nationwide to be able to give those who are dying ofShow MoreRelatedThe Controversial Issue Of Legalizing Physician Assisted Suicide1962 Words   |  8 PagesIntroduction The topic of legalizing Physician-assisted suicide (PAS) has long been a controversial issue in Canada and has recently received increased attention. In 1993, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled the provisions of the Criminal Code prohibiting assisted suicide. 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According to the legislature, patients who seek assisted-death must only have six months to live and are required to submit a written request as well as two oral requests at least 15 days apart. (Reilly). While Gov. Jerry Brown still has yet to approve this new law, the act has shed light on the topic of euthanasia/physician-assisted suicide. With the pending status of the law, the question remains on whether or notRead MorePAS: The Right of Each Patient1624 Words   |  7 Pagesfrom the state of Oregon that currently has a regulated physician assisted suicide program for the terminally ill, I am writing to you today, Mr. Blumenauer, to possibly convince you to draft a national law to legalize PAS for the United States specifically for the terminally ill. As you ma y know, the talk within this issue has been going around quite some time. 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