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TRANSCRIPT
Physician Aided Suicide: The
Wrong Solution By: Kevin Kruse
Introduction For quite some time now there has been an epic
war within the medical community This debate is over whether or not physician
aided suicide, or PAS, should be legalized It was highly publicized several years ago during
the Terri Schiavo case
Using Modern Medicine to Manage Pain In a poll taken in 1997 70% of Americans wished
to have the option of PAS when they were uniformed about the alternatives
Once individuals knew about the alternatives the number of those supporting PAS dropped drastically
In short people would choose to die naturally as opposed to unnaturally
Intro Cont. There are many different alternatives to PAS
where individuals could live out their lives comfortably and die naturally
Most people who would choose to have a physician assisted suicide are not aware of the alternatives such palliative or hospice care
PAS shouldn’t be legalized because Medicine could be used to manage pain, it is ethically and morally incorrect, and it could be over used for health care cost containment.
Modern Medicine Cont. Doctors and physicians are required to give a
patient what they need to feel comfortable The use of medication and other drugs can
virtually eliminate all experienced pain people are also unaware that it is legal for a
doctor to give you pain medication that may unintentionally hasten a person’s death
the word unintentionally is the key word because doctors are not permitted to give a patient a drug with the intention of killing them
Modern Medicine Cont. There are many organizations that specialize in
hospice care or palliative care Hospice care and palliative care is care given to
those with a terminal illness with the goal of making the patient comfortable while he or she lives out the rest of her life
Hospice and palliative care is sometimes also referred to as comfort care
Modern Medicine Cont. There are many organizations out there that are
donating money for research to discover better pain management tactics
These organizations include State Cancer Pain Initiatives, the American Pain Society, the Oncology Nursing Society, and the National Association of Oncology Social Workers
Controlling pain can help ease these mental states and change the belief that a premature death and a painless "final exit" is the solution
patients at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center who had requested suicide dismissed this as an alternative once satisfactory pain control was established
It is Morally and Ethically Wrong Also how is it morally and ethically correct for a
doctor whose main objective to help people to practice active or passive euthanasia
Active euthanasia is when a physician accelerates a patients death
Passive euthanasia is when a doctor lets the disease take its course and doesn't treat the patient
Morals and Ethics Cont. Then the question what is the real big difference
between passive and active euthanasia In both cases a physician is responsible for the
death of another person whether it be if the death was accelerated in some way or if they just let the patient die
both incidences could be considered murder because that doctor was responsible for the death of a person
Morals and Ethics Cont. Some consider passive euthanasia more morally
expectable because nothing is actually done to accelerate that persons death
Many ask how a physician can be held accountable when nothing was actually done by him or her, but they did do something, they let that patent die as opposed to doing their job and caring for the patient
Health Care Cost Containment Legalized euthanasia could be used to contain
spending on healthcare This could lead to corruption within the both the
government and medical field Doctors could do less and the government could
cut budgets so that it would be better for them financially as opposed to doing more to help the patient
Health Care Cost Containment Cont. Possibilities such as government budgets cuts
could become very real if PAS was legalized Our national debt continues to increase and the
government will be looking to make cuts everywhere
The first to be affected by healthcare cuts would be the poor and the elderly, those who either cant afford medical care or have declining health that may be costly to maintain
Health Care Cost Containment Cont. Evidence of healthcare budget cuts due to the
legalization of PAS is already apparent hear within the United States
Oregon is the only state in the U.S. where euthanasia is legal
Once the bill was passed 18 months later health care budgets for the poor were cut making it harder for those residents to receive medication or treatment needed to deal with their illness and to be comfortable
Proponents of Euthanasia Proponents to euthanasia do not see the point for
someone to suffer greatly They argue that the laws preventing PAS is like a
government mandate for people to suffer They argue that people with terminal illnesses
such as cancer should be allowed to choose to end their own pain and suffering
Refutation to Proponents Argument Many suffering from terminal illnesses such as
cancer would often lose all will to live wishing to pass because they have become helpless to the point where they can’t live without medical treatment or the help of others
These are hard times and I don’t see that one would be thinking in their right mind to make such a decision
Refutation Cont. For those who see the government restrictions as
mandated suffering aren’t arguing against laws that restrict the selling of tainted food and claiming it to be government mandated starvation
Laws are made for a reason and more times than not they are made to prevent bad things from happening
Refutation Cont. Who even has the right to even decide who has
the right to live or die? If a law was passed legalizing PAS the law would
be taken advantage for the wrong reasons People would abuse the right or find loop holes to
take their own life regardless if they are “deserving” or not
Physicians and the government could use the law to what is best for them financially
Closing Statements Euthanasia, also know as physician aided suicide,
should not allowed in the U.S Yes, people fear suffering and sometimes feel
that it would be best to take the easy way out, but with modern medicine and better education in the alternative options people would discover that they can live comfortably and die naturally