Euthanasia And Physician Assisted Suicide - 1180 Words

Throughout ones lifetime there is a set of experiences that affects ones moral views, causing us to distinguish right from wrong in certain situations. One topic that has caused major controversy as to whether it is ethical or not is euthanasia and physician assisted suicide. There are some who view this issue as unethical and murder, and others who see it as a basic constitutional human right. Many people differ in where they place the line that separates allowing one to die and murder, and the biggest issue would be as to whether the patient can competently agree to their death, hence the word suicide. After researching both sides of the issue I have decided that I will be advocating for the view that physician assisted suicided and†¦show more content†¦Another difference would be that physician assisted suicide is legal in 5 states, where as euthanasia is not. Despite their differences both of these subjects have caused controversy on their morality. There has been as man y arguments over these topics in the medical field as there have been with the law. With medical technology progressing, there are things that can prolong ones life. These things may all seem good, but for a patient who has to live a life of suffering, a prolonged one is not something these people may wish for. This is where physician assisted suicide would come in, the terminally ill patient would go to their doctors for medicine to help with their suffering, fatal drugs. Examples can be taken from landmark cases such as Karen Anne Quinlan, Nancy Cruzan, and Terri Schivao, these are all cases in which the patient (or a close family member), decided that using medical technology to prolong the patients life would not be worth it. The 1990 case of Nancy Cruzan was one that brought much controversy because her parents were the ones to decide to remove the feeding tube after Cruzan was left in a vegetative state after an accident. The parents argued that she should â€Å"die a dignifi ed death as they said she would have wanted† (NY Times). Cruzan was in a vegetative state where she could not move and experience life as a