Who Decides That the Patient Will Die?

Categories: Assisted SuicideDeath

Hendin, Herbert. Seduced by Death: Doctors, Patients, and the Dutch Cure. New York

Until now I have yet to read an article from a doctor that has their practice. This book is from a doctor who has had many means of experience with patients, doctors, and families. This book uses interviews to address many any questions we may have about assisted suicide. Such as, Who decides that a patient will die? Throughout the book, it shows some other ways and things we can do to help find better options for those who may be near death.

But, in my opinion, can we find better options for these patients, and if we can why haven’t we yet, what are we waiting for? Doctor clearly works hard for doing the best they can for their patients and for finding cures for illnesses, but that all takes time, time that many patients don’t have, time that those patients will just spend suffering so more, and being unhappy.

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Patients should be able to make this choice for themselves if they are mentally able to, and if they may not be mentally able to the family should have a say in the steps moving forward for what they want for their loved one that is terminally ill and suffering.

Smith, Wesley J. Forced Exit: The Slippery Slope from Assisted Suicide to Murder. New York: Times, 1997.

This tries to convince the reader that the popular claim that assisted suicide is legalized, would remain a voluntary option for patients that are terminally ill.

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The author believes that legalizing assisted suicide would lead to the deaths of patients against their will. He believes that the alternatives of hospice and palliative care as truly compassionate measures and should be taken advantage of. This is a biased book that is trying to convince the reader of anything but doctor assisted doctor doctor doctor doctorassisted doctorresearchdoctor research doctor-assisted research research-assisteddoctor-assisted-assisteThe doctor suicide. This I do not agree with, if someone is ill enough and wants to end their life so they do not have to suffer any longer in hospice or palliative care, then they should have the right to choose how to end their life. Hospice is not a compassionate measure in my book, and many people believe the same as I do. The whole point of assisted suicide is so the patient can end their suffering, not so they can get taken care of by others and be hopped up on painkillers to try and make them “comfortable” in their last days because let’s be real, they are not anywhere near comfortable if they are on their deathbed with hospice care, they are still suffering. Think about it this way, if you had a pet that was suffering and it was clear, that you had done everything in your will for them but nothing was working, would you wanna let that pet live out the last few days of its life in pain and suffering or would you tell the vet it’s time and you go forth putting them to sleep… exactly you tell the vet that it’s time because you don’t want to make that animal suffer anymore. Yes, I know people are different than animals but if you think of it people have the advantage to speak up and say how they are feeling, and in this case, they should be able to speak up and say whether they want to put an end to their illness and suffering.

Blocher, Mark. The Right to Die? Caring Alternatives to Euthanasia. Chicago: Moody, 1999.

This author is an experienced pastor and bioethicist, and believes in human dignity and that it can be nurtured and respected in the face of mortality. Through reading this the author try’s to persuade you into thinking that there should be alternatives to assisted suicide and that there will always be a better option. The author is biased, though well researched which still makes this a reliable source.

Cavan, Seamus. Euthanasia: The Debate over the Right to Die. New York: Rosen Pub. Group, 2000.

Euthanasia is permissible when life becomes meaningless, therefore being brain dead justifies euthanasia. The author believes that assisted suicide is only moral under certain reasonings. The source is not exhaustive since does not bring out too many facts, so it may not be the most reliable because it is more opinion-basedisonbased researchresearch-based,opinion-basedresearch-based than research based. This being said the author is biased. I do not believe the source has provided enough concepts to get a feel for this topic. The information is credible but not enough to handle this topic. “…if he or she is in unbearable and unending pain, unable to enjoy…” (Cavan and Seamus 12). These are lines from the text that I do agree on.

Deventerareaside, Raymond J. Practical Decision Making in Health Care Ethics: Cases and Concepts. Washington: Georgetown University Press, 2009.

This states that is reasonable for a physician to end someone’s life when the person is in the appropriate state of health to do so. The major question that should be discussed is when the physician should be able to determine the Deventerresearch-basedpatientspatient'sasid life becomes ‘meaningless’. This discusses that liberty is a human right, meaning that people should be allowed to decide whether they want to end their lives. The authors of this book do make very clear arguments and leave no room for confusion. The book is a reliable source because it gives arguments for both sides. The authors do then take a side, but they let the reader learn from their side and make a choice for themselves as to whether they believe it to be moral or not. The authors are not biased. The work is organized in a manner to help the reader and,inform the reader about,  the reason for assisted suicide. The source does not try to make the reader take a specific side. ‘If autonomy and self-determination are accepted as moral norms, then voluntary requests for assistance in suicide or for lethal injections will seem morally justified to some’ (Devettere and Raymond 334).

Yorke, Jon. The Right to Life and the Value of Life: Orientations in Law, Politics and Ethics. Farnham, Surrey, England: Ashgate, 2010.

The State should not have any interference with the life of an adult citizen. This states that assisted suicide is morally wrong and their reasoning istheythey reasonlifebeing that since the right to live is moral then thelifebeing assisted suicide is immoral. It states that euthanasia is permissible when the patient is incapable to make life choices, ‘beyond the right to life’. This is not a biased source because both sides of the topic are talked about which leaves the author nononbiasedin-depths n biased on either side. This source is also reliable because it talked about the issues adequately and in-depth.

This source euthanasia beonbe depths reliable for people looking to learn about the moral issues of euthanasiaiseuthanasiadepthsbased research euthanasia bedepths and discusses whether or not it is moral or not. The book is very useful because it handles both sides of the debate and allows the reader to make an educated decision and then the author states what side they believe to be true after addressing the facts. Lines that stuck out to me are, ‘Sometimes the quality of somebody’s life is so bad that life is not worth continuing’ (Yorke and Jon 46)

‘Non-voluntary euthanasia does raise issues that do not arise in the case of assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia’euthanasiaofbe (Yorke and Jon 48).

Demy, Timothy J, and Gary Stewart. Suicide: A Christian Response: Crucial Considerations for Choosing Life. Grand Rapids, Mich: Kregel Publications, 1997.

This argues that letting someone die and killing someone is the same thing, but killing is immoral and that would then make a physician immoral for ending someone’s life. It states that death should only occur when a doctor is incapable of saving a patient’s life. The author believes it is morally okay to end a patient’s life if they do permit it. This source is reliable and well researched, and it does a good job in informing the reader on the issue. The author talks about the important points which also makes it easy for the reader to make a decision for themselves on whether they are for or against assisted suicide. A good way the reader does this is by giving the reader a view from the patient’s point of view and as to whether it will better for them to live or die. This source is not biased and is relevant for the discussion of this topic. ‘How one determines whether an act is immoral depends on one’s overall ethical theory’ (Demy, Timothy and Stewart 169)

Biggs, Hazel. Euthanasia, Death with Dignity and the Law. Oxford: Hart, 2000.

Euthanasia without a patient’s consent is considered murder, although euthanasia is permissible when a patient is physically dead. This book is a little different than others because it shows when a doctor should help assist a patient to die. All while doing so it gives logicslogithe behind each reasoning, which has helped with my understanding as to when assisted suicide should be permitted. This author is biased but educated and tries to inform the reader rather than persuade them. ‘The patient should exhibit fixed and dilated pupils’ (Biggs and Hazel 18).

Tulloch, Gail. Euthanasia: Choice and Death. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007.

This argues that letting someone die and killing are the same, which I do not agree on. The author believes this is immoral beyondresearch researchandbeyond researchresearchresearch and beyondresearchbeyond research research research research doctor researchdoctor-assisted and believes that euthanasia leaves out the interests of the patient. The source is useful for this topic because it attempts to hit all important arguments for topic although very biased. The source does contain vivid cases making the book reliable for the topic and interesting to the reader. ‘Lethal injection is a killing not a letting to die’ (Tulloch and Gail 32), this line stuck out to me because isn’t letting someone suffer to their death worse than letting someone end their life without pain.

Updated: May 24, 2022
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Who Decides That the Patient Will Die?. (2022, May 24). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/who-decides-that-the-patient-will-die-essay

Who Decides That the Patient Will Die? essay
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