Physician Assisted Suicide: a Contentious Topic Today

Physician Assisted Suicide
Tara Faircloth
SOC 120
Mr. Niehaus
October 10, 2011

Assisted suicide is a very contentious topic in the world today. Everyone has their own opinion on this subject and it is a socially debated subject that involves a person making a choice, whether it is a choice to continue on with their life or give up hope and end their life. This should be a choice a person should make for themselves. While in the United States only one state has legalized assisted suicide. I agree with assisted suicide and this paper will support my feelings on this subject.
What is Physician assisted suicide? Physician assisted suicide (PAS) is also called Physician aid-in-death (PAD) is a practice that a physician gives competent, terminally ill patients the means of getting and giving themselves a deadly dose of medications. The first thing the patient has to do is talk to their physician to see if they participate in this type of act. Then after they figure that out all they have to do is explain their reasons for this type of help and the physician writes out a prescription for the drug that the patient will administer.   While the patient will administer the drug themselves a physician or someone else has to be present to witness the procedure. Depending on the type of drug they use will depend on if the death is quick or a little slower to allow time with family.
Amongst the legal and medical communities there are many definitions of assisted suicide, along with the contentious debate of suicide that is assisted by a physician rather a family member or friend. PAS has some benefits with it but it also has some disadvantages. The benefits of assisted suicide for the terminally ill individual are significant, even though the debates still raise questions about the responsibilities of the medical community. Being able to take a well-adjusted view at this controversial issue is highly important to understand each view point. But at the same time the...