Euthanasi An Alternative Mode Of Life Care - 1769 Words

End of life care is a prevailing issue in the United States that affects the terminally ill. It includes physician-assisted suicide, which is legal in five states and the practice of euthanasia which is illegal. (Barone, 2014). Delving deeper into the issue of end of life care reveals that this issue affects far more than the patient that is suffering. It raises the question of whether or not it is acceptable to reject the request of a person based solely on the socio-religious values of protecting life and ignoring the moral responsibility of ending the misery of another person even when they explicitly ask to end their suffering. Terminally ill, elderly, or disabled patients that are aware of the physical and mental deterioration caused†¦show more content†¦Patients, families, and physicians that oppose physician-assisted suicide, can seek alternative modes of end of life care, such as palliative care which intends to control suffering and not hasten the death of the patie nt. Physician-assisted suicide and its alternatives are options for competent patients to hasten death; however, what are the moral and ethical implications of such practices? Many people, young and old who are terminally ill or are facing a debilitating disease continually look for a way to ameliorate their pain and suffering. When the options for cure or successful recovery are bleak, the patient may ask for physician-assisted suicide. It is a procedure done with the consent of the patient and the patient administers the lethal dose. Physician-assisted suicide was first legalized in Oregon and four other states followed suit in 2008, legalizing physician-assisted suicide either through legislation or case ruling: Vermont, Washington, New Mexico, and Montana (Gonchar, 2014). Physicians in these five states are protected under the law, allowing them to write prescriptions for lethal medication if a terminally ill patient makes a request. The prescription drug administered by doctors to patients used to be pentobarbital, but is now out of production and instead doctors give secobarbital; the drug consists of a lethal dose of barbiturates, which ultimately l ead to the cessation of brain and nervous system activity (Barone, 2014). A common misconception