Essay - Assisted Suicide When We Think of Assisted Suicide, Most of...

Assisted Suicide

When we think of assisted suicide, most of us immediately think of Dr. Jack Kevorkian, the retired pathologist who was sentenced to two terms of imprisonment in 1999 for helping a man suffering from a terminal disease to die (Humphrey 2002). Assisted ***** is a very passionate issue of debate in this country. There are numerous ethical and moral considerations aside from ***** legal aspects of the practice. The *****pic is as controversial as abortion ***** capital punishment. Most e*****one has a deep-rooted belief one way or the other, they are either for or against, few ride the middle ground. It has been my observation that those in favor ***** pro-life are more likely to favor capital ***** and oppose assisted suicide, and those in ***** of abortion and assisted ***** ***** more ***** to oppose ***** death penalty. It is indeed a passionate issue and will continue to be debated for years to come.

There is a difference between physician-***** suicide and euthanasia. Physician-assisted suicide is a de*****th assisted by a qu*****lified medical practitioner who is acting on behalf a competent, terminally ill patient who wishes ***** end his/her own life. This is usually achieved by means of lethal injections. Euthanasia, a word taken ***** a similar Greek ***** meaning 'easy or good death,' ***** basically mercy k*****ing, a decision usually decided by the physician and/or family members. ***** is the act of mercifully ending ***** ***** of a hopelessly suffering p*****tient (American pg). Passive euthanasia is the ***** of a patient's life ***** withholding or withdrawing *****-sustaining treatments. Active euthanasia is achieved by causing a virtually painless death by means without which life would ***** naturally, usually referring to lethal injections. ***** is the act of taking one's own life voluntarily and intentionally (American pg). And herein lies the debate.

Society at large generally accepts the ***** of intravenous fluids ***** artificial feedings in cases where the p*****ient is thought to have no chance ***** survival or quality of life. Many people are ********** such passages in 'living wills' along with 'do not resuscitate' orders. In cases ***** a patient has no living will, the decisions to withhold life supporting techniques are usually carried out by the *****'s loved-ones with physician consultation (Death 2002).

Euthanasia is quietly used as a means to end the suffering of a terminally ill patient nearing ***** last stage of the dying process, although it ***** illegal in every state. It is practiced throughout the country by most physicians as a me*****ns of eliminating ***** needless suffering ***** a ***** who is *****t the threshold of *****. The most common practice of ***** by ***** is the increased dosage of pain medication on ***** ill patients to ease ********** suffering but with the k*****wledge ***** it ***** speed ***** death ***** (Death *****). This is a fairly common and accepted ***** by physicians ***** society, except in cases prohibited by religious *****s or moral ethics. Th***** is referred ***** as the