Tuesday, February 4, 2014
criteria for physician-assisted suicide (PAS)
Under what circumstances do you think that PAS could be permissible? Name as many constraints as you wish, but read what your classmates have written so that we don't all say the same thing. If others have posted before you, add to what they've said -- give additional reasons for support or play devil's advocate or provide examples/illustrations.
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1. Terminally ill - the patient should be in bad condition to begin with. It should be apparent death is the only conclusion, it is only a matter of time before the patient passes on.
ReplyDeleteI agree to this. If they are going to die either way and soon, they should be allowed to choose whether they want it to be quick and painless or long and painful.
DeleteI agree, if the patient has signed the waiver, waited the predetermined amount of time set by state law and still makes the same decision and it wasnt a snap decision then PAS is okay.
Deletethere is no way that pas should occur who gave them the right to takes somebodies elses life. You can also take it as a philosophical stand point and is that considered murder
ReplyDeleteAlthough I agree that suicide is immoral, a terminally ill person has so few options and so little control over his or her life that maybe they feel like the only control they have is that over his or her own life and death. However, I would say that a person must be terminally ill and in pain in order to request PAS.
DeleteI would disagree with your argument, Caleb. Some people who are undergoing terminal illness just aren't going to recover - no matter what treatments are performed on them, their death is only a matter of time. Oftentimes, it is an uncomfortable and harrowing experience, not just for the patients but for family and friends who can only watch them slowly deteriorate.
DeletePAS offers patients a lot of comfort - physically in that they will no longer have to suffer, and mentally in that they can choose death on their own terms. It isn't a solution for everyone, because some see suicide (even in such a case) as intrinsically wrong; but it can be a welcomed end for others.
Of course, with such a morally turbulent area as suicide, there should be many guidelines to keep it from becoming immorally performed - which is what we are trying to flesh out here.
I do not think PAS is ever permissible under any circumstances. I believe that each human person has an intrinsic value that no disease or condition take away from and that each person has a purpose even if they are suffering. It is never right to deliberately end one's own life or to have someone assist them in doing so.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea that every person's life has a purpose and they shouldn't end their life because of it. To an extent I agree, but I believe that suicide should be an option, albeit a last resort, but an option nonetheless. I feel that everyone has the mental and physical strength to overcome whatever it is that they are going through and their purpose could be to inspire others that they don't have to give in to their illness and they shouldn't give up.
DeleteWhile I agree with the stand that you have taken on this subject. I still have to ask is it right for us to take that decision legally away from other individuals?
ReplyDeletePatient assisted suicide should be permissible when the patient suffers from irreversible brain damage or unending pain that can not be eliminated. I am at a moral crossroads saying this. If I was faced with a loved one wanting to end their life I would do everything in my power to stop them. But, on the other hand I feel it's easy for people to be against suicide because they are not the ones who have to deal with the mental or physical anguish that some of these people are going through. They believe it's the easy way out but I'm sure there is nothing easy about wanting to end your own life.
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