Bautista 1

Stephanie Bautista
Chism
Pre-English
August 10, 2017

Audience Analysis

In the position paper, The Controversy Regarding Physician Assisted Suicide it demonstrates
two contrasting viewpoints. One viewpoint is pro physician assisted suicide believing that
individuals should have the right to decide the extent their illness can affect them. The alternative
viewpoint is that physician assisted suicide should not become legal in the United States as it is
unethical and can be abused by physicians. The academic audience which the paper leans
towards is young United States citizens and future doctors. Firstly, the paper is guided towards
young US citizens as they have the ability to change the legality of the situation, it should also be
a concern for their future health. Secondly, the paper is also guided towards future doctors as
they should learn about the medical controversy as its future legal status may change their
decision to be a doctor. If it is legalized and a pre-medical student views it as a problem ethically
for them, it may change their career path. The position paper was made for the purpose to
convince the young public that physician assisted suicide should become legal in the United
States as the government illegalizing the procedure in some states strips the public of their
constitutional right. The audience will be informed more of reasons why assisted suicide should
be legal compared to reasons why it should remain illegal. The paper will cover real life medical
scenarios of how illegalizing physician assisted suicide creates difficulty for terminally ill
patients, yet the paper will also explain how even though the majority of US citizens are pro
assisted suicide the government still will not legalize it nation wide. Having the audience of
young US citizens and potential doctors is appropriate for the topic of physician assisted suicide
as its current legal status will affect their future.

Word count: 300

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Stephanie Bautista
Chism
Pre-English 101
August 10, 2017

The Controversy Regarding Physician-Assisted Suicide

The United States and medical field officials are faced with a controversial issue,

Physician-assisted suicide. In some states assisted suicide is legal, while in others it caused court

cases and homicidal convictions. Although assisted suicide is legal in states like Washington, it

is still a rare procedure, in 2011 only 70 individuals took lethal prescription doses (Karaim).

Assisted suicide has become a controversial topic because firstly there are no set guidelines made

by medical organizations as this is a new procedure. Secondly, this causes conflict with morality

issues. This topic holds importance to my future career choice of being a doctor, as various states

have different stances on this causing court cases to arise. I have personally seen when a

terminally ill patient is gasping for their last breath and seeing the pain they have suffered made

me question the topic of physician assisted suicide. I began to wonder if the government is being

unfair by not legalizing physician assisted suicide nationally. Personally seeing the difficulties

that a terminally ill patient face led me to the question, to what extent is it ethically right to allow

physician-assisted suicide in the United States?

Physician assisted suicide is defined as a procedure where a licensed physician provides a

lethal dose of drugs to a terminally ill patient to terminate their own life (Context). Assisted

suicide is known as a type of euthanasia specifically an active euthanasia. Active euthanasia is an

illegal procedure where a patient's life can be ending voluntarily or involuntarily with drugs,

while passive euthanasia is a legal procedure where doctors can remove life-prolonging

technology (Context). This began to arise some questions like what determines the legality of
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procedures? Passive euthanasia could be seen as a type of suicide yet it is legal, unlike assisted

suicide.

Assisted suicide has grown popularity in the US, yet the government will not allow it to

become legal nationwide. The only states where assisted suicide is legal is in Oregon, Montana,

Washington, Vermont, California, Colorado, and Washington DC. But what happens to a

terminally ill patient in a different state that wishes to pass away peacefully? Scenarios like that

are what sparked court cases around America. A doctor, David Muller, documented what it was

like to have a 91 year old named Charlie ask for assisted suicide yet not be granted their wish as

it was illegal in their state (Muller). Charlie is one example of where an ill patient sought

starvation as an alternative method to assisted suicide. Around the US there are various cases like

Charlie which are brought up to the supreme court, yet there is no set government position on

assisted suicide.

In regards to physician assisted suicide some issues that arise are if it is ethically right for

a physician to help a patient kill themselves. The ethical question is brought up because typically

a patient will see a physician to cure them, not help kill them. Some argue that the physician is

not taking any part in the killing as the patient is the one who self-administers the drug, yet some

believe they should take blame as they provide it (Context). Some arguments which support

assisted suicide is that firstly it helps make death comforting for the patient and the family. I will

then mention another supporting argument which claims that it is better to legalize assisted

suicide as its become a wanted procedure that patients will find alternative methods. But, there

are also some claims as to why assisted suicide should not be allowed like firstly some

individuals may use it as a way to end their financial burdens that come with medical bills. Then

I will introduce the last argument of why assisted suicide should stay illegal, as there are no set
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guidelines for medical officials to follow. A lot of the argument regarding assisted suicide comes

back down to an individual's own morality and ethical beliefs.

An argument made in regards to why assisted suicide should be legalized is that it's better

to give individuals the option of the procedure instead of them finding their own means of doing

it. In the article, Physician-Assisted Death Is Illegal In Most States, So My Patient Made

Another Choice by David Muller focuses on the case in which a patient desired to end their

terminal illness so bad that they instead starved themselves as assisted-suicide was not legal in

their state. The article focuses on Mullers medical case in New York with Charlie a ninety-one

year old who was suffering excruciating pain. Charlie came to the conclusion that he no longer

wanted to live in pain so he asked Muller for assisted suicide, yet in New York the procedure is

deemed as illegal so Muller could not grant his wish. Muller and Charlie instead found an

alternative method for the procedure, Charlie would stop eating and drinking to slowly kill

himself as in the state of New York the court concluded that its legal for mentally competent

patients with life-threatening or life-limiting illness to voluntarily stop eating or drinking.

(Muller). Within a week after living off of only pain medication Charlie died of malnutrition and

starvation, this caused Muller to question the legality of assisted suicide. By the end of the article

Mullers ethical dilemma led him to the conclusion that the government should not control

whether or not a patient can continue to suffer, as it is a personal matter and if a patient truly

wants it they will find other ways to achieve it.

Continuing, another argument to why assisted-suicide should be legalized is that the

majority of Americans agree with the procedure. In the article, Americans Attitudes Towards

Euthanasia and Physician-assisted suicide, 1936-2002 by The Journal of Sociology and Social

Welfare goes in depth on multiple views regarding assisted suicide from religion to physician
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organizations. The article reveals that US opinion polls show that most Americans support

assisted suicide as many believe that an individual has the right to end their life if their life

quality has diminished (Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare). Historical evidence then

backs up why assisted suicide should be legal, as it states that the ancient Greeks believed it was

morally right to terminate one's life if it's not considered to be worthwhile (Journal of Sociology

and Social Welfare). Assisted suicide should become legal in the US as the majority of the

population agrees with it. If a person feels like their illness is belittling their life, then they

should have the right to choose what they want to do.

Lastly, physician-assisted suicide should become legal in the US as it makes death a

better and easier experience for patients and their loved ones. The article Medical Aid in Dying:

The Cornerstone of Patient-Centered Care by Barbara Coombs Lee and David Grube goes in

depth on how doctors strive to make medical decisions through patient centered care which has

to do with a patients wants and values. For some individuals assisted suicide may be what a

terminally ill patient wants, like a last wish. Instead of preventing them from getting their last

wish, doctors should instead leave it as an open option.

Although some individuals see benefits to legalizing assisted suicide, others argue that it

should not become legalized in the United States. Daniel E Lee released an essay called,

Physician-assisted Suicide: A Conservative Critique of Intervention which argues that

physician-assisted suicide is not ready to be legalized in society. The essay starts off with the

statement, Uncomfortable with the idea of physicians, who are trained to preserve life,

dispensing lethal drugs to be used to end life (Lee) and is later explained in depth how doctors

swore an oath to preserve an individual's life as long as possible. Another point to why assisted-

suicide should not be allowed is that doctors may abuse their new power, Voluntary physician-
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assisted suicide invites abuse, such as physicians taking it upon themselves to end the lives of

terminally ill patients. (Lee) this is then explained further with an incident in Netherlands which

physicians conducted involuntary euthanasia.

In conclusion, physician-assisted suicide is a controversial topic in today's society. Some

argue that assisted suicide should not be legal as doctors may abuse their power and start

involuntarily administering lethal doses of medicine. Others believe that assisted suicide is too

difficult to control yet also going against the oaths that physicians swear to before they begin

their practice. Yet many are for the legalization of assisted suicide as they believe that a patient

has the right to determine the extent they want their medical suffering to be. Assisted suicide

should be allowed all across the US as it has become in demand to at least have it open as an

option. Reviewing multiple positions has allowed me to come to the conclusion that to a great

extent it is ethically right to allow physician assisted suicide to be allowed in the United States as

constitutionally an individual has the right to decide their treatment options.

Word count: 1,499

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Work Cited

Coombs Lee, Barbara. "Medical Aid in Dying: The Cornerstone of Patient-Centered Care."

Generations 41.1 (2017): 39-41. Academic Search Complete. Web. 28 July 2017.

Allen, Jen, et al. "Americans' attitudes toward euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide,

1936-2002." Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, vol. 33, no. 2, 2006, p. 5.

Opposing Viewpoints in Context,

link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A147522547/OVIC?u=umd_um&xid=a33c8cdb. Accessed

4 Aug. 2017.

Lee, Daniel E. "Physician-assisted suicide: a conservative critique of intervention. (essay)." The

Hastings Center Report, Jan.-Feb. 2003, p. 17+. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,

link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A97755129/OVIC?u=umd_um&xid=01845409. Accessed

10 Aug. 2017.

Dresser, Rebecca. "On Legalizing Physician-Assisted Death for Dementia." The Hastings Center

Report, July-Aug. 2017, p. 5+. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,

link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A499348930/OVIC?u=umd_um&xid=ebe3ab41. Accessed

4 Aug. 2017.

"Introduction to Physician-Assisted Suicide: At Issue." Physician-Assisted Suicide, edited by

James H. Ondrey, Greenhaven Press, 2006. At Issue. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,

link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010020118/OVIC?u=umd_um&xid=fff36c1b.

Accessed 28 July 2017.

Muller, David. "Physician-Assisted Death Is Illegal In Most States, So My Patient Made Another

Choice." Health Affairs 31.10 (2012): 2343-346. Academic Search Complete. Web. 28

July 2017.
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Karaim, Reed. "Assisted Suicide." CQ Researcher, 17 May 2013, pp. 449-72,

library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2013051700. Accessed 27 July 2017