Bioethics/Sanctity of Human Life: Euthanasia/Physician Assisted Suicide

Death is the inevitable fate of all humans but how we die is an issue of great concern for many of us. Fear of pain, loss of control and being a burden to our loved ones are common issues surrounding death and dying. But, to what degree should individuals be allowed to control the circumstances of their death — even to the point of involving a physician?

The proposed legalization of physician-assisted suicide (and to some degree euthanasia) is a topic of debate in state legislatures, medical journals and family gatherings, raising many questions along the way: Should personal autonomy in medical decision-making extend to having a physician assisted you in suicide? If so, should this “right” be limited to terminally ill patients or also extended to those who are chronically ill? What about depression and adequate pain relief to lessen the patient’s desire to die? And, what impact would legalizing physician-assisted suicide have on the doctor-patient relationship?

Features

Physician-Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia

Recent proposals to legalize physician-assisted suicide have raised this question and triggered intense legal, medical and social debate.

Lessons I Learned from Terri Schiavo

I never met Terri Schiavo but in some ways, she changed my life. I never heard her speak a word but her living and dying clarified truth for me in unexpected ways. Her life and death impacted how I view life and death, and decisions that are made in the crossing.

Prescribing Death - Euthanasia Exposed

Proposals to legalize physician-assisted suicide have triggered intense legal, medical and social debate in the United States. For some Americans, the debate is fueled by their fear that medical technology may someday keep them alive past the time of natural death.