Euthanasia is defined by the painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful terminal illness or irreversible coma. Should Physician Assisted Suicide/Euthanasia be legal when there are other viable options in the medical field that would provide ethical solutions to end of life care? Imagine Mark a 70-year-old man with severe heart disease. He was in pain and depressed and because of that was contemplating euthanization. His family persuaded him to think of an alternative solution. He was put into a hospice where some of his pain was lifted (physical and emotional pain). He would live 2 more years than expected. In those two years, he would see his granddaughter marry and his grandson graduate from college. Feeling his life was accomplished he died with a smile on his face. Because of this Physician-Assisted Suicide should not be legal in all states. Although somebody who supports physician-assisted suicide would say death helps terminally ill patients after their battle with terminal illnesses, the better alternative is hospice where you can live out your life in comfort and dignity surrounded by people you love. It is also completely unethical for any physician or person with a profession in the medical field to aide a
client, resident, or patient in the taking of their own life as stated in the Hippocratic Oath every nurse, physician, etc must take. I solemnly pledge myself before God and the presence of this assembly, to pass my life in purity and to practice my profession faithfully. I will abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous, and will not take or administer any harmful drug. I will do all in my power to maintain and elevate the standard of my profession and will hold in confidence all personal matters committed to my keeping and all family affairs coming to my knowledge in the practice of my calling. With loyalty, I will endeavor to aid the physician in his work, and devote myself to the welfare of those committed to my care. ( Modified version of Oath ). Other contentions that support that Euthanasia should be illegal and is unethical are: Oregons Death and Dignity Act, Physician Integrity and Patient Trust, and Accepting a Right to Suicide would Create a Legal Presumption of Sanity, Preventing Appropriate Mental Health Treatment. Euthanasia should be illegal and is unethical because it violates the terms of the Hippocratic Oath, and does not provide a patient with maximum efforts to relieve pain and address all aspects of wellbeing.