Should Physician Assisted Suicide Be Legal

7 Pages 1714 Words

Physician-Assisted suicide has been a debated legal issue in the United States for over twenty years. This process is defined as when a “qualified medical practitioner, in fulfilling the wishes of the terminally ill patient, gives access to administering a lethal injection, or inhalation of carbon monoxide“ (Henry 113). The mere fact that someone says in an unclear fashion that he or she wants to be killed does not in itself provide the doctor with the right to say that death would benefit that person. Complications such as muscle spasms, vomiting, and extreme gasping occurred in more than 20% of assisted suicides. This form of “mercy killing” should not be legalized because it shows lack of human worth, it is inconsistent with a just legal system, and it is an oxymoron in the medical practice. In legalizing this our country will loose its understanding of the worth of life.
The first method, which is the lethal injection requires the patient to be attached to an IV which would be attached to three containers. Each holding a different solution; saline, sedative, and potassium chloride (mixture of muscle relaxant). The first assistant would begin by allowing the saline to flow into the patient’s body. The second step involves the patient because they must pull a switch that allows the remainder of the harmful substances to enter their body. A patients death will then take place within two minutes of the completion of the IV.
The second method of assisted suicide is the inhalation of carbon monoxide. This requires the patient to wear a mask covering both the nose and mouth. The mask is then connected to a container of carbon monoxide with a tube. Depending on the severity of the patients illness they have a choice on two methods for releasing the carbon monoxide. The first is to allow the gas to flow by opening the nozzle of the container, and the other is to have the patient release a clamp placed on the tube that allows...