Moral And Ethical Controversies Of Assisted Suicide

Moral and Ethical Controversies of Assisted Suicide The practices of euthanasia and assisted suicide are something that takes place in hospitals around the world both legally and illegally. It is the act of intentionally causing a patients death or allowing a patient to take their own life by prescribing lethal doses of medication. Until very recently, it was only legal in one state in the United States, Oregon. However, just this past November, Washington also hopped on board. Opinions about the topic vary; some justify it by saying they are putting an end to the patient’s suffering, some simply see it as killing, and others think it depends on the situation. With that being said, if it is ok, at what point do we know? How does this fit†¦show more content†¦This is a case in which those who support euthanasia justify themselves. In most cases euthanasia is usually done by giving a patient a lethal injection or giving them an overdose of medication. Assisting a patien t’s suicide can be characterized by a doctor prescribing lethal doses of medication to a patient; â€Å"Pharmacists dispense them, sometimes with instructions to ‘take all of this with a light snack and alcohol to cause death’† (American Thinker). Advocates of assisted suicide strongly believe that no one should be forced to stay alive if they do not want to, but the problem with this is that sometimes it is done without the patient’s consent, or without them being in the correct state of mind to know what exactly they are agreeing to. Anyone has the right to commit suicide if they wish to, but euthanasia and assisted suicide is one person aiding the death of another, and that is what is immoral. It changes from the right to die to the right to kill. Oregon was the first and only state for nearly ten years to legalize assisted suicide. According to USA Today, â€Å"In 1994 Oregon voters by a margin of 51 percent approved the Death with Dignity Actà ¢â‚¬ , which was passed in November of 1997 (USA Today). The Supreme Court ruled that there was no constitutional right or prohibition of euthanasia or physician assisted suicide, thus allowing Oregon to experiment with the legalization of it. The Act â€Å"allows terminally-ill Oregonians to end their lives through