Euthanasia and Physician Assisted Suicide by Kirin Kennedy

Euthanasia and Physician
Assisted Suicide
by Kirin Kennedy
Euthanasia and Physician
Assisted Suicide
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Euthanasia and PAS is the most
controversial issue of the legal and
medical profession
By Greek definition Euthanasia
means a “Good Death”.
Euthanasia
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Euthanasia- is the painless ending of a
person’s life for reasons of mercy.
Physician Assisted Suicide- is the act in
which a physician provides the means
for suicide of the incurably ill. The
patient must take the final action that
causes his or her death such as
swallowing lethal drugs.
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But What about Euthanasia Is
a Good Death
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Is it a good and painless death
when the life in someone's body is
squeezed from them due to lethal
drugs?
Euthanasia
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Euthanasia is controversial and
viewed by many as unconstitutional
immoral and a harm to society.
Euthanasia
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Euthanasia and physician assisted
suicide (PAS) must be initiated by
the person who whishes to die.
Four Types of Euthanasia
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Active
Passive
Voluntary
Involuntary
Definitions Active Euthanasia
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Active euthanasia- involves
“causing death of a person through
a direct action and response to the
person and their request
Example injecting a lethal drug to
end the person’s life, for the
purpose of reliving suffering
The Oregon Approach
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The Us state of Oregon legalized physician assisted
suicide in 1998
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A patient must be resident in Oregon.
Patient must be aged over 18.
Patient must make 2 oral and 1 written request for
euthanasia.
There must be at least 15 days between the first and
the last request.
Patient must be terminally ill with a life expectancy of
less than 6 moths.
This prognosis must be confirmed by a second
consultant physician.
Both doctors must confirm that the patient is capable
of making this decision.
Both doctors must confirm that the patient does not
have medical condition that impairs their judgment.
Patient must self-administer the lethal medication.
The Oregon Approach
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About 30% of patient who started the
process died before it was completed.
19 patients in the period who were given
access to lethal medication decided not to
use it.
45% of patients who were given good
palliative care changed their mind about
euthanasia.
The Oregon Health Division similar
terminal illnesses would have prescribes a
lethal medication if asked.
Passive Euthanasia
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Passive Euthanasia- is refraining
from or stopping an action, such as
life- sustaining medical treatment
in order to let a terminally ill
person die naturally.
Voluntary and involuntary
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Voluntary- Is the same as active
euthanasia but the patient has to be
willing to have a physician assist
him/her in their demise.
Involuntary- Is when the patient who is
in a persistent vegetative state (deep and
usually permanent state of un awareness
caused by damage to the higher brain
AKA coma.)
Two important legal
documents
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Advance Directive
Living will
Advance Directive
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Is a document that competent adults
may use to state their wishes about
health care decisions on their behalf
if they become incompetent.
Living Will
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A document in which a competent adult
specifies medical treatment to be given
or withheld if he or she becomes
incompetent.
I.E.
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ventilator
Heart and lung machine( total sustained life
Food and water
medicine
Euthanasia is immoral
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Every major organized religion
such as Christians, Muslims, Jews,
Hindus, and Buddhists, vehemently
oppose Euthanasia.
And believe that the Euthanasia
“Violates the Patients natural
Right and desire to live”.
Religion
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St. Thomas Aquinas
Scottish philosopher David Hume
Both believed that euthanasia is a
violation of human rights
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Which makes this an age old conflict
and controversy.
The Roman Catholic View
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“Euthanasia is a grave violation of the law of God,
since it is the deliberate and morally unacceptable
killing of a human person (Pope John Paul II:
evangelium vitae, 1995)
Thou shall not Kill
Life is a thing of value in it’s self and it’s value
doesn't depend on the extent that it brings pleasure
and well-being
So suffering and pain so not stop life being valuable
and are not a reason for ending life.
The church believes that each person should enter
the dying process with all it’s mysteries with trust in
God and in solidarity with their fellow human beings
they should die with the dignity of letting themselves
be loves unconditionally.
The Roman Catholic View
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“As Catholic leaders and moral teachers we believe
that life is the most basic gift of a loving God– a gift
over which we have stewardship but not absolute
dominion” ( National Conference of Catholic
Bishops (USA) 1991
Euthanasia and suicide are both a rejection of
God’s absolute sovereignty over life and death.
The church believes that each human life is
manifestation of god in the world, a sign of his
presence a trace of his glory.
“The Life which god offers to man is a gift by which
God shares something of himself with his creature.”
“True Compassion leads to sharing another’s pain;
it does not kill the person whose suffering we
cannot bear.”( Pope john Paul II )
The Hindu View
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Most Hindu's would say that a doctor should not
accept an patient’s request for euthanasia this will
cause the soul and body to be separated at an
unnatural time. The result will damage the Karma of
both doctor and patient.
Other believe that euthanasia cannot be allowed
because it breaches the teaching of ahimsa (doing
no harm)
Karma : Hindus believe in the reincarnation of the
soul the ultimate aim of life is to achieve Moksha or
liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth
By helping to end a life, even one filled with
suffering a person is disturbing the timing of the
cycle of death and rebirth.
Christian View
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Most Christian are against euthanasia
Because Life is given by God and that human beings are
made in god’s image
No human being had the authority to take the life of an
innocent person even if the person want to die
Human’s are valuable because they are made in the
image of God.
The process of dying is spiritually important and should
not be disrupted
Patients in a persistent vegetative state although
seriously damaged remain living human beings and the
life remain valuable
It’s wrong to treat them as worthless and conclude that
they are better off dead
The bible say that you should have life and life more
abundantly as well as it is a sin to kill “Thou shall not kill”
The Muslim View
Muslims are against euthanasia
They believe that all life is given by Allah and that Allah
chooses hoe long each person shall live
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“do not tale the life which Allah made sacred other
than in the course of justice” (Qur’an 17:33)
“of anyone kills a person – unless it be for murder or
spreading mischief in the land – it would be as if he
killed the whole person” (Qur’an 5.32each of us will
live)
Allah decides how long each of us will live
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“when their time comes they cannot delay it for a
single hour nor can they bring it forward by a single
hour” (Qur’an 3.145)
“ And no person can ever die except by Allah's leave
and at an appointed term.” (Qur’an 3.145)
The Muslim View
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Suicide and euthanasia are explicitly
forbidden
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“destroy not yourselves. Surely Allah is
ever merciful to you.” (Qur’an 4.29)
The prophet (Pbuh) said: “amongst the
nations before you there was a man
who got a wound, and growing impatient
(with it’s pain), he took a knife and cut
his hand with it and the blood did not
stop till he died. Allah said, “my Slave
hurried to bring death upon himself so I
have forbidden Him Paradise.’” ( Sahih
bukhari 4.56.669)
The Buddhist View
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Most Buddhists are against involuntary euthanasia
The most common position is that voluntary
euthanasia is wrong because it demonstrates that
one’s mind is in a bas state and the one has
allowed physical suffering to cause mental suffering
Mediation and the proper use of pain killing drugs
should enable a person to attain a state where they
are not in mental pain, and so no longer
contemplate euthanasia or suicide
Buddhist argue that helping to end someone’s life is
likely to put the helper into a bad mental state, and
this too should be avoided.
Buddhism places great stress on non-harm and on
avoid the ending of life,
Medical Ethics
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Hippocratic oath ( suspended)
Written by Greek physician
Hippocrates
Lived in the 4th century
Considered a major statement of
medical ethics and physicians often
recite it at graduation from med
school
Basis of Oath is to do No Harm
Hippocratic Oath
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The Hippocratic oath states “I will
use treatment to help the sick
according to my ability and
judgments… I will not give poison
to anyone asked for nor will I make
suggestion to that effect.”
Is Euthanasia Constitutional
and Should it be Legalized
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The justices of the Supreme Court
unanimously decided that PAS is
not a constitutionally protected
right of the terminally ill.
Supreme Court set precedent in
these two cases.
Washington v. Glucksberg
Quill v. Vacco
Legalization
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Mr. Wesley J. Smith a California attorney said it best “
That the legalization of physicians Assisted suicide would
create and unethical dangerous and controlling policy
that would adversely affect society… In addition the
health care industry having millions of dollars at stake
would have a tremendous and unrestricted incentive to
encourage premature deaths in order to avoid the costs of
lengthy treatments and that the legalization of assisted
suicide will come at an enormous cost to society. It must
be prevented.”
Slippery Slope
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Euthanasia does not always occur in
right to die cases
Infants (premature)
Mentally ill and handicap
Elderly
Minorities
Uninsured as well as underinsured
Impoverished
Protection of Life vs. Death
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Law presumes life
It affirms the right to die
And provides no safe guard to
preserve life.
Euthanasia Vs. Murder
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Serial killer physicians
Shipman
 Chris Cullen
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They are rarely caught
prosecuted ands executed
Closing
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In closing the truth about euthanasia and
PAS is that in all actually if killing a
child is homicide then so is the untimely
murder of an adult or child. and who is
to distinguish the difference between
PAS and the murder of a family member
for the benefits of the dying. Yet isn’t it
the doctors’ job to preserve life and not
to take it.
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As the Hippocratic oath states I Will
use treatment to help the sick
according to my ability and
judgment… I will not give poison to
anyone who ask for it, nor will I
make a suggestion to that effect.
Bibliography
“Ethical issues in death and dying”, Beauchamp, L. Tom, Perlin, Seymour
prentice Hall © 1978
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“Euthanasia Contempory issues Companion”, Yount, Lisa
Greenhaven Press © 2002
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“Physician-Assisted suicide” Leone, A. Daniel
Greenhaven Press © 1998
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“A time the place for to die physician assistance” M.d. McKhann F. Charles
Yale University press© 1999
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“Physician assisted suicide and euthanasia Yount Lisa
Fact on file Inc, © 2002
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UB Center for clinical ethics and Humanities in health care
U.S. supreme Court Rules on Physician Assisted suicide Cases
http://wings.buffalo.edu/faculty/research/bioethics/court.html
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Voluntary Euthanasia Stanford University
http://Plato.stanford.edu/entries/euthanasia-voluntary/
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Euthanasia and physician assisted suicide
www.religioustolerance.org/euth1.htm
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International taskforce on Euthanasia and assisted suicide
http://www.internationaltakforce.org/fctfla.htm
Other Definations of
Euthanasia
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Competence- a patient who understands his or her
medical condition, what the likely future course of
the disease is , the risks and benefits associated
with the treatment of the condition
Dignity- The value that a human being has simply
by existing, not because of any property or action of
an individual
DNR-DO Not Resuscitate- Instructions telling the
medical staff not to attempt the resuscitate the
patient if the patient has a heart attack
Palliative Care- Medical, emotional psychosocial or
spiritual care given to a person who is terminally ill
and which is aimed at reducing suffering rather than
curing.