The Death With Dignity Act and Physician Assisted Suicide Essay

The Death With Dignity Act and Physician Assisted Suicide Introduction According to the American Medical Association (1996), physician-assisted suicide (PAS) occurs when a physician facilitates a patient’s death by providing either the means or the information necessary to aid in the patient performing the life-ending act. PAS has had a long and controversial history dating back to the ancient Greeks and Romans. They believed that there was no reason to prolong life if continued pain and suffering was the only prognosis. The term euthanasia, in fact, stems from the Greek meaning "a good death". It was not until Hippocrates and his Hippocratic Oath, cautioning against deadly medicine towards patients, that a different view was seen. Early Christians held the opinion that suicide or martyrdom was an honorable or noble end to one's life, a way to make the ultimate sacrifice for God. Countering that view, Augustine of Hippo condemned suicide as being a mortal sin, going against God's law of "Thou shall not kill". As medicine has evolved and progress ed exponentially since those ancient times, lives may very well benefit from an increase in length but may not always equate to an increase in the quality of life. PAS is one possible solution to this dilemma, albeit one with many ethical and legal debates concerning it. Literary review Presently, PAS is legal in the United States in three states - Oregon, which was the first in 1997, and then Washington and Montana both following in 2009. The Death with Dignity Act (DWDA) was proposed in 1994 in Oregon as a way for physicians to legally assist terminally ill individuals who wished to end their suffering and choose their own time of death. It was initially stalled in the Fed... ...doption of such measures as the DWDA are a real possibility. When that time comes, nurses will surely find themselves dealing with this issue more frequently. Even though it may be legal at that point, the nurse will be the one who has to decide as an individual their personal interpretation of the basic nursing concept of "to do no harm". Works Cited Code of ethics for nurses. (2001). Retrieved from www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/EthicsStandards/CodeofEthicsforNurses/Code-of-Ethics.pdf Lachman, V. (2010). Physician-assisted suicide: Compassionate liberation or murder?. MEDSURG Nursing, 19(2), 121-125. Rose, T. (2007). Physician-assisted suicide: Development, status, and nursing perspectives. Journal Of Nursing Law, 11(3), 141-151. Volker, D. (2007). The Oregon experience with assisted suicide. Journal Of Nursing Law, 11(3), 152-162. The Death With Dignity Act and Physician Assisted Suicide Essay The Death With Dignity Act and Physician Assisted Suicide Introduction According to the American Medical Association (1996), physician-assisted suicide (PAS) occurs when a physician facilitates a patient’s death by providing either the means or the information necessary to aid in the patient performing the life-ending act. PAS has had a long and controversial history dating back to the ancient Greeks and Romans. They believed that there was no reason to prolong life if continued pain and suffering was the only prognosis. The term euthanasia, in fact, stems from the Greek meaning "a good death". It was not until Hippocrates and his Hippocratic Oath, cautioning against deadly medicine towards patients, that a different view was seen. Early Christians held the opinion that suicide or martyrdom was an honorable or noble end to one's life, a way to make the ultimate sacrifice for God. Countering that view, Augustine of Hippo condemned suicide as being a mortal sin, going against God's law of "Thou shall not kill". As medicine has evolved and progress ed exponentially since those ancient times, lives may very well benefit from an increase in length but may not always equate to an increase in the quality of life. PAS is one possible solution to this dilemma, albeit one with many ethical and legal debates concerning it. Literary review Presently, PAS is legal in the United States in three states - Oregon, which was the first in 1997, and then Washington and Montana both following in 2009. The Death with Dignity Act (DWDA) was proposed in 1994 in Oregon as a way for physicians to legally assist terminally ill individuals who wished to end their suffering and choose their own time of death. It was initially stalled in the Fed... ...doption of such measures as the DWDA are a real possibility. When that time comes, nurses will surely find themselves dealing with this issue more frequently. Even though it may be legal at that point, the nurse will be the one who has to decide as an individual their personal interpretation of the basic nursing concept of "to do no harm". Works Cited Code of ethics for nurses. (2001). Retrieved from www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/EthicsStandards/CodeofEthicsforNurses/Code-of-Ethics.pdf Lachman, V. (2010). Physician-assisted suicide: Compassionate liberation or murder?. MEDSURG Nursing, 19(2), 121-125. Rose, T. (2007). Physician-assisted suicide: Development, status, and nursing perspectives. Journal Of Nursing Law, 11(3), 141-151. Volker, D. (2007). The Oregon experience with assisted suicide. Journal Of Nursing Law, 11(3), 152-162.