Physician-assisted suicide is when a doctor aids a patient in taking his or her own life. One main problem with this is that doctors and courts are making the decision and instituting the procedure on their own. According to The Ethics of Euthanasia by Daniel A. Leone, polls show the general public's opinion that families or surrogate guardians should make the decision to die, and not courts or doctors. Not only is the obvious fact that murder of any sort is illegal and should be condemned by all means, clear, but there are also many other reasons why I oppose the resolution that physician-assisted suicide, a form of active euthanasia, should be legal. .
For my first contention, I would like to point out that the patients in question are those with serious illnesses and terminal illnesses. Such patients who request to die must be well informed and competent. Scientists have proven that such circumstances are nearly impossible to achieve due to mental and emotional side effects. "Some patients who are depressed may choose to end their lives in a temporary and treatable state of depression caused by a serious illness," reported Dr. Yook of the American Doctor Association. It is the state's responsibility to make sure that these people's lives are protected. .
My second contention is going to reiterate my first by saying that these mental and emotional problems are treatable. Doctors guess based on their own beliefs and morals whether or not the procedure should be done. Some patients will die in the end anyway, while most suffering from a serious or terminal illness live. Many live for an extended period of time and with a quality of life that may have seemed impossible at first based on available data and a doctor's prognosis. Very often, the basis of physician-assisted suicide is based on incomplete results and the judgment of those other than the patient, such as a doctor, judge, or jury.
