Who Is The Physician Assisted Suicide - 1357 Words

Even though organizations such as hospice which minimize pain are made aware to patients with terminal illnesses, it begs the question why do people still want to partake in physician assisted suicide? The issue of wanting to commit suicide is not so much an issue of physical health but more so an issue of mental and spiritual health. In her paper, Foley refers to a study which says â€Å"depressed patients with cancer said they would view positively those physicians who acknowledged their willingness to assist in suicide. In contrast, patients with cancer who were suffering from pain would be suspicious of such physicians†(121). In other words, the majority of a patient s suffering actually comes from their mental state. As we all know, there†¦show more content†¦While How to Die in Oregon sheds some light on how her son felt about the situation, I think it is safe to assume that it is not something he recovered from quickly. The essential idea is that a two hour fil m cannot perfectly illustrate for someone how they should feel about physician assisted suicide because no one can really know how much pain this event inflicted upon Cody’s family. By ending the film with a somewhat peaceful setting and the death of Cody, the way it was filmed can convince a viewer that PAS is the right thing however they would never truly know until they were in that situation. In short, as opposed to looking for an easy way out, we should be fostering better solutions for the depression brought upon via terminal illness. Foley says â€Å"The lack of training in the care of dying patients is evident in practice†(121). This begs the question, why is fostering care and a loving attitude towards a dying patient so much more difficult than simply killing them? does one not feel a sense of guilt by taking a loved one from someone else and ultimately trading one person s suffering for another? Doctors should be seen as friends and healers as opposed to si mply medical professionals. We should administer antidepressants to patients suffering and implore that patients spend time with their loved ones and do activities such as gardening, cooking and going for walks. By doing