Suicide The Right To Die

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back to the time Socrates 470-399 BC. With the interventions of Jack Kevorkian M.D., being played out in the media and in the courts, Doctor assisted suicide has become the focus of intense public and professional debate. Most of this attention is focused right here in Michigan because of Dr. Jack Kevorkian AKA, "Doctor Death". Doctor Kevorkian has assisted in over one hundred assisted suicides. The Debate There are many arguments for and against assisted suicide. Points for and against this practice encompass legal, ethical, religious and medical arguments. They are very complex and lengthy. Listed are just a few simplified issues from both sides of the debate. Arguments for Assisted Suicide A person should have control over one's own body. This is a fundamental right, and individuals should have a "right to die". The values of individual well being and compassion for suffering mandate that we end suffering when we are able to. The distinction between withholding or withdrawing ...

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to die in order to relieve social, economical, and emotional burden on others. It is even more dangerous here in the United States because of the current pressure for profit in managed care, cost containment, clinical decisions being made by non-clinicians and growing social inequities. Many feel that legalization of assisted suicide will erode the devotion of the physician to the patients' best interests, and that it is not a medical role to decide which life is worth living. Opponents also fear the possibility of clinicians drawn to the practice by power or ego considerations instead of compassion. Legalization of assisted suicide diverts attention away from the need to optimize ...

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