Assisted suicide is the provision by a doctor, consciously and legally, to a patient who has competently requested it, of the means for that patient to end his or her own life. Large amounts of lethal drugs such as barbiturates and carbon monoxide are inhaled to painlessly cause death (Barry, 2004). Usually a physician, family member, or a friend fulfills someone s request for help in dying. Usually it involves a terminally ill patient who wishes to die but is not capable of self-destruction. He/she may need a doctor to give a lethal injection or prescription or a family member to help him arrange another means of suicide (Daniel, 2001). In the case of assisted suicide, the patient, while receiving help, alone performs the final, death-inducing act.
Argument against the morality of assisted suicide is St. Thomas Aquinas’s, God’s Gift argument (Barry, 2004). In this argument St. Thomas Aquinas tries to persuade people into believing that assisted suicide is wrong. The argument says that (Ian, 2003) (1) “life is God’s gift to man..., therefore, (2) ...life is subject to [God’s] power”, (3) Assisted suicide is the usurpation of God’s authority; therefore, (4) Assisted Suicide is wrong because it goes against God. This argument simply stated says that God has given you life and you should be grateful by not wasting it.
People who believe that assisted suicide should be legalized maintain that individuals should have control over the timing and manner of their own deaths. Some argue that actively bringing about one’s death is no different legally than refusing life-sustaining treatment (Barry, 2003). However, opponents contend that legalizing assisted suicide will cause many problems. They fear that vulnerable individuals may be coerced into suicide as a result of financial pressure or fear of burdening their families. Religious opposition to assisted.....
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