An Importance of Legalising Physician Assisted Suicide

Suicide is a process which allows a medical personnel provide a patient who employed them to kill themselves using lethal medication, in order for them to die tranquil way without feeling pain.However Physician assisted suicide is illegal in many countries such as United Kingdom,Italy and only 4 counties have legalised physician assisted suicide Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and more recently Germany. 

Not legalising Physician assisted suicide can be optically seen as a breach of civil liberties as it takes away the right of allowing an individual to make their own decision. that states of a human being and the act additionally states that the regime or anybody else also states that the right cannot be culled over life as shown in the case of pretty v UnitedKingdom 2002, where a women will rigorous terminal illness asked her husband to take her life as she didn’t want an undignified death. but the European Court of Human Rights found that the right to life does not engender a right to chose death rather than life. 

It betokened there was no right to die at the hands of a third person or with the assistance of a public ascendancy and the request was gainsaid.One of the arguments against PAS argue it is against religious morals however a survey carried out from the campaign carried out by dying with dignity, found our over 79% of religious people support availed dying in the UK . The UK law, Section 2 of the Suicide Act states In the UK it has been codified in law since the Suicide Act 1961 “that the act of suicide itself is not a criminal offence. It is, however, an offence to avail another person to die by suicide.

Section 2(1) of the Act provides that: A person who avails, abets, counsels or procures the suicide of another, or an endeavour by another to commit suicide, shall be liable on conviction on indictment to confinement for a term not exceeding fourteen years.” It is argued that this act should not be amended at any circumstances as it will be a slippery slope as stated in the statement, I disagree with the statment and believe that physician assisted suicide should be amended under extreme circumstances with the right quantity of evidence to sanction the medical personnel to asses the patients situation. 

Another reason I dissent with the verbalisation is the encumbrance of illness, the regime could commence to optically discern the terminally ill patient to be an encumbrance as the treatment will not be able to remedy them consequently their death is already foreseeable. If the legislation is amended this could avail the patient as well as medical personnel’s today stop the use of treatment which won’t. More than 90% of the UK’s population believe as dying should be legalised for those suffering from terminal illnesses as treatment can’t avail their illness. campaigns such as dignity in dying encourages the government to amend the law for ill patients but withal believes that PAS should not be legalised for patients who don’t have the capacity to make the decision there selves. 

In England and Wales being a party to someone’s suicide can get an individual of over 14 years in United Kingdom and in Scotland has no current law about physician assisted suicide. Where physician assisted suicide is legalised, such as oregano USA it has worked safely since 1997 and there has been no cases of abuse when carrying out physician assisted suicide in the USA. There are a number of reasons why availed suicide should be legalised one being in the U.K. over 300 dying people commit suicide annually and 44% of people would be prosecuted for assisting their loved ones with suicide and are at risk of facing more than 14 years sentence in prison. 

A factor that supports the change in law for assisted suicide is the utilisation of it in other countries such as north America which now provides over 100 million people have access to euthanasia as an option which hasn’t been breached or misused, this shows that the law can safely be changed for people. The amendment of the law could help support family members support the decision of their family members as patient is able to leave by their own decision without pain from their illness killing them. The story of Kevin Davis shows how no vicissitude for the law of availed suicide can cause pain for the family Kevin was 60 years old and diagnose with kidney cancer and was found in a “pool of blood at the bottom of the stairs.” 

The family were devastated and expressed that Kevin Davis was unhappy he didn’t have the option of PAS although he said the hospital were providing good end of life care, the family was upset as they stated that Kevin could have been surrounded by his family in his last moment but the unavailability of physician assisted suicide he was by himself. Those who opt to die are able go to another county in some circumstances such as Switzerland where PAS is legal because of its in availability with in the U.K. The cost of PAS is 10,000 which isn’t manageable to those are not able to pay this,travelling elsewhere for the treatment can be could be quite painful to the patient as they are losing more control of the time they want the treatment because of the times of traveling.

Society sees PAS as a threat to freedom provided by human rights however assisting to those to end their lives would impose a danger to laws which protects individuals from anyone taking their life which includes the government. For some people, the prospect of continuing in a minimally conscious or unconscious state for the rest of their biological life is far worse than death, but most campaigns supports physician assisted suicide to be an option to those that are mentally stable to take the decision therefore may impose an argument for those who aren’t able to make the decision themselves which then has to be made from a medical personnel. PAS should only be carried out by those permitted to do so and must be done in a safe environment and is an option to be seen as a last resort decision and have therefore chosen the decision to improve palliative care options.