Dying With Dignity Essay

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Dying with dignity is a controversy argued in two perspectives by death scholars. Some scholars argue that dying with dignity is expiring without unnecessary physical pain while others argue that it is dying in the socially accepted ways. Reaching these arguments was in light of changing health care demands and diverse customary practices. This controversy dated back to the ancient civilizations when many Greeks believed that taking one's life was better than experiencing endless suffering. This made physicians give poison to the terminally ill patients. However, with the advent of Christianity, the Hippocratic School that was against giving deadly drugs to patients acquired considerable acceptance. Therefore, euthanasia, as called in the fifteenth century was suicide and thus immoral. As time passed, reintroduction of the use of euthanasia continued, and it has even been largely accepted in various medical institutions.

In the perspective of dying with dignity as dying without any unnecessary physical suffering, doctors came up with the practice of physician-assisted suicide (PAS) also referred to as physician-assisted death. It is a voluntary ending of one's life by taking a lethal substance that prescribed by the physician. Supporters of physician-assisted death argue that patients have the right to receive aid to hasten their death. They also argue that, it is the most humane and dignified way to treat terminally ill patients who are competent to choose how they want to die thus considered as part of the last resort. According to the members of Compassion & Choices, medical paternalism is a coercive practice which results in life-prolonging practices that are insensitive to the patient's autonomy. According to Beauchamps and Childress (2009) autonomy refers to an individual's ability to make decisions.

According to Beauchamp and Childress (2009, p.183), several illustrations justify physician-assisted suicide. These illustrations include; a voluntary request should be made by a competent patient, which is persistent, preferably done twice within a span of fifteen days. There should be an ongoing patient-physician relationship.

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The decision making should be well informed in that the physician should consult another health care provider before making the decision. The patient to express a durable preference for death even after the availments of the choice of palliative care. The patient should also be experiencing unacceptable suffering, and lastly, the physician should use a means that is painless and more comfortable for the patient.

Physician-assisted suicide although unethical has wide acceptance because it comes with importance both to patients and their family. Once a competent patient requests for it, it can be administered in-order to end the lengthy life and care in an Intensive Care Unit, which is normally demoralizing and dehumanizing for patients and their families. Care in the Intensive Unit is also expensive due to the technological facilities and medication involved. Therefore, the choice of terminating the terminally ill patient aids in reducing the financial burden. Secondly, terminally ill patients choose physician-assisted suicide to end their dependence on others. According to Gentzler (2003), many people associate dependency with indignity and, therefore, prefer to end their life and thus maintain their dignity.

However, there are death scholars who argue that dying comprise the socially oriented ways of dying. Various studies made to light the quality and effect of informal caring networks gain strength as a result of caring for a person dying at home. It aids in understanding how this caring network impacts on family, friends and the community at large. These scholars argue that these ways of caring contribute to social capital and thus create compassionate communities. They claim that physician-assisted suicide violates the fundamental physician's duty to protect the human life. Therefore, they show their opposition and resistance to the western expert-based approach to end-of-life care.

In accordance with the belief that….....

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