Physician Assisted Suicide Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Physician Assisted Suicide - Essay Example In the film, Jessie states: â€Å"And I can’t do anything either, about my life†¦..like it better, make it work. But I can stop it. Shut it down, turn it off like the radio when there’s nothing on I want to listen to.† (www.storyispromise.com). This profound statement implies that the control over a person’s life is in their own hands, however, does this also imply that a person can choose to end his or her life simply out of a desire to stop living? Jessie’s life is more or less normal; therefore her desire to end her life seems inexplicable because it is motivated purely out of the desire to put an end to a life without purpose or meaning. It may be argued that there needs to be a more substantial reason for a person to seek death, yet the single-minded determination of the character to terminate a life not worth living is one that raises the issue of patient choice where suicide is concerned; should physicians always respect the autonomy of the patient that seeks to die through physician-assisted suicide and help them achieve their ends?. Terminally ill patients most often seek the release of death because their lives are too painful or unbearable and request their physicians to assist them in achieving their death. Surveys have been conducted in order to ascertain the thoughts of physicians in the matter of physician-assisted suicide. These surveys have found that physicians are of the opinion that the high levels of physical and mental suffering that some patients go through are most often the reason why they seek to die, while others seek to die in a dignified manner and are tired of life, or do not wish to be dependent upon others (Van Der Maas et al 39-49; Back et al, 919-25).