EuthanasIA

Physician Assisted  Suicide (PAS)

 

 

 

 

 

Opponents of Euthanasia                 

Opponents for euthanasia feel that physician assisted suicide should not be legal, but accept passive euthanasia.
  • The Catholic Church and The American Medical Association (AMA) http://www.ama-assn.org/

    vHas a strong pro-life view

  • vStigmatizes suicide                                         
  • vFears a slippery slope
  • vFeels that other options such as Hospice care and nursing homes should be improved on and used            
  • vThe job of a physician is to cure, not to kill
 

Other groups against euthanasia:

http://www.internationaltaskforce.org/index.htm

http://pw2.netcom.com/~cureltd/index.html

http://www.donoharm.org.uk/

http://www.euthanasia.com/belgium.html

http://www.euthanasia.com/movement.html

http://www.euthanasia.com/black.html

http://www.euthanasia.com/colleges.html

http://www.euthanasia.com/teens.html

http://www.epc.bc.ca/links.html

http://www.euthanasia.com/students.html

Proponents of Euthanasia  

Proponents for euthanasia feel that physician assisted suicide (passive and active euthanasia) should be legal.

http://www.hemlock.org/

\Founded in 1980 by Derek Humphry
The oldest organization that supports physician assisted suicide (PAS)
\Why are there animal rights that allow us to put our pets to sleep, but no human rights?
\The Hemlock Society supports the law that states:
a diagnosis of terminal or irreversible illness - confirmed by two independent physicians - that severely compromises the quality of life.
an evaluation by a mental health professional if there is reason to suspect clinical depression or mental incompetence.
a written, witnessed request.
a waiting period.
voluntary on the part of the doctor.
revocable by the patient at any time.
medication prescribed by the doctor and self-administered by the patient.
no criminal liability for a physician or family member who helps.
no effect on insurance.
monitoring by a state health department.
 

California and PAS

\In 1988 The Hemlock Society was not able to gather enough signatures to qualify the proposed initiative   for the ballot
\P-161 (a bill for PAS) was defeated 54% to 46% in 1992.
\AB 1592 was scheduled for May 19, 1999.  This Bill was strongly opposed causing many protests.
\No PAS bills have been passed in California.

http://www.euthanasia.com/california.html

Washington and PAS

\I-119 was a bill that would legalize PAS
\Was opposed by the Catholic Church and the Washington Medical Association
\Was proposed by the Hemlock Society
\On November 5, 1991 I-119 was defeated 54% to 46%

Oregon and PAS

http://www.religioustolerance.org/euth_us1.htm

 \Measure 16 passed on November 3, 1994 with 51% of the votes
Reasons why PAS passed in Oregon:
ü-Oregon has a low percent of Catholics and a high percent of people with no religion
ü-A more developed and defined bill with more safeguards
ü-Had the support of the Oregon Medical Association
ü-The proponents for measure 16 were able to collect more money to fight the opponents advertisements

PAS Numbers in Oregon

\No prescriptions were written in 1997
\Physician-assisted suicide accounted for 6 to 9 of every 10,000 deaths in Oregon.
-1998 to January 1, 1999-Twenty-three persons received prescriptions of lethal medications; 15 died after taking the medications. Six died from their illnesses, and two were alive on January 1, 1999.
-2000- 27 Oregonians used physician assisted suicide.
-2001- 44 terminally ill patients received lethal prescriptions and 21 of them used the prescriptions to commit suicide.
-News interviews on the Oregon issue and Ashcroft- http://www.lwc.edu/administrative/library/suitv.htm

-Most recent news on the issue (April 17, 2002)- A federal judge has said that Ashcroft does not have the right to take away a bill that the people of Oregon have voted for twice (in 1994 and 1997).

Numbers and perspectives on Euthanasia

Trinity University Survey:

ü

References:

Bartlow, Bruce G.  2000.  Medical Care of the Soul.  Colorado: Johnson Printing.
 
Dombrink, John, and Daniel Hillyard.  2001.  Dying Right: The Death With Dignity Movement.  New York: Routledge.
 
Kearl, Michael C.  1989.  Endings: A Sociology of Death and Dying.  New York: Oxford University Press.