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Physician Assisted Suicide (Social Concerns (People having strong beliefs…
Physician Assisted Suicide
Social Concerns
People having strong beliefs towards the distinction between "killing" and choosing to die
Opposition to the idea of terminally ill people voluntarily choosing to die through lethal injection of another person is primarily backed by religious sources/beliefs
Legalizing physician-assisted suicide has the possibility of endangering women and minorities
Legalizing physician-assisted suicide has the possibility of endangering the poor, elderly, and disabled
The general Christian perspective on physician-assisted suicide: Assisted dying violates the sanctity of human life
Economic Concerns
Less costly to give lethal injection than to care for patients through dying process
Health maintenance organizations do not have an incentive to encourage dying patients to take the lethal injections because there aren't cost savings
The savings only total approximately $10,000 per assisted suicide victim. This amount is low because a very small percentage of Americans receiving health care would qualify for physician-assisted suicide
Savings in government spending happen if governments cut back on paying for treatment for patients and care, replace them with the 'treatment' of death
The cost of the lethal medication generally used for assisted suicide is about $35 to $50
Constitutional Concerns
One federal district court found a constitutional right to assisted suicide another found that no right exists; Not a definite illegal or legal under constitution
"Casey and Cruzan provide persuasive evidence that the Constitution encompasses a due process liberty interest in controlling the time and manner of one's death" - constitutional "right to die"
Criminalizing physician assisted suicide could violate the Equal Protection Clause
Some conclude that the asserted 'right' to assistance in committing suicide isn't a fundamental liberty interest protected by the Due Process Clause
The Declaration of Independence says that we should have the right to pursue life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
Political Concerns
82% of people in a CBS poll believe Congress/the President should not be involved in the matter
Some states choose the spouse to make decisions for the sick person, an older ordeal; Some citizens are extremely against the idea
No majority ruling has decided whether a right to euthanasia and assistance in suicide exists, applying to reasonably-thinking, terminally ill patients
If patients have the right to tell the doctors when to "pull the plug" (removing feeding tubes, oxygen etc), why can they not have the right to tell the doctors to inject lethal drugs into them?
"Medical futility" is another approach at the subject, which refers to interventions that are unlikely to produce any significant benefit for the patient