Assess the intent and impact of publicityoriented legal challenges to Essay

Assess the intent and impact of publicityoriented legal challenges to physicianassisted suicide - Essay Example (Egendorf PAS occurs when a doctor, upon the requests of the patient, provides a lethal overdose of medication for the patient to self-administer explicitly knowing that it will enable the patient to commit suicide. Euthanasia, on the other hand, is where the doctor himself administers the lethal overdose. PAS is also ethically and legally distinct in the case wherein the doctor provides medication with the goal of only relieving pain but understanding that death could occur as a secondary effect. There are currently three places in the world where PAS is legal namely the state of Oregon in the United States and the Netherlands. United Kingdom is also considering the legalization of PAS. The prescribed medication involves a lethal dose of barbiturates that is taken in liquid or in tablet form. (Emmanuel, 1998) Due to the fact that PAS involves termination of life of an institution that was tasked to save lives, the issue has been hotly debated primarily on moral and legal terms. Those on the supporting side argue that individuals should have control over the timing and manner of their own deaths. Some argue that actively bringing about one's death is no different legally than refusing life-sustaining treatment. However, opponents contend that legalizing assisted suicide will cause many problems. They fear that vulnerable individuals may be coerced into suicide as a result of financial pressure or fear of burdening their families. Religious opposition to assisted suicide is often based on the belief that God, not humans, should make the choices regarding death. With PAS, doctors are actually actively "killing" patients by making a lethal dose available whereas treatment refusal would only result to a passive involvement in the death of an individual. (Emmanuel et al, 2000) The issue is further complicated by the fact that the legal considerations has not been defined and determined once and for all. IntheUnitedStates, only one state, Oregon, has adopted a law specifically allowing physician-assisted suicide. In November 1994 voters in Oregon approved a ballot measure adopting the Death with Dignity Act, which authorized physicians to prescribe lethal doses of medication for terminally ill patients. However, opponents of assisted suicide challenged the constitutionality of the law and prevented its enforcement. In 1997, after the U.S. Supreme Court determined that the states have the authority to regulate this issue, the voters of Oregon again approved the act. However, in November 2001, the US attorney general came out with a statement that physicians involving themselves in assisted suicide would nevertheless be violating federal drug laws.() While they may not be liable to criminal prosecution, physicians would have their permission to prescribe med ication revoked by the Drug Enforcement Agency. Also, the DEA would not bother examining the medical records of patients in enforcing federal drug laws and would instead get all the names of the physicians involved in PAS in a regulatory body created by the Oregon Death with Dignit