Physician-Assisted-Suicide (PAS) should be Legalized

Now, when talking about the idea of Physician-Assisted-Suicide (PAS), there are some points I’d like to make in regards to PAS. Duty of the Physician A physician’s duty to his/her patients is simple: to relieve (as much as possible) his/her patient’s suffering, as well as preserve the dignity of said patient [1]. If a person with a terminal and painful illness is barely mobile, cannot feed his/herself, but can request to be assisted in suicide by a physician, and the physician refuses due to it being unlawful, then his/her duty isn’t being met. The patient is clearly suffering to some capacity (even with pain medication, psychological anguish is present), as well as being robbed of his/her dignity, having to lie in a bed, as others must do things for him/her. Rights of the Patient Any person, whether a medical patient or not, owns his/her body, as well as life. Therefore, he/she also has the right to do with his/her body and life as he/she fits. This is why people have the right to be taken off life support when in a vegetative state. And, when one requests a PAS, they are requesting something very similar. After all, what else is he/she doing besides making a firm decision having to do with his/her own life. Therefore, if his/her decision does not impact or violate the rights of another person, then he/she should be able to legally have that right. Let’s go back to the analogy I used previously. This patient, (provided that his/her decision hasn’t been influenced by anything other than his/her own personal judgment), when requesting a PAS, should, naturally, be allowed to have his/her request be able to be accepted, without fear of legal consequences, because his/her own decision is not harming anyone else’s rights. Cost of Dying Whatever way one looks at it, dying costs money. In fact, a person in Miami will be spending around $23,000 on medical bills in the last six months of his/her life [2]. This cost is for dying without the use of PAS. However, a person, using PAS, would only spend approximately $10,000 (in 1995 dollars) on medical bills [3]. I’d like you to think about that. If a person chooses to have a PAS, this would mean that his/her surviving relatives would have about $13,000 that they didn’t before to put toward a funeral (a traditional funeral ranges from $7,000 to over $10,000 [4]), or other debts that may need to be paid. Once more, I’d like to go back to my hypothetical. Let’s say that this patient who wishes to have a PAS, may have un-wealthy relatives, or he/she may be un-wealthy. Not only is he/she suffering, but he/she is also paying quite a bit of medical bills to be kept alive, especially when he/she doesn’t wish to be in the first place. So, given the opportunity to choose, not only would he/he be relieving his/herself of suffering, but also saving money for his/her relatives or beneficiaries as well. Summary So, to summarize my opening argument, here’s a simple wrap-up: (P1) A physician’s duty is to relieve suffering and preserve dignity. (P2) A patient has the right to do with his/her life and body as he/she sees fit. (P3) The costs of a PAS are about half the costs of conventional treatment. ( C ) A patient should be allowed to legally request, and eventually have, a PAS. References [1] . http://endoflife.northwestern.edu... [2] . http://www.usatoday.com... [3] . http://www.nejm.org... [4] . http://www.funeralswithlove.com... Thank you, and I look forward to Con’s opening argument/rebuttal.