Physician Assisted Suicide Case Study

Introduction

In this essay, I will argue that the distinction between a physician killing a patient, and letting a patient die, upon the untreatable patients request, regarding to physician assisted suicide is not an important distinction to make regarding morality; however, it is important in regards to how a physician killing a patient and letting a patient die is justified. I will argue this by first making a distinction, regarding to the moral justifications for physician assisted suicide, between a physician killing an untreatable patient and letting an untreatable patient die, and then argue that even though both are morally permissible, the distinction between letting die and killing is a very important distinction to make. When I am stating letting die as defined by Tom L. Beauchamp, I am referring to a person, in

This must be considered because a patient could live a better life if their mental illness is treated. However, if there is no mental illness or if the patient has an untreatable mental illness, then that patient might be better off dead. An untreatable patient’s desire to be killed by a physician should only be considered if it is to decrease the patient’s suffering; the idea of suffering was brought up by Hooker (Blackwell, 2014, p. 80). I will discuss two possibilities that can lead to a patient’s suffering. One, an untreatable patient can want to be killed by a physician because a patient does not want to suffer physically for the rest of their life and would like to die in the least painful way possible; the idea of suffering brought up by Hooker (Blackwell, 2014, p. 80). The second way a patient can suffer is mentally, or as Hooker stated emotionally on page 80, and I will discuss three possible ways a patient can suffer mentally (Blackwell, 2014). One way mental suffering can occur is from a severe untreatable mental illness. Another way it can be caused is by