Patient Assisted Dying: Ethical Dilemmas for Nurses and Physicians

This essay delves into the contentious issue of patient-assisted dying, specifically examining the ethical dilemmas faced by nurses and physicians when patients request assistance in ending their lives. The essay begins by defining patient-assisted death and highlighting the absence of federal legislation, with decisions primarily at the state level. It then presents both sides of the argument, exploring ethical justifications for and against the practice. Proponents emphasize patient autonomy, mercy, and the ethical requirement of non-abandonment, while opponents raise concerns about physician integrity and the potential for abuse. The author ultimately argues in favor of legalizing patient-assisted dying, emphasizing the importance of respecting patient autonomy and alleviating suffering. The essay concludes by summarizing the key points and referencing relevant literature.

Running head: SHOULD NURSES AND PHYSICIANS ASSIST PATIENTS WHO
WANT TO END THEIR LIVES?
Should Nurses and Physicians Assist Patients Who Want to End their Lives?
Student’s Name
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SHOULD NURSES AND PHYSICIANS ASSIST PATIENTS WHO WANT TO END
THEIR LIVES? 2
Should Nurses and Physicians Assist Patients Who Want to End their Lives?
Human life is treated with great dignity. For instance, every human being on earth is
entitled to the highest form of care. This international human right reveals the great deal of
dignity that is accorded to human life (Dyer, White and Rada, 2015). Patient Assisted Death
refers to a situation where a physician or a healthcare provider assists a palliative care patient
end their lives at their request. The physician achieves the goal through administering some
potentially lethal medications to help the terminally ill to end their lives. The topic has been
of great for centuries now. There is no federal legislation that provides the way forward
concerning how to act in a situation where a terminally ill patient requests to be assisted to
die. The supreme court decided that there is no constitutional right to patient assisted dying
and directed that issues surrounding the same be decided at the states level. There are several
states that have legalized patient assisted dying. These are Oregon, Washington, Colorado
and Hawaii. In Hawaii, legislation will start being in effect starting 2019. New York has not
yet legalized patient assisted dying. Following a case where a terminally ill patient (suffering
form brain cancer) moved from California to Oregon so that she may be assisted to die, New
York State has considered enacting a law to legalize the process. Two bills related to the
same were moved to the New York state assembly and senate. However, both bills did not go
beyond the committee stage.
Both those who support, and critics of patient assisted dying use ethical reasoning to
support their stands. Those who support legalization of the process use the following ethical
reasons to support their positions. First, is patient autonomy. A patient should have the right
to make decisions concerning their own health and wellbeing (Frye and Youngner, 2016). In

SHOULD NURSES AND PHYSICIANS ASSIST PATIENTS WHO WANT TO END
THEIR LIVES? 3
situations where they feel that they would like to die due to pain and suffering associated with
palliative conditions, then their decisions should be respected. Secondly is mercy. The goal of
palliative care is to ensure that the patient receives the highest form of care and that pain is
minimized or eliminated (The Hastings Centre, 2018). In situations where it is not possible to
alleviate pain through any other way, it would help to alleviate that pain through accelerating
the process of dying if it is acceptable to the patient. Thirdly is the ethical requirement of
non-abandonment. The physician is not supposed to abandon the patient (Gostin and Roberts,
2016). Palliative patients are in the process of dying due to their conditions. They should
therefore weigh the options and do that which offers most benefit to the patient. Sometimes,
this may be assisting the patient to accelerate the process of dying.
Opponents of legalization of patient assisted dying put forward some ethical
reasoning too. One is physician integrity. A physician takes an oath that they will never
knowingly cause any harm to a patient. Assisting a patient to die amounts to a violation of the
oath (Lehto, Olsen and Chan, 2016). It is therefore unethical to carry out the process on these
grounds. The other issue put forward is the potential of risk of abuse. While the legalization
may be made to help those who are greatly suffering, it may be abused to cause accelerated
deaths even to patients who do not wish to be assisted to die (Syme, 2016). For instance, a
physician may decide to accelerate the death of a terminally ill patient when there is no other
option for relieving pain even when the patient has not consented to the same.
My stand is that patient assisted dying should be legalized. There are several reasons
why I think that this should be done. One is that the patient should have the authority to make
decisions concerning their health. While health care professionals should always aim at
providing the best possible care, the decision of the patient should be respected. The second

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reason is that the process may greatly alienate suffering when there is no other option for
doing so.
In conclusion, patient assisted dying refers to a situation where a physician
administers some medication to accelerate the dying process of a terminally ill patient upon
the request of the patient. There is no federal legislation concerning the same and the role of
making the legislation is delegated to the states. There are some states that have legalized the
process while majority have not. There are both proponents and opponents of the process.
Both groups use ethical arguments to support their stand.

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References
Dyer, O., White, C., & Rada, A. G. (2015). Assisted dying: law and practice around the
world. Routledge.
Frye, J., & Youngner, S. J. (2016). A call for a patient-centred response to legalized assisted
dying: annals of internal medicine. Routledge.
Gostin, L. O., & Roberts, A. E. (2016). Physician-assisted dying: a turning point? Routledge.
Lehto, R. H., Olsen, D. P., & Chan, R. R. (2016). When a patient discusses assisted dying:
nursing practice implications. Journal of Hospice & Palliative Nursing, 18(3), 184-
191.
The Hastings Centre. (2018). Physician Assisted Death. Retrieved from
https://www.thehastingscenter.org/briefingbook/physician-assisted-death/
Syme, R. (2016). A Personal Experience with Suffering Patients: Bringing Home the
Assisted Dying Debate. Griffith Journal of Law & Human Dignity, 4(2).