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Physician Assisted Suicide Thesis

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Physician Assisted Suicide Thesis
Topic: Physician Assisted Suicide

Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience that physician assisted suicide is a choice that every human being has the right to.
Central Idea: I am her to persuade you that it is your right to choose to die with dignity, and have the ability to ask your physician to provide the best resouces to relieve your pain and suffering.
I. INTRODUCTION
A. Attention Getter: Imagine that one day you wake up like normal and you get a call from your doctor that you need to come into the office right away. When you arrive you get the horrible news that you have terminal illness and only have a few months to live. The doctor then proceeds to tell you that no treatment will help and the pain may be severe. You as …show more content…
II. BODY
A. (Problem) Physician assisted suicide is illegal in most states besides: Washighton, Orgeon, Vermont, and it is questionable is Minnesota.
1. As defined by MedicineNet.com, Physician-assisted suicide is the voluntary termination of one's own life by administration of a lethal substance with the direct or indirect assistance of a physician. Physician-assisted suicide is the practice of providing a competent patient with a prescription for medication for the patient to use with the primary intention of ending his or her own life.
a. Even though its a patient's own decision whether or not to request this treatment, the U.S. government does not recognize this as being legal, but on the flipside it gives states an opportunity to vote whether it is legal in the state.
b. Almost three years after Washignton's Dying with Dignity law was enacted, 255 people had obtained a lethal prescription from a physician. (Serena Gordon; HealthDay News)
2. There are many reasons a person might request physician assisted suicide. Some of the most common reasons are: the patient is thinking out loud, the patient may have certain life long values, as a plea for help, or because physical, psychological, and/or spritual …show more content…
Medical bills are very expensive, and patients may think it is unfair for their families to have to pay them after they have gone.
b. Based on a study done by the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, 57% of physicians practicing today have recieved a request for physician assisted suicide in some form or another.(Endlink: Resources for End of Care Education)
[Transition: I'm sure that all of you have been sick at one point in time or another. Can you imagine being sick and knowing your not ever going to get better? All of the patients who request PAS struggle with this battle. It should be your choice whether or not you choose to live that way.]
B. (Solution) The United States Government should make it legal for terminally ill adult patients to request information and/or assistance with physician assisted suicide,
1. According to Michael H. White, a lawyer in California, "Pysician-assisted suicide should be a lawful medical procedure for competent, terminally ill adults, because it is a compassionate response to relieve the suffering of dying
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