Physician Assisted Suicide

Thesis Statement: Physician assisted suicide violates the Hippocratic Oath.

A. Attention Step

Suppose someone you love, who is close and dear to you has just told you they have been diagnosed with lung cancer in the last stages and the prognosis is a life expectancy of six months. The doctors on the team have come together with a plan of treatment consisting of chemotherapy and radiation. Once treatment begins your loved one is faced with the endurance of side effects from treatment facing extreme weakness, hair loss, weight loss and excruciating, unbearable pain. Your loved one begins to cry out for answers "why me?" "Oh Lord the pain is so unbearable and I can't go on like this." Then the thought arises death would be the cure, the sooner the better. So they ask "Dr. can you help me with something, because of the unbearable pain I just can't deal with this anymore. Can you help me to die." Caught off guard the doctor is at a loss for words remembering the oath he took as a physician. Physician assisted suicide violates the Hippocratic Oath.

B. Need Step

All of us know that a part of life is death, but what is "life" to you. Most of you may consider it to be the matter of having choices to do what you want when you want to, but does that include the choice of death. I believe that life does have its choices we can choose to experience things, go places, as well as seek professional help, but the choice of death is not ours. If we could choose death over life it could be assumed that it would be as simple as choosing to die today and live tomorrow.

The last time you visited the doctor because you were sick did he tell you to just kill yourself? I'm sure he didn't, because doctors are supposed to treat your illness with a positive outlook. Even in this situation when your loved one has been diagnosed with the later stages of lung cancer treatment is still offered. Although they are experiencing the thought of death to come as soon as possible and want the...