Supporting Assisted Suicide
Physician-assisted suicide should be a legal option for terminally ill patients. ... Physician-assisted death involves help from a medically qualified practitioner in fulfilling the wishes of a competent, terminally ill patient to end his/her own life. How widespread is assisted-suicide? ... Another thirty seven percent of doctors who administer to patients with AIDS admitted to having assisted at least one patient to commit suicide (“Issues and. Assisted suicide is a very controversial topic with the medical profession, lawyers, the clergy, and families of seriously ill patients lining both sides of the issue). There are some serious consequences to legalizing assisted suicides in this country. ... Constitution does not talk about physician-assisted suicide. ... In June 1997, the Supreme Court ruled, in overturning two decisions baring assisted suicides, that it should be legalized. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice William Rehnquist said that the ruling “permits this debate to continue, as it should in a democratic society” (Issues and Controversies: Assisted Suicide Update). The appeals courts have overturned laws banning assisted suicide on the Fourteenth Amendment grounds that liberty must not be denied without due process.