The doctor’s job is to follow ethical standards, including loyalty to patients and respect for their choice. However, the profession concentrates on philosophical, religious, and cultural traditions and beliefs. Physician-assisted suicide can be seen as voluntary death by a medical professional. At the same time, the doctor provides all the necessary means and information regarding the patient’s desires for the end of life. However, such cooperation on the part of a doctor cannot be ethically conditioned.
Allowing euthanasia can cause irreparable harm to the patient if done incorrectly. Thus, a person can be left without the possibility of a habitual existence. Even though many patients who decide to die to suffer from incurable diseases voluntarily, the doctor cannot assist them. In this case, the moral commandment that a person cannot take someone else’s life is violated (Clarke et al., 2021). Moreover, doctor-assisted suicide is wholly opposed to the definition of a profession aimed at helping people. The doctor is seen as a healer, while physician-assisted suicide does not seem to control and calculate the risks, which can be a threat to many patients.
The dilemma lies in the Hippocratic oath given by all doctors, one of the points of which is not to harm. Thus, helping a patient with a death wish can be seen as a deliberate wish to injure the person. Moreover, it may reduce the level of trust between patients and medical staff since taking a life cannot be ethically justified. In addition, the religious view forbids doctors to help patients at the end of life, referring to the commandment not to kill a person. Furthermore, killing may be considered offensive due to society’s moral attitude. The patient’s pain can be alleviated with the help of available medicines, while the loss of life is an irreversible action.
Reference
Clarke, C., Cannon, M., Skokauskas, N., & Twomey, P. (2021). The debate about physician assisted suicide and euthanasia in Ireland–Implications for psychiatry.International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 79, 12-14. Web.