Love, compassion, kindness; these are the values that we as children were brought up understanding. Such values are essential to our lives and our well-being. However, these values have also seemingly become void and decrepit in our hospitals. Are we so dehumanized that we even dare to consider the legalization of physician assisted suicide? If one is to think for a second that this act of mercy on patients is right or even logical, then one is to abandon the values listed above.

Physician assisted suicide is a practice that was legalized in Oregon about 20 years ago. It’s also been adopted by states such as California, Montana, Vermont and Washington. To put it in simple terms, terminally-ill patients are given the option of allowing their doctors to prescribe lethal amounts of medicine to kill them without any pain.

An intriguing yet incredibly flawed concept.

While patients, and humans for that matter, are entitled to their own choices and free will, this is not a decision they or their family members should be allowed to make. Just as if a friend or family member of yours wanted to commit suicide out of depression, you wouldn’t let them do it purely because it’s “their decision.” Physician assisted suicide is now being looked at as a massive opportunity for the terminally ill around the nation; an immediate death is appealing for some.

Come on, is this the best we got? What I mean is that as a country we can come up with better ways of helping our patients than assisted suicide. It’s a cop out. They should be getting immediate care and treatment, not aid with their suicide. They see one end to their life and we cannot grant them that wish, even if they truly believe it’s what they desire.

The American Medical Association as well as the American Nurses Association both oppose physician assisted suicide. For each group, ethical reasons are mostly behind their discomfort with the idea. The American Medical Association in particular operates under a strict code that doctors are meant to be none other than caregivers and healers. A portion of their code directly states that “allowing physicians to participate in assisted suicide would cause more harm than good. Physician-assisted suicide is fundamentally incompatible with the physician’s role as healer, would be difficult or impossible to control, and would pose serious societal risks.”

Another valid yet somewhat harsh point that needs to be stated is that patients do not necessarily need a doctor in order to commit suicide. It’s a terrible act and one does not need to involve anyone else in it. If the patient is that determined, he/she can do it themselves without complicating it and adding their own doctor into the mix.

Also, legalizing physician assisted suicides would send a terrible, terrible message to children and teenagers. Assisted suicides tell our children that suicide is necessary sometimes and a very viable option to depression and mild illness even when treatment is available. Children can interpret this in so many horrible ways. Want proof? Teen suicide rates were actually found to have increased after physician assisted suicides were legalized in Oregon and Washington.

Finally, perhaps the most important reason why physician assisted suicide is wrong: it gets better, there’s always hope. Committing suicide is giving up and PLENTY of people recover from terminal illnesses. Doctors make mistakes, sometimes the patient may not even be ill when he/she are diagnosed with a serious and terminal illness. Doctors are not superhuman, they can only make predictions, they never know for sure if someone is to live or die. The point is, people who are sick can overcome their illnesses and become healthy again. As obvious as this may be, it is something that doesn’t occur to patients when they are making the decision. They don’t know what the future may hold in store for them, they continue to believe life has nothing left for them. Assisted suicide rips hope away for patients and offers something much more sinister.

The legalization of physician assisted suicide is a foolish topic to discuss as it offers very few pros and a substantial amount of cons. Insurance companies will continue to support the movement as heavily as they can as there is serious money to be made in the business, but I digress. Understanding the lack of logic in is crucial as it continues to grow into quite a popular and upcoming topic between doctors and our government. If there is no pushback then this law may as well be legalized today. Right or wrong, all life is precious, our country would do well to take note of that.