Ethics-----Assisted Suicide Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Ethics-----Assisted Suicide - Essay Example Thus, the concept of assisted suicide when done with the purpose of hastening the inevitable where disease has already prepared the body for death should become a part of a the standard for care that is given to individuals who wish to avoid the pain of disease, the loss of mental facilities when dying, or to avoid the expense of an unnecessarily prolonged extension of a life that is already lost. The word suicide is defined as â€Å"the act of killing yourself† (Jeffers & Smith, 2007, p. 81). While this is a simple definition, it lacks the appropriate level of nuance in order to fully define the full reference to everything that it implies. Suicide is the act of taking one’s own life, but it is also an act that brings with it a series of cultural images that imply sin, socially adverse action, and culturally shameful action. In Western cultures, taking one’s own life is generally considered a sin and in the United States, it is an illegal act that has criminal consequences. This can be seen in the way that Cleave (2001) reflects her definition of suicide when she states that it is â€Å"the act of killing yourself, often while mentally unstable† (p, 146). This also becomes a part of the discussion in that it is assumed that in taking one’s life it is done under the influence of mental instability. Other terminology that can be used to describe the event of taking one’s life when placed in the position of having a disease that is going to take one’s life is to call the event voluntary euthanasia. This becomes a less volatile terminology that can be discussed on terms that do not suggest sin, mental instability, and can call into question policies of illegality. A definition of voluntary euthanasia is that it â€Å"takes place when a patient who is dying or who is in intolerable pain asks someone to help him or her to die to avoid any further suffering† (Cleave,