Presentation on Assisted Death for COR405

1. ASSISTED
DEATH
Zenebou Abalo-Toga
Jenna Swisher
Beti Kercelli
Jivata Raja
Maria Bagnato

2. TERMINOLOGY
The term Assisted death is a model that
includes both what has been called
physician-assisted “suicide” and
euthanasia.
Z. A

3.  Physician-assisted


A physician provides necessary lethal means-drugs-or
information to a patient
The patient performs the act at a time of their own
choosing
 Euthanasia-Greek

suicide
term for ―Good death‖
The physician taking an active role in performing or
carrying out a patient’s request for life termination.
Z. A

4. EUTHANASIA-CLASSIFICATION

Active


Passive


When a competent person makes a conscious and enduring
decision to die or to be helped to die
Involuntary


To end one’s life by withholding necessary actions-medical
treatments, food, water-to maintain that life
Voluntary


To end one’s life with a physician intervention using drugs or
lethal injection
To end someone’s life with the knowledge or consent
Non-voluntary

when a person is unable to give his/her consent, but gives
another person the power to make that decision for them.
Z. A

5. WHY EUTHANASIA?
 66%
of people choosing Euthanasia have
social/personal reasons, not pain
 Some reasons include: not wanted to be a burden
on their family, feelings of apathy and a defeated
outlook
 55% of deaths in hospitals are painful
M.B

6. METHODS
 Drugs

Anti-emic drug followed by life ending prescription
drug
 Injection

Injection to render a patient comatose, followed by
an injection to stop heart
 Starvation

and Dehydration
Withdrawal from food and water to hasten death
Z. A

7. Dr Philip Nitschke
DELIVERANCE MACHINE
EXIT BAG WITH NITROGEN GAS
Z. A

8. Jack Kevorkian
EUTHANASIA DEVICES
Thanatron
Z. A

9. THANATRON
MERCITRON
Z. A

10. DR. JACK KEVORKIAN
 1928-2011

Pathologist who
assisted people
suffering from
acute medical
conditions in
ending their lives.
J.S

11. IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
IT’S YOUR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT!!
Amendment IX
The enumeration in the
Constitution, of certain
rights, shall not be
construed to deny or
disparage others retained
by the people.
J.R

12. ANCIENT PHILOSOPHICAL VIEWS
Support of Euthanasia
Against Euthanasia
 Plato
 Hippocrates
 Aristotle
 Pythagoreans
 The
 Epicureans
Stoics
J.S.

13. ANCIENT GREEK/ROME
(5TH CENTURY B.C. – 1ST CENTURY B.C.)



Largely in SUPPORT of
euthanasia despite
the Hippocratic
Oath which
prohibited assistedsuicide
In ancient times
physicians had a
dual role: one to
cure, the other was
to kill
Eugenics
J.R

14. THE MIDDLE AGES
(1ST CENTURY A.D. – 16TH CENTURY A.D.)
 The
ascendancy of
Christianity led to a
strong OPPOSITION
toward any form of
suicide
 Death is for God to
decree, not man
J.R

15. AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT
(17TH – 18TH CENTURY)
 Renaissance
and
reformation writers
challenge the church
in SUPPORT of
euthanasia
 No widespread interest
in the topic, but
achieved short-term
toleration of suicide
near the end
 Church still AGAINST
J.R

16. Famous Cases
TERRI SCHIAVO
 1963
– 2005
 Right to Die case in
Florida
J.S

17. LEGALITY
 U.S.A
1997-Supreme Court Ruled for No constitutional
right to assisted suicide, leaving sates free to pass
laws specifically prohibiting it.
Oregon and Washington's death with dignity Act
Vermont (Patient’s Choice and Control at the end
of Life Act) and Montana
•
All 4 states allows terminal-ill patients to end their lives through self
administration of lethal prescribed medications.
Euthanasia is legal in Belgium, Netherlands, and
Luxembourg
Assisted Suicide legal in Switzerland
Z. A

18. EUTHANASIA IN THE UNITED STATES
 Montana
(2009)
 Vermont (2013)
 Washington (2008)
 Oregon (1994)
 Oregon,
Vermont and Washington require that
the patient be 18 years old, have 6 or less months
to live, and have two oral requests (15 days apart)
and one written request to the physician
 Montana requires that a case by case basis is
approved through court
M.B

19. THE LAW – US
 American
criminal law currently considers
euthanasia to be willful homicide.
 If an individual performs a voluntary termination of
an incurably ill or a suffering human being, even
with an altruistic motive, under the present U.S.
system of jurisprudence, this constitutes murder in
the first degree.
M.B

20. Current Case
BARBARA MANCINI
 Philadelphia—Feb.
2013
J. S.

21. INTERNATIONAL LEGALIZATION
J.R

22. Country
Euthanasia Status
Physician-Assisted Suicide
Status
Australia
Illegal
Illegal
Belgium
Legal (2002)
Legal (2002)
Canada
Illegal
Illegal
Colombia
Unclear
Illegal
Germany
Illegal
Legal
India
Illegal
Illegal
Israel
Illegal
Illegal
Italy
Illegal
Illegal
Japan
Unclear
Illegal
Luxembourg
Legal
Legal
The Netherlands
Legal
Legal
Russia
Illegal
Illegal
Spain
Illegal
Illegal
Switzerland
Illegal
Legal
United Kingdom
Illegal
Illegal
J.R

23. EUTHANASIA INTERNATIONALLY
 More
than 20,000 deaths registered in six
countries: Belgium, Denmark, Italy, the
Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland. Half of
the deaths reviewed were of people aged 80
and over
 Passive non-voluntary euthanasia (withholding
life support) is legal in India, Albania, and many
parts of the United States and is practiced in
English hospitals
B.K

24. DENMARK
 The
national Danish law on patient rights from 1998
states that passive euthanasia, such as stopping a
terminally ill patients treatment, is legal. Active
euthanasia and assisted suicide is not legal
 The law allows the withholding of treatment and
withdrawing treatment in terminally ill patients
 One implication of this rule is that the patient can
always reject treatment and can for example
avoid being kept alive artificially
B.K

25. NETHERLANDS


First nation to permit euthanasia
The law allows medical review board to suspend prosecution
of doctors who performed euthanasia when each of the
following conditions is fulfilled:





the patient's suffering is unbearable with no prospect of
improvement
the patient's request for euthanasia must be voluntary and
persist over time the patient must be fully aware of his/her
condition, prospects and options
there must be consultation with at least one other
independent doctor who needs to confirm the conditions
mentioned above
the death must be carried out in a medically appropriate
fashion by the doctor or patient, in which case the doctor
must be present
the patient is at least 12 years old
B.K

26. CHILD EUTHANASIA


The name given to the organized murder of severely
mentally and physically handicapped children and
young people up to 16 years old during the Nazi
era in over 30 so-called special children's wards
"if the newborn child is suspected of being afflicted
with the following congenital disorders:





Idiocy and mongolism (especially cases combined
with blindness and deafness),
Microcephaly
Hydrocephalus, to a severe or advanced degree
Malformations of all kinds, particularly the absence of
limbs, severe midline defects of the head and spine,
etc.
Paralysis, including cerebral palsy.
B.K

27. CHILD EUTHANASIA


Extremely premature births, where children suffer brain damage
from bleeding and convulsions; and diseases where a child could
only survive on life support for the rest of its life, such as rare
blistering illness.
Severe hydrocephalus. Infants like this can be subject to nonvoluntary euthanasia in the Netherlands if the parents and
doctors decide it is the best choice for their child. In other
jurisdictions, the doctors involved may be prosecuted.
B.K

28. EUGENICS




Eugenics: the belief and practice of improving the genetic quality of the human
population.
-the improvement of human genetic traits through the promotion of higher
reproduction of people with desired traits (positive eugenics), and reduced
reproduction of people with less-desired or undesired traits (negative eugenics).
developed by Francis Galton.
Implementations:
 genetic screening
 birth control
 promoting differential birth rates
 marriage restrictions
 segregation (both racial segregation and segregation of the mentally ill from the rest
of the population)
 compulsory sterilization,
 forced abortions
 forced pregnancies,
 genocide
J.S

29. THE ECONOMIC ARGUMENT
"Right-to-die" advocates claim that the elderly and
those with disabilities fear becoming a financial burden on their
loved ones and would rather chose death. They state that next
to pain and suffering this is the second most important reason
people want to die by euthanasia.
J.R

30. POLITICAL VIEWS
Liberal






Legalize euthanasia
Right to die with dignity, by
his/her own choice
Terminally ill should have right to
chose to end pain and suffering
Government should not withhold
this right
Will not lead to doctor-assisted
suicides of non-critical patients
Reduces health care costs; funds
can be made available to
someone who can truly benefit
from medical care
Conservative







Should not be legalized
Immoral and unethical
Goal should be compassionate
care and easing the suffering of
terminally ill
Will lead to doctor-assisted
suicides of non-critical patients
Insurance companies will pressure
doctors to withhold life-saving
treatment for dying patients
Against many religions
Devalues human life
J.R

31. RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL VIEWS IN THE US
 Catholicism
 Episcopal
 Evangelical
 Baptist
 Presbyterian
 Mormon
 Judasim
 Hinduism
 Islam
 Unitarian
Universalism
J.S

32. 2009 CBS NEWS/NEW YORK TIMES POLL
―If a person has a disease that will
ultimately destroy their mind or
body and they want to take their
own life, should a doctor be
allowed to assist the person in
taking their own life, or not?"
J.S

33. CELEBRITY SUPPORTERS
 Sir
Patrick Stewart (actor)
 Sir Terry Pratchett (author)
 Stephen Hawking (theoretical physicist)
J.S

34. PHYSICIAN OPINION
 31%
had no objection to physician assisted suicide
 82% had no objection to terminal sedation
 95% had no objection to withdrawal of life support
 53% support physician assisted suicide when the
patient would experience excruciating pain
 37% support physician assisted suicide in terminally
ill cancer pains who would not experience pain
M.B

35. PHYSICIAN INTERVIEWS
 Emergency
room nurse: ―The concept of
Euthanasia goes against the basis of medicine,
keeping people alive…‖
 Oncologist: ―Euthanasia is a personal choice,
sometimes patients have gone through enough
and are too tired to go on. That is
understandable.‖
 Osteopath: ―Though I rarely deal with terminal
patients, it is hard for me to imagine supporting
ending a life, no matter what the person is going
through.‖
M.B

36. INTERVIEWS

“I think that assisted death (without the
physicians) should not be considered legal.
What would happen if the person undergoing
the procedure had a medical complication of
some kind and didn't die in a humane manner? I
think that physician-assisted death (euthanasiaas you describe it) sounds as if it should be
permissible. I know that there are a lot of
different medical disorders (such as ALS) that
cause extreme physical deterioration as the
disease progresses. I do not think that people
should be forced to undergo the horrifying
deterioration process.... they will end up being
dependent----in ALS the disease progresses to
the point where the person loses muscle
function so that they cannot swallow or breathe--sometimes they choke on their own mucus and
die that way-----this is terrible! ----These people
should have a choice to "die with dignity" at
their own time rather than suffer needlessly in the
end! (I don't like the idea of non-voluntary
euthanasia--------but this is why it is so important
for everyone to complete a living will---so we
know their final wishes. However, there are a lot
of difficulties regarding living wills----are they
really able to convey what we wish to happen?
Are their loop holes?‖ A.B, Hospital Volunteer
Z. A

37. INTERVIEWS

―I Believe that No one-regardless of your
profession, race, religions, ethnicity, nationalityShould be given the power to kill when asked to.
And no one should choose to end their life
regardless of their circumstances. The least you
can do out of respect to God, the woman and
the man that gave you life is try to hold on to that
life with all your might until it fades away
naturally.‖ E.M, Doctor.

―I do not think assisted death or euthanasia
should be permitted. I understand why people
would want to end their suffering but, as a
Christian, I do not believe that human beings
should take the life of another or take their own
life. Besides the religious implications, I also feel
this issue is too complex to have set guidelines or
rules. I believe that the lines would get blurred
regarding who decides who should be
euthanized. I do not believe there is a human
being on the planet that can be entrusted to
make such profound decisions.‖ H.S, Doctor
Z. A

38. PUBLIC OPINION



In males under 50, 87% support euthanasia while in males over 50 only
82% support it
In females under 50, 63% support euthanasia and in females over 50,
69% support it
65% of Republicans and 79% of Democrats
M.B

39. PROS AND CONS

Some observers argue
that if the practice of
euthanasia were
legal, physicians
would exercise their
medical judgment in
an unrestrained
fashion, increasing the
possibility of abuse of
discretion in relation
to a very serious
matter -life or death.

In contrast to this
opinion, other
observers believe
that the maintaining
of an incurably ill
patient and the
prolongation of that
individual’s suffering is
far more offensive
than allowing a
patient to die
peacefully.
M.B

40. WHAT IS YOUR STAND ON
ASSISTED DEATH?