Physician Assisted Suicide Research Paper

Physician-Assisted Suicide Physician-Assisted Suicide or Euthanasia has been around since 5th century B.C. The Ancient Greeks and Romans, before the coming of Christianity, attitudes toward infanticide, active euthanasia, and suicide had tended to be tolerant. They were ethically bound to follow the Hippocratic Oath however during this time very few physicians followed it faithfully. Physician-Assisted Suicide was widely accepted in 5th century B.C. however, as technology, society, and medical advancement happened people started to question whether physician-assisted suicide was ethical or a human rights violation. In the 12th Century through the 15th Century Christians led the way into starting to enforce and push physicians into following …show more content…
In 1647, the colony that would eventually become Rhode Island declared that self-murder was agreed to be the most unnatural and that to do it showed a hatred against themselves. Common law for over 700 years the Anglo American common law tradition punished and disapproved of suicide and of physicians assisting suicide. The American colonies during this time practiced common law approach in relation to physician assisted suicide. In the late 18th Century the Christians vehemently opposed assisted suicide and remained firm that it was a crime against god. The Awakening of intense evangelical fervor against assisted suicide continued to gain momentum and strengthen their opposition of it well into the 19th …show more content…
During 1905, bills to legalize euthanasia were presented and defeated in the state of Ohio. In 1906, another initiative was brought up that would have legalized euthanasia not only for adults but for “hideously deformed or idiotic children” it however, was defeated when introduced. In 1915, a medical case resulting in a child’s death sent ripples through all parts of the U.S. because of a doctor’s choice not to give a severely deformed new born surgery that would have saved it life and instead chose to let the infant die. This case marked a milestone in which he was able to singlehandedly accomplish was other defenders of euthanasia weren’t. By choosing not to operate and let nature take its course allowing the child to die he had thousands of Americans talking and discussing euthanasia and was able to even get endorsements from several prominent figures. For a time, the media coverage surrounding his professional conduct was reported on more than the news from World War

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