Persuasive Speech - Physician assisted suicide PDF

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Physician assisted suicide...

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TITLE: Physician-assisted suicide should be illegal. Introduction Attention- getter: The Hippocratic oath clearly states, “I will not give a drug that is deadly to anyone if asked [for it], nor will I suggest the way to such counsel (Henningfield, pg. 38).” Establishing Credibility (Initial ethos): Steven Miles, a University of Minnesota professor published a book, expressing that doctors must uphold the standards of the Hippocratic Oath. Relate to the Audience: Providing resourceful information allows us to recognize what is in the best interest for patients and doctors alike. Purpose: Today, I plan to convince you that physician-assisted suicide should be illegal. Thesis: The United States must implement policies preventing the usage of euthanasia for the terminally ill.

Forecast: I will provide knowledge of euthanasia and how the medical advances in technology and hospice can prevent the widespread of euthanasia.

Main Idea 1: Euthanasia is harmful because it doesn’t allow people to see human life as sacred. A. The Hippocratic oath isn’t compatible with Euthanasia. 1. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, euthanasia is defined as “the painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma. 2. The Hippocratic Oath are the standards that doctors are expected to maintain. B. Euthanasia encourages abuse, allowing doctors to justify murder by framing it in compassionate terms.

1. Laws were written to protect people from killing. 2. Dr. Jack Kevorkian is a prime example of a man “who killed his patients and has admitted to assisting in over 100 deaths, most with disabilities, primarily multiple sclerosis but also arthritis and spinal-cord injury (Torr, pg.85).” Transition: Because of advances in medicine, patients have more options for treatment and less need for Euthanasia.

Main Idea 2: Technological advances have led to improved health care that increases the quality of life.

A. Before, there were no breakthroughs with the opportunity of saving lives and later history will help save even more lives. 1. Innovations in medical technology made contributions such as correcting abnormal heartbeats and saving lives by using a defibrillator and modern respirator (Kiernan, pg.13) 2. During President Lyndon Johnson’s administration, an executive policy was recommended requiring the usage of medical response trauma teams (Kiernan, pg.13). B. Despite these remarkable breakthroughs that help those badly injured, the law becomes vague and allows more opportunities for misinterpretation on defining death. 1. The President’s Commission forced the U.S Supreme Court and healthcare facilities to make tough decisions regarding death. 2. Society views made gradual dying as a medical crisis instead of accepting a natural process of life as a norm. Transition: Along with medical advances in technology as an alternative to Euthanasia, hospice is another solution that makes people more comfortable.

Main Idea 3: Hospice is defined as “care designed to give support to people going through the final phase of terminal illness and focus on the quality of life, rather than cure.”

A. Hospice is a better alternative than being stuck in the hospital, trying to avoid the unavoidable. 1. Some thought dying that it made sense that a man chose to die in his house surrounded by family and made comfortably by hospice doctors and nurses. 2. A physician expressed his findings in Hospice, “You can only fail a patient if you fail to understand and respond to their needs (Kiernan, pg. 100).” B. Hospice gradually became known to help patients that know they only have a few months to live. 1. “Hospice care emerged in the 1970s when the National Hospice Organization were formed “in response to the unmet needs of dying patients and their families for whom traditional medicare care was no longer effective (Torr, pg. 73).” 2. “Herbert Hendin, an executive director of the American Suicide Foundation illustrates a story of a young man diagnosed with acute myelocytic leukemia who was expected to have only a few months before he died (Torr, pg. 3031).” Transition: As the awareness of hospice gradually becomes known, people can see it as a viable, positive alternative to Euthanasia.

Conclusion: Point that needs to be addressed: Although euthanasia remains a highly controversial subject, euthanasia should never be legalized.

Summary: Due to medical advances made by technology and researchers, they have found hospice care as an alternative for the terminally ill. Tie back to Audience: Life is a precious gift. Euthanasia defies basic principles of life. Concluding Remarks: Even though, patients fear death and may see no hope, they need to be constantly reminded of the alternatives to euthanasia.

References

Colby, W. H. (2006). Unplugged: Reclaiming Our Right to Die in America. New York City, NY:

Amacom.

Henningfeld, D. A. (Ed.). (2011). Medical ethics. Detroit, MI: Greenhaven Press Kiernan, S. P. (2006). Last rights: Rescuing the end of life from the medical system (1st ed.). New York, NY: St. Martin's Press. Miles, S. H. (2005). Hippocratic Oath and the Ethics of Medicine. New York City, NY: Oxford University Press. Simpson, J. A. (1989). The Oxford English dictionary. Oxford, MS: Clarendon Press. Torr, J. D. (1999). Euthanasia. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press....