Legal and Ethical Issues on Assisted Suicide

Committing suicide do happen in different scenarios whereby one can voluntarily decide to take a way life without the knowledge of the relatives. On the other hand, some seek advice and support on how to take away their life. This controversial has got the attention of law such that some states have established rules and regulations to govern the action of assisted suicide. In basic legal regulations, it is necessary to understand the role played by involved party played in committing the suicide. It has been taken as illegal in a handful of states for physician-assisted suicide whereby over 30 states have taken the step of enacting the statutes of prohibiting assisted suicide. They have well arguably prohibited assisted suicide through the common law.

According to the U.S. Supreme Court, there is no an actual constitutional right to die. This saw the court leaving for individual state to enact its legislation of permitting or prohibiting physician assisted suicide. The fact is that a person will be guilty of taking part in a suicide attempt when the individual knowingly causes or helps the person to attempt the suicide. However, through the Death with Dignity Act, ill adults have the option of seeking for lethal doses from osteopathic physicians for them to have a peaceful ending of life.

Besides the assisted suicide having some support and eligibility from some states, there are some legal issues that arise over the practice. The fact is that the roles played by legislators, judges and administrative officials in influence the patient care do vary. The legal issue that will raise the eyebrows is that if assisted suicide is made legal, then the follow up experience will be the ending of lives without the consent of the people through the human negligence and abuse of the law. Legalization of the assisted suicide will have the high number in compromising of the family as well as the intergenerational commitments. The legal issue that will follow out is the controversial about the delivery of human equality and dignity before the state law (Cassel, 7). It, therefore, comes with some concerns with the consideration of assisted suicide as legal.

The assisted suicide comes with ethical concern such that the doctors are defined with eh role of doing no harm. How ideal is it for the doctor to facilitate the ending of life. However, the law sees differently such that old aged human have right to die with dignity and peaceful and this can get done with the assistance of doctors. It sounds moral, right and caring for a compassionate medical practitioner to provide patient with necessary prescription that will enable the patient to die with dignity. This is not such controversial to the principle that is paramount that states that doctors have the duty of relieving suffering. It actually depends with the state law since participation in suicide is taken as murder unless the ending of life is done professionally as defined by the common law. Otherwise, prosecution should take its direction.

Assisted suicide may come up on a genuine basis although at times remain to have some hidden meaning. The issue of assisted suicide should be taken within the given range and it should get considered only acceptable within a given scope of execution. It is ethical to observe the rights of the human and the respecting of other opinions that seems to reduce suffering to their lives. Thus, assisted suicide should only be legal under special circumstances.

Work cited

Cassel, Christine K., and Marilyn J. Field, eds. Approaching death: improving care at the end of life. National Academies Press, 1997. 7, Legal Issues. Available from:

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