Database Analysis Paper

Database Analysis Paper Instructions:

Choose an article from CAC’s database articles related to your topic and do an analysis for it. (Note: the article must be from CAC’s database. Using Google to find a site on the Web does not meet the standards of this assignment.)

A) Your paper must be properly formatted (e.g. heading, spacing, etc.).

B) You need a correctly formatted MLA citation (a full citation for a database article looks very different from a full citation for a website.

C) Your analysis will contain the following paragraphs:

1) A summary of the important points in the article, including a properly formatted Long Quote with correct MLA in-text citations. (Remember: a summary contains a neutral explanation of the article rather than your opinion about it–save that for the opinion paragraph).

2) An evaluation of the credibility of the source (Stage 1 and Stage 2).

3) Your opinion on the source.

Your analysis must be at least 500 words (not including the full citation).

Make sure most of the content is in your own words. (The total for your paper–excluding citations–must be no more than 20% of another person’s words).

Check your spelling and grammar. Poor spelling and grammar will result in a lower grade.

THE ARTICLE:
Physician-assisted suicide (PAS) is when a terminally ill patient requests and receives lethal doses of medication. PAS is an established process. It is guided by strict legal requirements. More generally, the term assisted suicide describes any time a person intentionally provides someone with the means to end their life. It is different than euthanasia which refers to the act of ending of someone else’s life and is a crime. PAS is allowed in parts of the United States.

There are debates about terminology related to PAS. Activists have proposed several alternative terms. These terms include dying with dignity and right-to-die. End-of-life options and aid-in-dying are also used. Supporters of legal assisted suicide argue in favor of using these terms. These terms show control over one’s death rather than a rejection of one’s life.

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FAST FACTS
Researchers surveyed doctors about their opinions regarding PAS in a 2019 study in the Yale Journal. Sixty percent of surveyed doctors though it should be legal, but only 9 percent responded that they would perform the procedure if legalized.
Some supporters of physician assisted suicide adopt the position that forcing someone to continue to live is unethical regardless of whether the person is terminally ill.
The Affordable Care Act of 2010 prohibits federal agencies and federally funded programs from discriminating against health care providers that do not provide assisted suicide services.
Both the American Medical Association and the American College of Physicians oppose PAS on these grounds that the practice undermines the medical community’s values.
Death with Dignity, an aid-in-dying advocacy group, argues that using the term suicide when discussing aid-in-dying for terminal patients is inaccurate because it suggests that the end of a patient’s life is not already imminent.
LEGISLATION AND REGULATION
Assisted suicide is legally determined at the state level in the United States. The US Supreme Court ruled that there is no constitutional right to die in the 1997 cases Washington v. Glucksberg and Vacco v. Quill. The Court ruled in 2006 in Gonzales v. Oregon that the US Department of Justice cannot legally take action when doctors prescribe assisted suicide drugs in states that permit the procedure.

Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act became law in 1997. It was the first US statute passed to cover a terminally ill patient’s right to die. It set a legal precedent that other states followed. As of 2020, aid-in-dying is legally permitted in the District of Columbia, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. PAS in Montana was effectively legalized by the state’s supreme court in 2009. The practice is illegal in all other states.

In the states that allow PAS, patients must meet certain requirements to be eligible. They must also get approval from their health care provider. In addition, patients must be aware enough to make their own decisions regarding their care. They must be state residents. Lastly, patients must have received a diagnosis that they will die within the next six months.

Though state laws vary, the process for PAS generally occurs over several steps. The patient must submit both oral and written requests to their doctor. Written requests require two witnesses, one of whom cannot be related to the patient. Neither witness can be due to inherit money from the patient or be providing care for the patient. The patient must be advised of other treatment options, observe waiting periods, and notify next of kin. In addition, laws require that two physicians verify a patient’s eligibility. Patients are free to stop the process at any time.

MEDICAL ETHICS, END-OF-LIFE CARE, AND RIGHT-TO-DIE ADVOCACY
The issue of assisted suicide remains controversial in the United States. The debate highlights the tension between respect of individuals’ rights and religious or moral opposition to the intentional ending of life.

Patients’ rights are important in end-of-life care. Much of the debate about assisted suicide centers on the complex ethical and legal issues determining if patients have the right to make an informed decision to end their own life. Patients are allowed to use directives to communicate their end-of-life wishes in treatment plans. They can also appoint other individuals to make treatment decisions for them.

Aid-in-dying supporters argue that a patient’s right to refuse treatment legally supports allowing a person to speed up their own death. They believe PAS should be legal because it falls under the existing right to refuse treatment. Some patients have pursued aid-in-dying because they want to avoid experiencing diminished quality of life.

Right-to-die supporters often note the high unassisted suicide rate among people with medical conditions that cause severe chronic pain. Chronic pain has been linked with suicide and suicidal thoughts.

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WORDS TO KNOW
burdened
strained
eligible
meet the requirements
ethical
moral
lethal
deadly
precedent
example
terminal
likely to cause death
OBJECTIONS TO ASSISTED DYING
Opponents of PAS argue that speeding up the end of someone’s life is intentionally doing a patient harm. Such critics believe doctors violate their ethical standards by assisting a patient in dying.

Many of those who oppose PAS point to the potential for abuse or misuse of the practice. Some believe that the widespread legalization of PAS could lead to its abuse. It could also be used as a cost-cutting measure or as a way of providing relief for burdened family members. The National Council on Disability published its objection to PAS in its annual report Danger of Assisted Suicide Laws. The council argues that PAS creates a risk of harm to elderly, poor, and disabled people.

Others argue that legalizing PAS will affect the rights of doctors and caregivers. Assisted suicide laws could legally force health care providers to perform life-ending medical procedures, even if the procedures violate their morals and ethics. However, doctors and health care providers have the right not to provide assisted suicide in the states where it is legal under Section 1553 of the Affordable Care Act of 2010.

Some opponents also note that medical professionals make mistakes, and diagnoses are sometimes incorrect. This could lead patients to end their own lives based on wrong information. These arguments are common even though multiple steps are required in order for the patient to take part in PAS in areas where it is legal.

“Assisted Suicide.” Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2021. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/TULUPE064946162/OVIC?u=cazc_main&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=bd9e4937. Accessed 13 Nov. 2022.

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