euthanasia

Hippocratic Oath -- Modern Version

I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant:I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow. I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures which are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism. I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug. I will not be ashamed to say "I know not," nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient's recovery. I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me that the world may know. Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death.If it is given me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play at God. I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person's family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick. I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure. I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm. If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, respected while I live and remembered with affection thereafter. May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy of healing those who seek my help.

The above is the oath all physicians must take upon completion of their medical training... with matters of life and death a physician must tread carefully. Now on the reason for this post... This week, the state of Oregon passed a bill that would allow a physician to prescribe a lethal dose of medication effectively allowing the patient to die at his or her request. The idea of voluntary euthanasia is going one step (or maybe many steps) beyond where doctors need to go... as a future physician, not only do I not believe in this issue, suicide is something I'd rather not believe in either.
According to what I know about people, and medicine (which isn't much at this point), the main reason someone might want to die when they are sick is the pain-- the intractable, unrelenting, powerful pain. However, one thing doctors can do, besides giving a patient a pill to take a "permanent nap", is prescribe medication to help block the nerve receptors that cause the sensation of pain. Opiates such as morphine or oxycodone (palliative care) would quickly and effectively ease pain and allow patients to spend their last days alive with their families and friends. After all, in order for a patient to qualify for this "legal" voluntary euthanasia would have to be diagnosed with less than 6 months to live by at least two physicians. Tampering with the means of death has serious implications to the natural social processes that families and loved ones go through when dealing with death... think of the one thing most people say when a loved one passes: "I never got the chance to say goodbye."
Another point being if a patient truly wants to commit suicide, do they really need a prescription to do so? Surely downing an entire bottle (that is, a month's worth) of any of a thousand prescription medications, or an entire bottle of an over-the-counter painkiller such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen will surely do the trick. If it's pain that you wish to escape from, your doctor can prescribe a medication for pain. If it's life that you wish to escape from, you surely don't need a doctor for that. If we cross the line to start prescribing death and play God, then what is to stop us from playing God on the opposite spectrum and create life in a test tube?... We're on dangerous grounds here, and it is a physician's job to help save a life, not take one... what it comes down to is that it is an abomination for the profession for a physician to intentionally harm a patient.
this world gives me such a headache sometimes
k