Physician-Assisted Suicide

Should physician-assisted suicide (PAS) be permitted for a competent, non-terminally ill patient experiencing chronic, incurable pain, with a low quality of life? Suggesting a possible response to this question requires an examination of various concepts. One must have an understanding of notions such as rational thought, pain, and suffering. An examination should be made of the alleged rights of the patient, such as the “right to die”, as well as the patient’s competence and the specific circumstances of his situation.


With respect to a discernable definition of rational thought, Battin posits that there are two necessary components to a person’s ability to reason:


“(1) that in moving from the premises from which he or she begins to the conclusion reached, he or she maintains good logical form… and (2) that the person can see the consequences of the positions he or she adopts or of the actions he or she plans to take.” (Ethical Issues in Suicide. Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 1995.)


As for the definitions of “pain” and “suffering”, pain is used to refer to physical harm which isn’t long-term. While suffering is a similar concept to pain, it has some important differences. Suffering refers to an extended state of physical or emotional harm, either of which could be caused by physical or emotional circumstances. In this specific case, for the patient to consider suicide a possibility, that would indicate that the patient is not only suffering physically, but emotionally, as a result of the physical pain caused by the chronic, incurable medical condition.