Physician-assisted suicide is defined as the deliberate extinction of an individual’s life through administering of fatal substance with the support of a doctor or a nurse whether it is indirect or direct support. Physician-assisted suicide further, is an activity of catering for a knowledgeable sick person with a treatment for prescription for the person to use with the main purpose of dying prematurely (Cherry and Jacob, 2008).
The topic on Physician assisted suicide largely remains discordant ethical issue in the world today because the argument regarding its lawful and ethical status continues to bring division in the health industry. Therefore this paper will be in a position to discuss on the role of nurses in physician-assisted suicide since they are under an obligation of making a number of decisions and choices regarding termination of their patients’ life prematurely based on the patient’s request.
There is sufficient evidence that nurses do have a role in physician-assisted suicide in that they are faced with the decisions regarding termination of one’s life prematurely based on the individual’s request (Bilsen and Vander, 2004). In my own view I believe that nurses do have a role in physician-assisted suicide; for instance the issue of respect of independence of any person is crucial. I hold the view that any competent individual have a right to make his own decisions including decisions regarding his/her death.
So when an individual opts for Physician-assisted suicide then nurses can choose to administer to them or not. Also I do believe that nurses have /a role in physician-assisted suicide practices in that sometimes some patients may be very ill and that the only solution is to subject them to early death in order to avoid more suffering and trauma. I further hold the view that physician-assisted suicide practices by nurses is a solution to intolerable suffering by some patients.