assisted suicide :: essays research papers

Assisted Suicide In 1997, Oregon became the only state allowing legal physician-assisted suicide (PAS). Although physician-assisted suicide has been legal in Oregon for four years, it remains highly controversial. PAS is when a doctor prescribes their patient to medication which would kill them. Patients must pass certain requirements in order to request a prescription for lethal medication. The patient must be 18 years or older, a resident of Oregon, able to make health care decisions, and diagnosed with a terminal illness that would lead to death within six months. After meeting these requirements patients are able to request a prescription for lethal medication from a licensed Oregon physician. To receive a prescription for lethal medication, the following steps must be completed: †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The patient must make two oral requests to their physician, separated by at least 15 days. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The patient must provide a written request to their physician, signed with two witnesses present. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The doctor who prescribes the patient and another physician must confirm the diagnosis and prognosis. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If either physician believes the patient's judgment is impaired by a psychiatric or psychological disorder, the patient must take a psychological examination. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The physician must inform the patient of alternatives to assisted suicide. Such as comfort care, hospital care, and pain management. During 1998, 1999 and 2000, approximately 16, 27, and 27 patients used PAS. Patients who died by PAS were more educated than other Oregonians who did not choose to commit suicide and had similar illnesses. All the medications prescribed are barbiturates. A physician or anyone else can not directly administer medication to end another's life. In 2001, 44 doctors prescribed 33 patients to a medication that would end their life. In comparison, 39 prescriptions were written in 2000, 33 in 1999 and 24 in 1998. Although the number of prescriptions written for physician-assisted suicide has increased in the past four years, the number of ill patients taking lethal medication has stayed small with less than 1/10 of one percent of Oregonians dying by physician-assisted suicide.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The reason I picked this topic is because I thought it was very interesting and also very controversial. I find it very interesting that Oregon is the only state that has physician-assisted suicide. I feel very strongly that if a person was in so much pain where they wanted to commit suicide, then it should be allowed. I also agree with the requirements a patient has to meet before being granted the prescription.

Play Review: the Imaginary Invalid

Upon entering the theater, my initial reactions were all positive as I took in the scene, my eyes shifting around the surroundings. The theater was a little smoky and mysterious looking; there were interesting props on the stage (like a candle chandelier, a chrome walker, and a contraption of various sized bottles containing florescent yellow and red liquid with tubes attached throughout) that I found stimulating to look at and wonder about. When the lights went down and the play began, I was excited to see what purpose was behind the smoky environment and the curious props. Up to the end of the production, that excitement (accompanied by times of surprise and empathy) was sustained because of the comical nature of the play. The opening scene with the dark bodies and illuminated faces was a little confusing. I was not sure how having the actors lurking around the stage and audience, with creepy, tingly music and sounds being played in the meantime, related to the play. Besides this scene, though, the plot and structure of the play was made clear due to the comprehensibility of the dialogue and the ease at which the plot could be followed. Many of the scenes aroused the audience to some form of response, more often laughter than others, but surprise and empathy were prominent as well. In the first scene that Argan, a hypochondriac (the imaginary invalid), was introduced, there was a plethora of giggles and grins from the audience as he sorted through his doctor's bills and spoke of enemas. In the scenes with Angelique, Argan's daughter, empathy was felt for her while she struggled to be with her love, Cleante. Many of the scenes had shocking or surprising elements, but the most shocking of all was when Argan's doctor came to visit him after hearing the news that Argan was not abiding to his prescriptions. The scene was outrageous; the doctor's speech was very loud and exaggerated, as was his wardrobe, and there was an added element of absurdity with saliva spewing this way and that out of the doctor's mouth as he shouted at Argan. Because the play was filled with scenes of this nature and because most of the play was a little outrageous, it was effective in arousing audience response and captivating my interest throughout the performance. In order to successfully express emotions and ideas, the actors used body movements, voice, and facial expressions wonderfully. A perfect example of one actor utilizing all three would be the character of Thomas Diafoirus. Just out of schooling to become a doctor, Thomas reflects a goofy, savage-like facial expression. He is presented to the audience like an animal also through his slouching and savage-like mannerisms, not to mention the fact that his father would crack a whip on him at any given hint of misbehavior. Thomas is not at all a man who Angelique wants to marry, and so this idea is taken to the next level by making his character obviously repulsing to the audience. As exaggerated as they may have been, and as ridiculous as some might have seemed, body movement, voice, and facial expressions were expertly put to use throughout the performance. The design of the set and the costumes worked great with all the other elements of the production. Many people were heard describing the costumes as sort of â€Å"Rocky Horror†, due to the white, highly made up faces and gothic style clothing. While this was not proper dress for the period in which the play was written, it did still work well with the play and was not seemingly out of place. The characters of Argan, Angelique, Louison, Beralde, and Cleante were not in this gothic style apparel, but instead were in period dress. This was an excellent way of showing the difference between characters. The stage was set strategically with Argan's bed directly in the middle, a great way to show that the play circled around his â€Å"illness† and being in bed most of the time. The props I mentioned at the beginning (the candle chandelier, the chrome walker, and the contraption of bottles containing liquid and tubes) were dangling about the actors on rope. This was a clever way of decorating Argan's room with symbols of his hypochondria. The costumes worn and the design of the set worked well together in setting an appropriate mood and style for the production. Overall, I really liked this play and thought that the production was done very well. I enjoyed most of all the comedic elements of the play, it was good to laugh and sit through something that was not in a serious tone. I especially thought it a treat to see the audience around me enjoying the performance as much as I was.

Gender, Discrimination, Bias, And The Hostility Against...

When we hear or see older people, nearly most of us think of them in a negative way. We see these people as if they were sick, barely living, mentally unstable and can t function or do a job correctly, we even pity them and get sad of how they look like. These emotions that most people feel is no different than how some men feel about women (sexism), or how the dominant race, let s say the white, feels toward an ethnic minority (racism). These emotions toward older people are an indicator of ageism in the society. Ageism can be defined as the discrimination, bias, and the enmity against older people. A great example of ageism is rejecting an older job applicants in favor of a younger one. Three theory apply to aging the elderly. Our first theory is called structural-functional theory. As the author of our textbook, John Macionis, agrees that this approach views society as a complex, but interconnected system, where each part works together as a functional whole (p.16). The author of the book applies this approach to the aging topic and show how the operations of the society can be confused and disordered on the fact that people grow old and die ultimately. As a result of that the society dissociate older people from important tasks or disband them from responsibilities as they grow older (p.439). Drawing on the structural-functional theory, the disengagement theory illustrates that as people grow old the society eliminates them from their responsibilities and theirShow MoreRelatedStereotypes, Conformity, And Discrimination1742 Words   |  7 PagesPrejudices and Discrimination in American History X Abstract Stereotyping, prejudice, conformity, and discrimination are well portrayed in the movie American History X. The negative attitude held by Derek towards to black people is greatly influenced and learned from his father who was a racist. 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