Euthanasia and physician assisted suicide FAQ. Advokate life and education services.

(2014,
November 25). Retrieved June 10, 2015.
This YouTube video was uploaded by a non-profit organization, thus adding credibility to
the information presented. The main point that the video is trying to get across to the
viewers is that physician assisted suicide does more hurt than harm to the patient. They
mention that the only reason why the practice exists is that the patient is depressed and
has nowhere else to turn and believe the only way out is suicide. The organization then
states in the video that one way that these patients can be helped is to surround them with
love and reassurance. This video will be very useful for my research because it offers a
very strong argument on why physician-assisted suicide affects is should not be a practice
to turn to. There are ways that the videos points can be argued against by utilizing
another source.
Gittelman, D. K. (1999). Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. Southern Medical
Journal, 92(4), 369-374.
The main focuses of the article presented by Gittelman are the multiple issues involving
physician-assisted suicide/euthanasia. The article begins by presenting definitions of the
topic at hand because there are different ways that people view this issue and then going
into detail about the history of said topic in order to add some credibility. On the second
page, the author elaborates on both the public opinion as well as surveys in order to avoid
bias. This article will be very helpful for my research simply due to the fact that it is not
biased. It provides many statistics for and against the issue of physician-assisted
suicide/euthanasia.
Meier, D. (1998, April 23). A national survey of physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia in
the United States New England Journal of Medicine. Retrieved June 17, 2015.

This article is found on a website but it is still credible because it is an actual research
study. The research conducted was performed on about 1900 physicians across the
United States with the purpose being to listen to their opinions of physician assisted
suicide. The results showed that 78% of the physicians surveyed stated that they would
perform the practice if it were legal and they were given the proper materials such as a
lethal injection or prescribed medication. However, a point that is made by the researcher
is the discussion is that the physicians may agree towards the practice now, but if they are
ever put in the situation, they might back down. This source will be very helpful towards
my research because it adds the physicians point of view to the topic at hand in response
to the other source that gives the patients.
Opinion 2.211 - Physician-Assisted Suicide. (1996, June 1). Retrieved June 15, 2015.
This information is posted and edited by the American Medical Association, thus adding
credibility to the information presented. The webpage begins by giving the reader the
definition of the topic at hand and stating that it is understandable that a patient may want
to take his or her life. It then goes into an explanation of why the organization believes
pulling the plug on a patient will do more harm then good. This webpage will be useful
to my research because it serves as the primary argument against physician-assisted
suicide because the AMA is the organization that proposed the law that is in effect in
todays society.

Schafer, A. (2014). Physician-assisted suicide: It's time to reform the law. CCPA Monitor, 21(7),
14-47.
This scholarly article argues for the legalization of physician-assisted suicide. Schafer

states the fact that even with the top medical care, sometimes recovery may not be
possible; and the patient then has a right to decide whether or not to take his own life.
The main point that the article is trying to point out is that patients should die the way
they lived their life, rather than from a vicious death such as from cancer. This article will
be beneficial towards my research due to the fact that it offers strong arguments on why
physician-assisted suicide is justifiable. Another reason it will be beneficial is simply due
to the fact that the article has a high level of credibility.
Wilson, K. (2000, September 11). Attitudes of terminally ill patients toward euthanasia and
physician-assisted suicide. Archives of Internal Medicine. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
This source comes from a website, but it focuses on a research study that was performed
on terminally ill patients. The objective of the research was to survey all 70 of these
patients on what they think about physician assisted suicide and euthanasia. The results of
the research showed that 64% of these terminally ill patients believed that the practice
was acceptable. The other 36% of the patients either stated that it is not acceptable to end
their life through suicide or had no comment on the matter whatsoever. This study will be
very helpful to my research due to the fact that is contains actual terminally ill patients
contributing to the source rather than one person who could form to a biased opinion on a
very debatable subject.