Samantha Lanza

Interview Questions

Physician - Assisted Suicide
1. Question: What is physician assisted suicide? What is it compared to euthanasia?
Answer: PAS is when a person has the choice to end his or her own life and its the
voluntary termination of one's own life by administration of a lethal substance with the
direct or indirect assistance of a physician. Physician-assisted suicide is the practice of
providing a competent patient with a prescription for medication for the patient to use
with the primary intention of ending his or her own life.
- When one cannot handle their life and are miserable every day for a sickness or
disease that cannot be healed.
- Physician Assisted Suicide is when a person is unhealthy and have the decision that
they want to die and they are assisted by receiving a lethal medicine that lets you
pass peacefully.
Compared to euthanasia?
Euthanasia is when a person directly kills another human being that is seen struggling,
and it is called the mercy killing.

2. Question: Do we have a "right to die?"
Answer: As Americans we were granted with free will, we should have the right to
decide if we want to take our own lives, but only if you are not fit to keep living.
- I believe people that are very sick and cannot ever be healed should have the right to
ending his or her life if one will be miserable and have no want of staying alive.
- Free will
- If we have a right to live than we must have a right to death
- For example Demetria, should be allowed the right to die. They have no cure to their
disease, no reasons why to refuse them the right, especially if they are in pain every
day. Forcing them to be kept alive against their own will should be ruled as torture.

3. Question: Is Physician-assisted suicide legal anywhere right now?
Answer: states (Oregon, Vermont, Washington) legalized physician-assisted suicide via
legislation
Most other states have states have laws prohibiting physician assisted suicide


4. Question: what are some main reasons why Physician- Assisted Suicide should be
allowed to be able to occur?
Answer:
- it protects people who do not want to suffer lingering, painful deaths
- it is in keeping with respect for patient autonomy
- it is defensible as policy because it respects social diversity
- it protects against physician paternalism and unwanted treatment
- it protects against debilitating conditions not easily managed by medicine
- the state has no interesting in forcing the prolongation of life of someone in pain who
wants to die
- free will

5. Question: How is Physician Assisted Suicide done?
Answer: usually a pill but sometimes a liquid. It cant be an injection, because the
doctor cannot directly cause the patients death by administering the drug. Rather, the
doctor is assisting in that he or she is writing the prescription. Insurance may cover
the cost of the drug, which is generally under $100

6. Question: If you really want to be able to get the prescription, are you able to go to one
of the few states that it is legal?
Answer: no, you must be a resident of the state, there is a minimum time restriction on
residency

7. Question: What kind of people do you think should be allowed to do Physician
assisted suicide?
Answer: only people with very bad heath issues and are miserable at all times, therefore
not having a reason to go on, and not wanting to.
- Who I did more of research on was Mr. Giovanni Mangioni , a 81 year old man with
Alzheimer's disease, has lived in the same nursing home for the past 7 years. He can
not talk, walk anymore, and he needs nursing care at all times. Because of his
neurological dysfunction, he has stopped being able to eat and has lost an unhealthy
amount of weight. He is fed through a tube being inserted into the stomach which
Mangioni highly dislikes and constantly dislodges after being restrained. Mr.
Mangioni has no known family or friends.



8. Question: Is a psychiatric evaluation required prior to Physician assisted suicide?
Answer: No, and I think that this is one of the big problems with these laws. You need
two doctors to get the prescription

- one is your own doctor and then a consulting doctor.
- but neither of them is required to provide a psychiatric consultation unless one or both
doctors feel that the patient is not mentally competent to make and communicate health-
care decisions.
- State laws where this is legal DO require a person makes three requests before it can
happen.
- State laws do require that a person make three requests before a DAS can happen. First
there must be an oral request made to your physician, who must be licensed in the state
where you live. Then after a mandatory 15-day waiting period, there must be a second
oral request along with a written request that is witnessed by two people. After that, there
is a 48-hour waiting period before the prescribed lethal medication can be picked up from
the pharmacy.

9.