Assisted Suicide Impact on Suicide: Broadening the Agenda to Chronic Illness and Disability in the United States

Assisted Suicide Impact on Suicide

Ideally, different have decriminalized or legalized assisted suicide. More so, many counties, especially in Europe, are considering legalizing physician-assisted suicide. The overall objective of legalizing assisted suicide is to reduce suicide, which has been increasing in recent years. Nevertheless, there is an increasing number of studies examining the impact of assisted suicide on suicide.

The Rising Cases

A study conducted by Jones & Paton (2015) to examine the impact of legalization of physician-assisted suicide noted no significant reduction in the number of suicide recorded. This means despite the fact that the legalization of physician-assisted suicide, there was no notable impact on reducing the level of suicide in the United States. Furthermore, the researcher notes that in states where physician-assisted suicide was legalized, there is an increased tendency among the youth to commit suicide. Its legalization appeared to influence the increase of suicide cases in the long run positively.

Increasing Discriminatory Practices

In countries or states where physician-assisted suicide is practiced, there are observable cases of healthcare discrimination. Notably, the population of people who qualify for assisted suicide is small. This is because the criteria for selection are bureaucratic and seclusive for most people. Typically, people with chronic illnesses with non-life-threatening conditions cannot qualify for assisted suicide. Studies have shown that a majority of people from minority communities, especially in the United States, have minimal chances of qualifying for assisted suicide due to socio-economic factors such as poverty (O’Rourke, Rourke & Hudson, 2017). In essence, physician assisted suicide is increasing discriminatory practices in the healthcare system in an era where such practices are discouraged from the community, state, country, and international level. 

Reference

Jones, D. A., & Paton, D. (2015). How does legalization of physician assisted suicide affect rates of suicide?. Southern medical journal, 108(10), 599-694.

O’Rourke, M. A., O’Rourke, M. C., & Hudson, M. F. (2017). Reasons to reject physician assisted suicide/physician aid in dying.