Physician-Assisted Suicide for Alzheimer Patients Article

Physician-Assisted Suicide for Alzheimer Patients - Article Example There are alternatives to physician-assisted suicide for Alzheimer patients and dementia victims. One of them is palliative care. However, some opinion polls indicate support for PAS when it is administered only as a relief for a dying patient under extreme pain. Besides, Americans prefer an alternative such as ensuring control of pain and offering compassionate care for such Alzheimer patients, not helping them to die (Rhymes et al). Moreover, this preference is firmer among the patients of Alzheimer. A past study found out that numerous patients under pain preferred palliative care to PAS more than the public who also support palliative care. Masses still prefer pain relief and palliative care more than euthanasia or PAS though the latter method is not as popular as the PAS. This is because PAS underplays proper pain management practices. This therefore disputes Jack Kevorkian’s suicide assisted demise (Knickerbocker, 2011). Secondly, hospice care is yet another option for patients with Alzheimer ailment. This is a method that has increasingly been seen as an end of life choice for individuals with this deadly disease. Furthermore, this alternative applies activities such as pet therapy which offers reassurance and compassionate care for them. Additionally, the patients can be read to or listen to music, which is believed to elicit long forgotten emotion, regardless of the fact that they may not be apt to communicate effectively. However, some aspects of hospice care may seem not to effectively help patients with serious dementia (Rhymes et al). For instance, counseling at the end of life may not be effectual for those patients with communication drawbacks. Thirdly, patients with Alzheimer disease may make a decision to undergo pain control procedures disputed to the renowned PAS that Jack Kevorkian endorses as the best method of helping Alzheimer patients. Besides, pain is underrated and difficult to reduce in Alzheimer patients under dementia. Therefore, pain control aims at; at least reducing the pain than terminating it through PAS.