Medically Assisted Suicide
Medically Assisted Suicide
Medically assisted suicide is an event in which a physician honors a patient’s request for a lethal dose of medication. It has become a very emotional and controversial issue for many in the United States. The only state legally allowing medically assisted suicide is Oregon since 1997. Although some feel it is unethical and morally wrong, medically assisted suicide should be legalized to patients who are terminally ill because it would relieve them from constant and unbearable physical and psychological pain in a respectable and painless way.
Individuals in the United States have the freedom to make decisions concerning their life such as where they live, what they wear, who they marry, and occupation. Every individual is able to make a decision about his or her life whether good or bad. Everyone is ultimately in full control of his or her own life. By allowing someone to make choices freely regarding their life, the same should be allowed when regarding their death.
Some patients passively aggressively choose to end their lives by not continuing treatment or therapy for their disease. This emphasizes the theory that people can and should control their own lives. Patients choose to end their lives for various reasons: they fear the loss of their independence, which later results in becoming a burden to their family or friends; they want to die in a dignified way, and they also fear the thought of dying alone. Society should understand why an individual wouldn’t want to have to rely on a family member to take care of them. Knowing that eventually they won’t be able to do even the easiest daily tasks such as showering, eating, or walking alone, does put a heavy burden on whoever would be taking care of them. It is also reasonable to understand that patients don’t want to be remembered by how they were in their sick state. No one should have to go through seeing their loved one whither away to what isn’t even the person
Medically assisted suicide is an event in which a physician honors a patient’s request for a lethal dose of medication. It has become a very emotional and controversial issue for many in the United States. The only state legally allowing medically assisted suicide is Oregon since 1997. Although some feel it is unethical and morally wrong, medically assisted suicide should be legalized to patients who are terminally ill because it would relieve them from constant and unbearable physical and psychological pain in a respectable and painless way.
Individuals in the United States have the freedom to make decisions concerning their life such as where they live, what they wear, who they marry, and occupation. Every individual is able to make a decision about his or her life whether good or bad. Everyone is ultimately in full control of his or her own life. By allowing someone to make choices freely regarding their life, the same should be allowed when regarding their death.
Some patients passively aggressively choose to end their lives by not continuing treatment or therapy for their disease. This emphasizes the theory that people can and should control their own lives. Patients choose to end their lives for various reasons: they fear the loss of their independence, which later results in becoming a burden to their family or friends; they want to die in a dignified way, and they also fear the thought of dying alone. Society should understand why an individual wouldn’t want to have to rely on a family member to take care of them. Knowing that eventually they won’t be able to do even the easiest daily tasks such as showering, eating, or walking alone, does put a heavy burden on whoever would be taking care of them. It is also reasonable to understand that patients don’t want to be remembered by how they were in their sick state. No one should have to go through seeing their loved one whither away to what isn’t even the person
Bibliography: Gay, Kathlyn. The Right To Die: Public Controversy, Private Matter. Brookfield, Connecticut: The Millbrook Press, 1993. Keenan, James F. The Case for Physician-Assisted Suicide? America. November 14, 1998. 14-19. Shavelson, Lonny. A Chosen Death: The Dying Confront Assisted Suicide. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1995. "The Oregon Death with Dignity Act." Yahoo. January 16, 2000, http://www.islandnet.com/~deathnet/ergo_orlaw.html. Worsnop, Richard L. Assisted Suicide. C Q Researcher. Vol. 2, No. 7, p. 145-168. Washington D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, Inc., 1992.