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Physician Assisted Suicide

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Physician Assisted Suicide
The main reasons why physician-assisted suicide should be legalized in every state is outlined in great detail with real life examples to back up each reason. Physician-assisted suicide is legal in six states in the US and is an ongoing debate amongst other states. Physician-assisted suicide gives a terminally ill patient with six months or less to live the ability to voluntarily control his or her own death. The physician prescribes a lethal dose of medication and the patient chooses when, where and how to end his or her own life. The cost of physician-assisted suicide is substantially lower than receiving end of life care such as palliative or hospice care. Many terminally ill patients fear that medical expenses will leave a burden on their …show more content…
Is there a certain point in time when it should be legal for a physician to assist a patient with ending their own life? If a competent person is experiencing unbearable pain and suffering that continues after all other options have been tried and failed, shouldn't it be up to that patient to decide when they are ready to end their own life. California, Oregon, Colorado, Vermont, and Washington all agree that it is a patients' right to decide when they are ready to die. If you or a family member had an incurable disease with not much time to live and were suffering from the worst pain in the world, wouldn't you want to be able to make that decision or give your family member that choice? It shouldn't be up to the government to tell you when the right time to die is. This is why we must legalize physician-assisted suicide in every state in America. Give patients the rights they deserve and end patient …show more content…
It was about a mother named Kay Gilderdale who took care of her daughter alone at home. Her daughter's name was Lynn Gilderdale. Lynn was born September 20th, 1977. By the age of fifteen, she had become paralyzed from the waist down. It started out with flu-like symptoms that turned into a respiratory illness and led to excruciating pain and muscle weakness, anemia and seizures. Lynn became bedridden and unable to eat so she had to be placed on a feeding tube. The doctors finally diagnosed her with myalgic encephalomyelitis. This poor girl lived in her bed for fifteen years straight besides the occasional doctor’s appointments. She had been admitted to the hospital fifty two total times. According to Dr. Jason Leonard of the National Organization for Rare Disorders, "Myalgic encephalomyelitis is a condition characterized by flu-like symptoms, fatigue, weakness, agonizing headaches and muscle pain. The disease is a chronic degenerative disorder that leads to patients being bedridden and eventually death". As Lynn got older, her mother states she often spoke about taking her own life. The doctors often placed her on depression medications when she spoke of suicide because her doctor did not believe in assisted

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