Pro Euthanasia Paper
Julie Timm
April 21, 2010
English 102
Dorothy Dye
WP4 Rough Draft
The Audience that I chose to write for is the reader’s of a contemporary/news-orientated magazine such as Time Magazine. I chose to write in the form of an opinion-piece so that I could be more informal and try to relate to my audience.
One’s Right is Not One’s Obligation
Imagine if you were in unbearable pain, hooked up to 20 tubes, your body is being kept alive by means of machines, and your family is standing by watching you suffer in our final weeks of life. Your dignity is diminishing, any quality of life you once had is now masked by this not so sought after scenario you call life. Is this something you would wish to prolong? I’d expect almost anyone would answer no to this questions, yet a large group of people are going through a similar experience while you are reading this article. The current U.S. government, as well as many other governments around this world, have refused to recognize this experience as something that needs to be addressed. Terminally ill patients, as well as their families have been bringing about the topic of legalizing physician-assisted suicide for decades; yet, it is still not legal in 47 of the 50 U.S. states. Many reasons for this is that the public has been given skewed claims as to what physician-assisted suicide entails, and this needs to be changed. Given the correct criteria, and special care a plan could be devised to make legalizing physician-assisted suicide a very feasible option for the U.S. government. So what exactly is physician-assisted suicide? Well, according to Medicinenet.com, physician-assisted suicide is “the voluntary termination of one's own life by administration of a lethal substance with the direct or indirect assistance of a physician.” Although that is the “technical” definition, what physician-assisted suicide brings to the table is so much more. First, let me clear up a few misconceptions about what
April 21, 2010
English 102
Dorothy Dye
WP4 Rough Draft
The Audience that I chose to write for is the reader’s of a contemporary/news-orientated magazine such as Time Magazine. I chose to write in the form of an opinion-piece so that I could be more informal and try to relate to my audience.
One’s Right is Not One’s Obligation
Imagine if you were in unbearable pain, hooked up to 20 tubes, your body is being kept alive by means of machines, and your family is standing by watching you suffer in our final weeks of life. Your dignity is diminishing, any quality of life you once had is now masked by this not so sought after scenario you call life. Is this something you would wish to prolong? I’d expect almost anyone would answer no to this questions, yet a large group of people are going through a similar experience while you are reading this article. The current U.S. government, as well as many other governments around this world, have refused to recognize this experience as something that needs to be addressed. Terminally ill patients, as well as their families have been bringing about the topic of legalizing physician-assisted suicide for decades; yet, it is still not legal in 47 of the 50 U.S. states. Many reasons for this is that the public has been given skewed claims as to what physician-assisted suicide entails, and this needs to be changed. Given the correct criteria, and special care a plan could be devised to make legalizing physician-assisted suicide a very feasible option for the U.S. government. So what exactly is physician-assisted suicide? Well, according to Medicinenet.com, physician-assisted suicide is “the voluntary termination of one's own life by administration of a lethal substance with the direct or indirect assistance of a physician.” Although that is the “technical” definition, what physician-assisted suicide brings to the table is so much more. First, let me clear up a few misconceptions about what
Cited: Knickerbocker, Brad. "Montana Becomes third state to Legalize physician-assisted suicide." Christina Science Monitor (2010): 1. Web. 22 Apr 2010. . United States. State & County Facts. , 2010. Print. (my other sources from the annotated bibliography are on my computer which is currently being fixed ( I will be adding them as soon as I get my computer back on Friday!)