Right To Die Argumentative Essay: The Right To Die

Currently, in the United States, 12% of states, including Vermont, Oregon, and California have legalized the Right to Die. This debate around whether or not to help patients who have terminal illness end their lives has been and is still far from over. The definition of Right to Die is, “an individual who has been certified by a physician as having an illness or physical condition which can be reasonably be expected to result in death in 24 months or less after the date of the certification” (Terminally Ill Law & Legal Definition 1). With this definition, the Right to Die ought to be available to any person that is determined terminally ill, as determined by a professional.
In 1957 death was not a subject people wanted to talk about recently
A common case associated with the Right to Die is the case of Karen Ann Quinlan. Ms. Quinlan was a twenty-one year-old living in New Jersey. She slipped into a coma after consuming too much alcohol and overdosing on drugs. Her parents wept as they thought their daughter was going to die. Ms. Quinlan was immediately put on a respirator and miraculously survived, although she was completely unresponsive, was fed through a tube, and could not survive without medicine. The Quinlan family noticed that their daughter was struggling and they requested for her daughter to be taken off life support and allowed to die. The hospital refused and an unsuccessful lawsuit followed. However, once turned to the New Jersey Supreme Court, the ruling was overturned. Strict guidelines were in place. The medical team agreed and took Ms. Quinlan off the feeding tube and respirator. Doctors kept a twenty-four seven watch on Miss Quinlan, feeding her and providing common needs, knowing that she still had some fight left in her. Miss Quinlan fought for ten years in pain until acute pneumonia ended her life. This case had a huge impact on all decisions for the Right to Die. Miss Quinlan’s suffering was cited as the reason the Right to Die should be available for adults that are going to die. Although Ms. Quinlan showed America that there is hope in surviving, it also showed America that
However, not until 2000 did parliament completely legalize and support the Right to Die act. The Dutch were in constant battle for many years prior before finally coming to a conclusion. The guidelines for the Right to Die were strict. Some of the “rules” include that the adult had to have no hope for survival, be in constant agony, the request must be clear and numerous, and there must be a second physician's opinion. An article was written by David Johnson titled “Dutch Legalization of Assisted Suicide” and it explains how the Dutch felt during this time. Johnson wrote, “They also say that as medicine advances, patients can be kept alive indefinitely as vegetables, without any hope of recovery. To keep patients alive who are lingering in excruciating pain is cruel, many ethicists contend” (Johnson 2). This quote demonstrates exactly why the Right to Die needs to be an option, so that there is never a case of someone suffering for far too