Physician Assisted Suicide
Physician assisted suicide is a very controversial topic in today’s society. Physician assisted suicide, or euthanasia is defined as a suicide by a patient facilitated by means as a drug prescription, or by information as an indication of a lethal dosage provided by a physician who is aware of the patient's intent. This means doctors will administer lethal drugs to people who are deathly ill and wish to end their life rather than suffering any longer. The main controversy of this issue is whether it is morally right or wrong. In 1997, the United States Supreme Court ruled that there is no constitutional right to physician-assisted suicide, so the matter is left to the states to pass a law claiming if it is legal or illegal per that state (Modern Healthcare, 2015). In most states, helping someone commit a suicide is illegal and considered a felony, but Oregon, Vermont, Montana, and Washington have legalized physician-assisted suicide. Physician-assisted death should be legal and unpunishable by the law in the United States because it gives people dignity, it has worked in 4 states, it should be up to the patient to determine the course of their life, and has worked well in other regions of the world.
Assisted suicide is a very controversial topic in our society because everyone has different perceptions on what is morally right and what is not. People that are pro assisted suicide argue that it improves a person’s end of life care, it is compassionate, and it gives the dying individual a piece of mind. Without this option, many people will still take their own lives, just in a more violent way. A lot of pro assisted suicide individuals have been around terminally ill people and have seen what it is like to watch their loved ones suffer so much that they don’t even want to live anymore. Having the option of assisted suicide “allows [patients] to have a sense of security” and “derives a lot of peace of mind in having the option” (Monir, 2015). When people are terminally ill, sometimes they feel that the pain is not worth living, and they would rather die a pain free death than a long, painful one. Usually terminally ill people want to live with as much quality in their life as they can, and when they are no longer able to find meaning in life after considering all reasonable options, they would like to have the option of physician assisted suicide (Death With Dignity). The other side of this issue is that it is morally wrong. People that are against assisted suicide believe that it decreases the value of human life, religious reasons, or that doctors and families give up too soon. Many people that believe assisted suicide is immoral feel as if all life is precious and valuable, even if they are living in unbearable pain with a terminal illness. Larry Churchill wrote in the British Medical Journal stating that “those who wish to hasten their death … are treated unequally” and giving them the option would solve this problem (Churchill & King, 1997). Life is a precious thing that should not be taken for granted but living a limited life in endless pain because of an illness is something that no one should have to endure.
One reason assisted suicide should be legal is because it is important for everyone to be allowed to make their own decisions. If someone is terminally ill and predicted to die a long painful death with no chance of being able to live an enjoyable life wants to end their suffering, they should be allowed to. It should not be the right of any other person or the law to make that decision to force someone to live a horrible life. A nurse in a journal on the issue says that “it is up to the person to say if the suffering is unbearable for them” and a nurse’s job is to “support and enable people to have a peaceful death,” so the patient should have the ultimate decision, and the doctors and nurses should support them and make sure it is the right choice for them (Trueland, 2014). In end of life care, “the emphasis on choice – on how you die, when you die, and where you die – but you are not allowed to choose when you die. While most people would want it to be natural, a very small number would want to take a decision to die sooner” (Trueland, 2014). While most nurses do not like that the patient is able to decide to take his or her own life, a small number of people still want to end their suffering, and they should be able to make that decision for themselves. In 2014, Brittany Maynard in California was diagnosed with cancer and she stated, “I do not want to die, but I am dying, and I want to die on my own terms,” so her and her family moved to Oregon where physician assisted suicide is legal. After moving and knowing that she has the option of physician assisted suicide, she stated that “I can’t even tell you the amount of relief it provides me to know that I don’t have to die the way it’s been described to me that my brain tumor would take me on its own” (Tinker & Maynard, 2017). It is hard to justify ending someone’s life, but if it is the choice the patient makes, no one else should be allowed to tell him or her if it is not acceptable.
Along with allowing patients to make their own decisions about the course of their life, legalizing assisted suicide would also end their suffering and give them dignity. Forcing individuals to spend endless time in unbearable pain and living a life they don’t want to live causes them to lose their dignity. Human life has “inherent dignity, which may be compromised when life is extended beyond the will or ability of a person to sustain that dignity; and believing that it is every person’s inviolable right to determine in advance the course of action to be taken,” patients that are going through this are unable to do anything about this fear or pain they are suffering (ProCon, 1998). They also have to live with the thought that they could end up passing away at any given moment and end up being miserable during their last moments of life. According to a famous philosopher, Kant, “autonomy is the key to human dignity, and one possesses dignity as long as he or she possesses the ability to engage in voluntary, rational behavior,” so one loses their dignity when they are terminally ill and don’t want to live anymore (Friend, 2011). Assisted suicide allows patients to have a better end of life as they gain peace about their decision to end their life in the time before it is carried out. Forcing someone to live when they wish to die because they are suffering is not fair to that person. Many patients who feel trapped in a life of pain and dying are likely to turn to other things, such as substance abuse or even commit suicide themselves. Legalizing assisted suicide can give these people who no longer want to live a way out in a much less violent way than the violent alternatives of committing their own suicide. By making assisted suicide legal, patients would be put out of their misery and allowed to die with dignity.
Another reason as to why assisted suicide should be legal is that it has already been successful in multiple states. Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and Montana have all legalized assisted suicide under certain circumstances. None of these states have had a large number of issues regarding the legalization of assisted suicide and it has actually shown to be working well within these states. In Oregon, “safeguards ensure that patients who are terminally ill make voluntary, informed decisions. There is no evidence of exploitation” (Pope, 2014). Through these safeguards, only certain patients are allowed to participate, making sure that no one that is mentally unhealthy or vulnerable can make a decision to end their life. In 1997, Oregon passed the Death with Dignity Act, or DWDA, this act allowed “mentally competent, terminally, ill patients who are over 18 years of age and residents of the state of Oregon to obtain a prescription for a lethal dosage of medication to end their life in case their suffering becomes unbearable” and from its passing in 1997 to 2004, “208 individuals died under the provisions of the DWDA” (Dahl & Levy, 2006). Today, Oregon is a “universally recognized leader in end-of-life care across the entire continuum of options … the Oregon law has been a success.” (Pope, 2014). As more states begin to realize the positive aspects of assisted suicide and see that it can be safe and effective, it is likely that more states will make it legal.
Not only has assisted suicide been shown to be effective in few states of the United States, it has also been legalized and worked well in other regions of the world. Places such as Switzerland, Colombia, Albania, The Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, and Luxembourg have no punishment for assisting suicide. In these countries, “the incidence of life terminating acts without explicit request of the patient was higher than the incidence of physician assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia on request of the patient” meaning that this policy isn’t so bad after all (Dahl & Levy, 2006). The European Declaration of Human Rights has a right that states that citizens have the right not to be forced to suffer, and Americans should adopt that law as well to save terminally ill people that wish to end their life (ProCon.org). In Canada when assisted suicide was legalized, the court mentioned that “a patient suffering a grievous and irremediable medical condition could seek a physician’s help to end suffering that is intolerable (ProCon.org). This shows that not only many people in America agree with the idea of assisted suicide under circumstances, but also people around the world consider it acceptable.
Although assisted suicide should be legal in all states, there are many people who think it should not be legalized at all. Some people think that by saying it is acceptable to end their life because of an illness they are suffering from; the value of life is lowered and seems to be not as important. Others fear that people such as doctors and families, will begin to give up too quickly on patients who are critically ill. Some people believe making assisted suicide legal in the United States could eventually lead to a society that allows assisted suicide to take place in cases where patients are not terminally ill, not allowing them to have the opportunity to recover, but that is why the process is so strenuous. In order to qualify, one must be a resident of that state, be 18 years of age or older, be mentally competent and able to make and communicate their health care decisions, be diagnosed with a terminal illness that will lead to death within six months, and must be able to self-administer and ingest the prescribed medication. After these have been met, one must next make requests to their doctor. After the first oral request is authorized, one must wait a minimum of 15 days to make a second oral request. After the second oral request, one must make a final written request. 48 hours after the written request, the physician will write the prescription (Death With Dignity). This strenuous process ensures that the patient is 100% confident about their decision, and forces them to take time to think about it. Others may argue that “legalizing physician-assisted suicide does not change a crime into a medical treatment, rather, it turns the law into and accessory to murder” (All American Life League). There are many people that disagree with taking the life of anyone, regardless of the situation, but assisted suicide is not anything comparable to murder or any other crime. People fearing things such as this when confronted with an issue such as ending someone’s life is understandable, but assisted suicide is something that the person “being killed” wished for and is aware of before and as it is happening. Many people against assisted suicide say that it is simply wrong, but what they do not realize is that it is even more wrong to force someone to live a miserable life that they do not want to live.
Legalizing physician assisted suicide across the United States would be very beneficial to all the people that are living a miserable life that they don’t deserve. Although there are many reasons to reject or fear the idea of assisted suicide being legal, it is something that needs to happen. I could not imagine witnessing someone I love having to suffer through a life of pain to the point where they wished they could just not wake up in the morning. Assisted suicide is a peaceful way out for terminally ill people that will never again live a painless and enjoyable life. Ending someone’s life is a scary thing to think about, but if it is what they want, they should have their wish granted.
Works Cited
"Assisted-Suicide Debate Focuses Attention on Palliative, Hospice Care." Modern Healthcare, vol. 45, no. 20, 18 May 2015, pp. 22-25. EBSCOhost, libproxy.txstate.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db= m&AN=103805286&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Churchill, Larry R., and Nancy M. P. King. “Physician Assisted Suicide, Euthanasia, or Withdrawal of Treatment: Distinguishing between Them Clarifies Moral, Legal, and Practical Positions.” BMJ: British Medical Journal, vol. 315, no. 7101, 1997, pp. 137- 138., www.jstor.org/stable/25175176.
Dahl, E., and N. Levy. “The Case for Physician Assisted Suicide: How Can It Possibly Be Proven?” Journal of Medical Ethics, vol. 32, no. 6, 2006, pp. 335–338., www.jstor.org/stable/27719643.
Friend, Mary, Louanne. “Physician-Assisted Suicide: Death With Dignity?” Journal Of Nursing Law 14.3-4 (2011): 110-116. CINAHL Complete. Web. 12 Apr. 2017.
"How to Assess and Use Death With Dignity Laws." Death With Dignity. N.p., 20 Feb. 2017. Web. 17 Apr. 2017.
Mason Pope, Thaddeus. “Oregon Shows That Assisted Suicide Can Work Sensible and Fairly.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 7 Oct. 2014. Web. 12 Apr. 2017.
Monir, Malak. "Half of US States Consider Right-To-Die Legislation." National Catholic Reporter, vol. 51, no. 15, 08 May 2015, p. 16. EBSCOhost, libproxy.txstate.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db= wh&AN=102618425&site=eds-live&scope=site.
"Physician Assisted Suicide – Euthanasia." American Life League. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2017.
Tinker, Ben. "Physician-assisted suicide an issue for nominee Gorsuch." CNN. Cable News Network, 07 Apr. 2017. Web. 16 Apr. 2017.