The Rights to Die a Painfree Death

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Recommended: Should euthanasia or physician- assisted suicide be legal

Majority of US states have capital punishments (Proquest n.pag.). The 36 states that allow death penalties all offer lethal injection as a method of execution for those convicted of heinous crimes (Snell 3). Specifically, “Of the 43 executions carried out in 2012, all were by lethal injection” (Snell 3). Ending the life of a criminal is entirely legal, however, ending the life of an anguished patient is only legal in several foreign countries and “3 US states, as of March 2013” (Ho n.pag.). Criminals of crimes such as aggravated murder, killing a police office, and kidnapping all get to die painlessly and peacefully (Snell 5); yet those who have lived an innocent life who now undergo severe pain have to suffer through and die dependent on machines to live their lives for them. If a physician advises or aids a patient in ending his or her life, he could be convicted and punished with a penalty equal to that of first-degree manslaughter (Wolfe n.pag.). It seems that US priorities on the equality of end-of-life care are misguided and tyrannical. In order to ease the dying’s suffering, along with protecting their dignity and independence, Physician Assisted Suicide, (PAS) and Euthanasia should be legalized in the US as an option for the terminally ill who meet the requirements.
Legalization of Assisted suicide and Euthanasia would free those diagnosed fatally ill from an agonizing death. Some would argue that pain is manageable with strong narcotics, yet “Only 40-60% of pain … gets relieved …. about ⅓ of patients have pain that is intolerable, not controlled when it could be” (Wolfe n. pag.). And when pain is managed and, “the ravages of… diseases often cause incontinence, severe weight loss, dementia, nausea and other symptoms that...

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...ted suicide to a doctor, at least 15 days apart. Then the patient has to make a written request, signed in front of two witnesses. Two doctors must confirm a prognosis of less than six months to live, and the patient must be advised of alternatives, such as a hospice care care and pain medication. Once prescribed, the lethal dose must be self administered. (“Prescription for Suicide” n. pag.)
As it is “most of the jurisdictions that allow assisted suicide make it available only for the terminally ill” not for those who have extreme psychological pain (“Easing Death” n.pag.). In order to protect from abuse, future laws would have to require patients to be reviewed by psychologists along with “make repeated requests for death in writing … and be 18 or older” (Wolfe n.pag.). Every law enacted has restrictions, and once legalized, PAS would have more than the ordinary.

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