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As a congressman from the state of Oregon that currently has a regulated physician assisted suicide program for the terminally ill, I am writing to you today, Mr. Blumenauer, to possibly convince you to draft a national law to legalize PAS for the United States specifically for the terminally ill. As you may know, the talk within this issue has been going around quite some time. Many americans fear that by legalizing PAS that it might create problematic issues that could lead to abuse as well as lack of advancement for medicine. Due to this fear, I feel as though you are the best person to draft this bill because you know what works and what does not. This also makes you adequate to advance this conversation currently going on about legalizing PAS. With three other states currently trying to approve a bill that will grant ill patient with the choice of assisted suicide, as well as the statistical finding that majority of Americans have no problem with PAS when it ties in with terminally ill patient, I think it is time for it to be legalized all over the states. The reason i want this to be accomplished is due to the patient’s right of life and death, it is perfectly legal for patients to legally refuse treatment so PAS should not be illegal, and in a way is a humane way to end someone life. To appease both side, I believe there should be tough restriction when it comes with PAS. I think the model from your home state (the Death with Dignity Act) sets up a perfect compromise because it has restrictions such as an age limit, only allowing patients with a terminal illness that will lead to death within six months, and the capability of the patient to make sound decision that will clearly make both sides satisfy. As a congressman ... ... middle of paper ... ...o Access Them.” Death with Dignity National Center. Drupal, n.d. Web. 5 Apr. 2014. http://www.deathwithdignity.org/access-acts Dieterel, J.M. "Physician Assisted Suicide: A New Look At The Arguments." Bioethics 21.3 (2007): 127-139. Academic Search Complete. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.uta.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=4fd20a10-6e81-4245-8e38-b60febd4c8a6%40sessionmgr113&vid=6&hid=107 Hanafin, Matt. “Mercy or Murder: A Case Against Assisted Suicide.” Lifenews.com. lifenews.com, 5 Sept. 2013. Web. 4 Mar. 2014. http://www.lifenews.com/2013/09/05/mercy-or-murder-a-case-against-assisted-suicide/ Hensley, Scott. “Americans Support Physicians Assisted Suicide for Terminally Ill.” Shots, NPR.com, 28 Dec 2012. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/12/27/168150886/americans-support-physician-assisted-suicide-for-terminally-ill
"Physician-Assisted Suicide Shows No Mercy." American Decades Primary Sources. Ed. Cynthia Rose. Vol. 10: 1990-1999. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 501-504. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 18 Dec. 2013.
Physician assisted suicide is being debated more and more. “The large number of baby boomers facing end-of-life issues themselves is seen to have made the issue more prominent in recent years,” states Susan Haigh. Cathy Ludlum, a disabled rights activist, contributes her opinion. She says she wishes more people would focus on giving them a better life, rather than a better death (Haigh). Additionally, Physician assisted suicide would be granted to those with a terminal illness. The problem is that the word “terminal” has many different definitions. Some define it as something that is going to cause death eventually, while others say it is something that causes death to happen in under 6 months (Marker and Hamlon). Who and what is going to determine what is considered terminal enough for this procedure? Another concern is people petitioning to do assisted physician suicide, if they do not meet the requirements. Why would someone want to do this if they were not terminally ill? It could be the best option for the patient’s fami...
Terminally ill patients should have the legal option of physician-assisted suicide. Terminally ill patients deserve the right to control their own death. Legalizing assisted suicide would relive families of the burdens of caring for a terminally ill relative. Doctors should not be prosecuted for assisting in the suicide of a terminally ill patient. We as a society must protect life, but we must also recognize the right to a humane death. When a person is near death, in unbearable pain, they have the right to ask a physician to assist in ending their lives.
Since the start of the debate there has been some initiatives voted on in states in order to deal with the issue. Currently, only one state, Oregon, has passed a law allowing physician-assisted suicides. The law, titled The Oregon Death with Dignity Act, allows physician-assisted suicides and not euthanasia. This law has sparked a huge debate on whether other states will follow Oregon’s lead and pass similar laws. It is also importan...
"A Right to Choose Death? Moral Argument for the Permissabilty of Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide." F. M. Kamm. Boston Review on the WEB. Summer, 1997.
Gorsuch, Neil M. “The Right to Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia.” Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy. (2000): n. pag. Web. 8 July 2011.
In 2007, the American Geriatrics Society defined Physician-Assisted Suicide as, “When a physician provides either equipment or medication, or informs the patient of the most efficacious use of already available means, for the purpose of assisting the patient to end his or her own life” (qtd. in Lachman 121). Physician-Assisted Suicide is what it says, suicide. In the United States the controversy of the “Right to die” is not new. According to Vicki D. Lachman a Clinical Associate Professor, after the Supreme Court decision in 1997, it was determined that there is not a constitutional right to die. The Supreme Court is allowing states to pass laws to legalize Physician-Assisted Suicide. Since then three states, Oregon, Washington, and Montana have made it legal to perform Phy...
To begin, though, it is important to point out that prohibiting the practice in our society requires greater effort and argument than letting one. This is a significance of the value we place on the rights and freedoms of the individual, because individual freedom is so significant, a convincing reason must be given to overrule it. Because the results of a decision on Physician assisted suicide are so intensely personal. The individual has a basic right to determine the course of their own life, and obviously death is a part of that course (Dworkin, p. 265). So then, in order to show that Physician assisted suicide should be legalized, one must simply show that there is no reason for them to be considered illegal.
Gorsuch, Neil M. “The Right to Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia.” Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy. (2000): n. pag. Web. 8 July 2011.
Euthanasia should be legalized for terminally ill individuals on a voluntary basis to reduce medical costs, prevent prolonged physical pain and unnecessary suffering, and to preserve the dignity of the dying person. Terminally ill patients often accumulate massive amounts of medical expenses. In addition to costs, terminally ill patients are subject to excruciating pain and discomfort due to the disease and/or treatments involved, given only to prolong the inevitable. When a person is dying, he or she may have very little or no say in what goes on in one’s own home, finances, or other aspects of that person’s life, but one reserves the right to die with dignity intact.
“Physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia have been profound ethical issues confronting doctors since the birth of Western medicine, more than 2,000 years ago” (Ezekiel Emanuel). This quote speaks for itself. Death by assistance, suicide, and euthanasia have been controversial since their beginning and they will continue to be controversial. Americans throughout all states disagree as to whether euthanasia should be legal throughout the country. For many reasons, doctors, patients, citizens, and governments throughout the world have kept euthanasia from being widely legalized. Some of the reasons are: doctors should not directly cause death, euthanasia is a slippery slope, and that euthanasia devalues life. Because of these reasons, Americans should not allow euthanasia to continue to spread throughout the states.
Marker, Rita L., and Kathi Hamlon. "Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide Should Not Be Legal." Assisted Suicide. Ed. Noël Merino. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Current Controversies. Rpt. from "Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide: Frequently Asked Questions." Patients Rights Council, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 8 Apr. 2014.
Rose, Theresa F. "Physician-Assisted Suicide: Development, Status, and Nursing Perectives." Journal of Nursing Law (2007): 141-151.
Thesis Statement: Physician assisted suicide or euthanasia may offer an accelerated and pain relieved alternative to end someone’s suffering, therefore people should not be denied the right to die especially when faced with terminal illnesses.
Physician Assisted Suicide should be a right to all terminally ill patients in America with the exception of those who have not and cannot speak for themselves. Laws can be made to prevent abuse of the privilege and insure protection of human life. Medicine should be used for both saving, prolonging, and ending lives.