Pro Assisted Suicide

Pro: Assisted Suicide

Euthanasia or assisted suicide is a very sensitive and debatable topic in today's society. Webster's Dictionary defines euthanasia as a painless and easy death. However there are many religious, moral, and ethical arguments against this method that is currently illegal. Many people seem to fear and dread the thought of aging and death itself. It is not easy for most of us to see death as an inevitable part of life. However the issues that surround euthanasia are not only about death, they are about one's liberty, right to privacy, and control over one's own body (http://depts.washington.edu/bioethx/topics/pas.html). Assisted suicide should be allowed everywhere because everyone should have the right to choose how to live as well as how to die, it gives the person the option of a peaceful death as opposed to a painful death, and some terminally ill patients are allowed to end their lives by refusing medical treatments; in all fairness, those who don’t have that option should be allowed to choose death.

Despite the changes in modern medicine, the attitudes toward assisted suicide in America’s courts and legislatures have not altered considerably. For instance, in June 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that people do not have a constitutional right to assisted suicide. Although a constitutional right was not established, the ruling did not preclude states from passing laws prohibiting or permitting assisted suicide. However, similar to its status 130 years ago, assisted suicide is not widely supported in America’s state legislatures. As of 1997, physician-assisted suicide was legal in only one state—Oregon. Moreover, that law faced challenges from right-to-life opponents and the Justice Department, which w...

... middle of paper ...

...e patient's wishes, that death be postponed by every means available is contrary to law and practice. It would also be cruel and inhumane.

As time goes on, I can only hope that assisted suicide will be in the public more often, and thought through the terminally ill patient’s perspective. I am 100% for PAS and I believe that it is the patient’s choice on whether or not he/she wishes to continue with the pain. The choice of life should be a single human’s choice, and no one else’s. Assisted suicide should be allowed everywhere because everyone should have the right to choose how to live as well as how to die, it gives the person the option of a peaceful death as opposed to a painful death, and some terminally ill patients are allowed to end their lives by refusing medical treatments; in all fairness, those who don’t have that option should be allowed to choose death.