The Choice Of Physician Assisted Suicide

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Allowing there to be an alternative and options for those who are terminally ill will allow them to live life with a bit more ease and comfort. Campaign For Dignity In Dying states, “1in 6 dying people in Oregon speak openly to friends and family about whether assisted dying might comfort them” (Assisted Dying). Patients who know that they’re going to die soon find comfort in knowing that if their health deteriorates and their pain becomes unbearable, they have an option living their life until they feel it is time to go. Recently, news spread about a 29 year-old woman, named Brittany Maynard, who was diagnosed with stage four-brain cancer. She was told she has six months to live, so she packed up her belongings and made the move from California to Oregon (“About Brittany Maynard”). She moved to Oregon so that she could have the choice of choosing physician-assisted suicide. Having that option allowed Brittany to enjoy the reaming time of her life. She finished her “bucket list” and spent time with family and friends. When she began experiencing many seizures she knew her time was near. Being able to take the lethal prescription when she felt her time was right allowed her life to be as happy as it could have been. She didn’t suffer when she died. Brittney’s story has also encouraged lawmakers across the US to consider making physician-assisted suicide legal.
Americans tend to argue that there are an increasing number of researches being done in pain management so people will not need to use physician-assisted suicide. However, pain medication does not always work for everyone. There are some out there who are still in constant pain despite any new pain medication. Most of the time, those who have some sort of cancer are still ...

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...g to die, which was either burning alive, suffocation, or jumping out the window. This is the same as what these terminally ill patients are doing when they are choosing euthanasia. It is not suicide. Benjamin Corey, journalist for the Time, stated, “It seems disingenuous to force someone to choose between two ways of dying and then turn on them in judgment for picking the least painful of the two options” (Corey). They’re either going to die in pain from their terminal illness or die a more peaceful death surrounded by their loved ones.
Physician-assisted suicide will always continue to be a controversial issue as to whether it should be legal or not. The idea of allowing physician assisted suicide to be legal is a great idea, but only if certain areas, such as the insurance companies and limits as to how many physicians you can see, are finely tuned to be safe.

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