Marcus Tullius Cicero proclaims, “What then is freedom? The power to live as one wishes.” Across the country, millions of people, young and old, are given a diagnosis of a terminal illness. Whether it’s Alzheimer’s or late stage cancer, they all have one thing in common: at some point the person in question will lose his/her ability to take care of him/herself. No matter what age we are, we all crave to be free to make our own choices. A terminal diagnosis hijacks that freedom and many want a way to die on their own terms rather than to wait for a disease to kill them. Death with dignity, referred to also as Right to Die Legislation, is a way for terminally ill patients 18 and over to die on their own terms with help from a drug they administer …show more content…
Most people who desire to end their lives early due to terminal illness have some kind of cancer. Late stage cancer often robs people of their ability to go about daily needs without the need for assistance such as feeding oneself and going to the bathroom on their own. Three years ago, Brittany Maynard’s story was televised across the county, “...plans to end her life...before her aggressive brain cancer can rob her of her cognitive function and impose a painful, seizure-ridden death” (LA Times Article 16). Maynard was only 29 when she died, but she made her decision because her illness would have ruined her youthful life. Letting the cancer take her would’ve been a horrifying process for both herself and all those who cared for her. Not everyone has the means to up and move to one of the few states that allow doctor-assisted suicide, so some victims of these terminal illnesses have come forward with their stories, “...it is as important to choose the way we die as it is to choose the way we live” (Pamela Gredicak 1). Living how we want to live is a staple to everyone’s life and choosing how we die is especially important to those who have terminal illnesses. Either their illness chooses for them or they choose. Gredicak wishes to keep living her life until her cancer disallows her from …show more content…
Most other countries are less strict in the process of becoming qualified, but they do have it in place. The Canadian Press notes, “Suicides can be assisted by people other than doctors and no medical condition needs to be established. Switzerland is the only country that allows foreigners to travel there for the purpose of ending their own lives” (1). In the US, doctors provide the prescription and must sign off on a patient for the drug to even be accessible. The Guardian presents, “Belgium passed a law in 2002 legalizing euthanasia...the law says doctors can help patients end their lives...because they are suffering incontractable and unbearable pain” (1). Terminal diagnosis’ are not the only cause for someone to want to medically end their life. Some people are in constant pain due to an injury, and in Belgium those people are also able to seek out doctor assisted suicide. They also do not have an age limit for minors, as long as they meet the above requirements, are mentally sound, and their parents consent, it can be done. Compared to other countries, Death with Dignity laws currently in the United States are very strict. People who oppose the legislation should examine the ways states could enforce it, and appreciate that not just anyone can go through with it where it is
Brittany Maynard was a 29 year old woman, she was thriving and loving life then, she was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. Brittany did a lot of research about her cancer and she finally realized that there wouldn’t be any good outcome. After fighting the cancer for months, she had the option of living in her home with hospice coming in and caring for her. Brittany made the decision to move to Oregon with her family to be protected by the Death with Dignity law. She wanted to be able to die when it felt ‘right’. She wanted to say when enough was enough and she said all her goodbyes. Brittany also didn’t want to have hospice take care of her, because she would just be suffering and in pain for who knows how long, wondering when the time will be that she dies. Her family would have to sit there and watch that day by day. How could a family do that? Brittany chose not to go through radiation and lived her life to the fullest with her family happy and smiling, until that time felt ‘right’ and she couldn’t go on any longer. She actually had the medication for a long time, before she took it, because she didn’t want to die, but dying was going to happen anyway. She wanted to die on her terms. When my suffering becomes too great, I can say to all those I love, "I love you; come be by my side,
America is a champion of the freedom of choice. Citizens have the right to choose their religion, their political affiliation, and make personal decisions about nearly every facet of their daily lives. Despite all of these opportunities, one choice society commonly ignores is that of deciding how one’s life will end. Death seems like a highly unpredictable, uncontrollable occurrence, but for the past 17 years, citizens of Oregon have had one additional option not offered to most Americans in the deciding of their end-of-life treatment. Oregon’s Death With Dignity Act (DWDA), passed in 1994, allows qualified, terminally-ill Oregon patients to end their lives through the use of a doctor-prescribed, self-administered, lethal prescription (Office of Disease Prevention and Epidemiology, n.d.). The nationally controversial act has faced injunctions, an opposing measure, and has traveled to the Supreme Court, however it still remains in effect today.
At suffering from months of debilitating headaches, Brittany Maynard learned she had brain cancer (Maynard). She was 29. Just married. And just trying to have a family. Her life turned into a saga of hospital stays where she underwent several surgeries to stop the growth of the tumor. They were unsuccessful and her doctors gave her a prognosis of six months to live. The doctors gave her the option of having full brain radiation. It wouldn’t necessarily save her life, but it would possibly extend the time. However, the quality of her life would be greatly diminished and she would have to suffer from the side effects including loss of hair and a burnt scalp. Because the rest of her body was young and healthy, she would likely have to physically hang on for awhile as the cancer ate her brain. So instead, she chose death with dignity. She uprooted her life and moved from California to Oregon which is one of three states that legalizes death with dignity.
Imagine, if you will, that you have just found out you have a terminal medical condition. Doesn’t matter which one, it’s terminal. Over the 6 months you have to live you experience unmeasurable amounts of pain, and when your free of your pain the medication you’re under renders you in an impaired sense of consciousness. Towards the 4th month, you begin to believe all this suffering is pointless, you are to die anyways, why not with a little dignity. You begin to consider Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS). In this essay I will explain the ethical decisions and dilemmas one may face when deciding to accept the idea of Physician-Assisted Suicide. I will also provide factual information pertaining to the subject of PAS and testimony from some that advocate for legalization of PAS. PAS is not to be taken lightly. It is the decision to end one’s life with the aid of a medical physician. Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary states that PAS is “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 aware of the patient’s intent.” PAS is considered, by our textbook – Doing Ethics by Lewis Vaughn, an active voluntary form of euthanasia. There are other forms of euthanasia such as non-voluntary, involuntary, and passive. This essay is focusing on PAS, an active voluntary form of euthanasia. PAS is commonly known as “Dying/Death with Dignity.” The most recent publicized case of PAS is the case of Brittany Maynard. She was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in California, where she lived. At the time California didn’t have Legislative right to allow Brittany the right to commit PAS so she was transported to Oregon where PAS is legal....
Imagine being diagnosed with a disease that is going to kill you, but then you learn that you cannot do anything to avoid the pain it will cause you. The palliative care you will receive will only be able to provide slight comfort. You look at the options and consult with your physician, and decide physician-assisted suicide, or PAS, is what you want. Within the last two decades, the argument regarding physician-assisted suicide has grown. While some believe that death should be "natural", physician-assisted suicide helps the terminally ill maintain their dignity while dying. Physician assisted suicide should be a viable option for those diagnosed with a terminal illness. It provides a permanent relief to the pain and suffering that is involved
With the growing debate on the legality of physician assisted suicide happening in the United States,it is important for everyone to know the position that are being advocated. Having a full sense of knowledge on the conversation taking place gives people who are interested on this topic the necessary tool to draw their own conclusion on how they should feel on this particular issue. Even if someone is not interested in this topic on a cultural level, they should in a personal sense because it might affect their family or themselves one day. In a way this issue and debate affects everyone because there might be a possibility that we acquire a terminal illness, and when this happen we are either denied the option of PAS or granted that option, depending the status of it.
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...
Although widely condoned around the world, only one nation, the Netherlands has made physician assisted suicide legal. Five states tried Washington in 1991, California in 1992, Michigan in 1998,and main in 2000, Oregon in 1994 approved the “Death with Dignity Act” it won 51 percent to 49 percent. 91 people committed suicide with the aid of a physician in the first four years the law was in effect.
Only people who have witnessed or experienced a terminal illness know how much it impacts a person’s life and their families. According to the Cancer Facts and Figures, in 2015, there was an estimate of 1,658,370 people who were diagnosed with cancer and 589,430 of those diagnosed with cancer had died (American Cancer Society). Medication evolves every day, yet there is little to do for cancer patients. They can go through various treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy, however some patients these treatments are unbearable. In four states, physician assisted suicide is legal, many other states are debating on the issue at hand. States that have not legalized assisted suicide is due to it being considered murder and can result in imprisonment and doctor license revoked. There has been recent debates involving whether or not physician assisted suicide should be legalized because it is considered murder. Legalizing assisted suicide does not only provide an option to terminally ill patients, but gives others an option. Although some argue that physician assisted suicide should not be legalized, proponents argue that physician assisted suicide should allow options for the patients that are not suffering.
Dementia patients must have the right to participate in all decisions concerning their care. Every person in this world has the same equal rights, no matter the situation. Doctors, caregivers, nurses, and even family members brush off the request of the person suffering from dementia each and every day. Most people call this carelessness while others call it freedom and in all reality, it is far from freedom. Luckily, there are many people who fight for the freedom everyone deserves. The majority of "Health professionals are usually keen to keep people with dementia at the center of decisions. Independent advocacy can support this by giving the extra time and skills needed to help people have a voice without the tensions of any other role"
The word “euthanasia” comes from the Ancient Greek “eu” - good and “thanatos” - death. Plato argued that suicide was against the will of the gods, and was therefore wrong. He does say that patients that are unable to live normally should be denied treatment. Aristotle believed that suicide is wrong because the law forbids it. Hippocrates, the father of medicine, was against active euthanasia. In his famous “Hippocratic oath”, a line forbids giving a “deadly drug” [9][11].
Terminally ill patients no longer wish to have their lives artificially prolonged by expensive, painful, or debilitating treatments and would rather die quietly. The patients do not wish to prolong their life and they may not wish to commit suicide themselves or worse, are physically incapable of doing so. People have the right to their own destiny and living in the U.S we have acquired freedom. The patients Right to Self Determination Act gives the patient the power to decide how, when and why they choose to die. In "Editorial Exchange: Death with Dignity: Reopen Assisted-Suicide Debate." The Canadian Press Sep 27 2013 ProQuest. 7 June 2015” Doctor Donald Low and his terminally ill friends plea to physician assisted suicide in an online video. He states that it is their rights as cancer patients to make the decision to pass, but he is denied. Where is the equality? Patients who are on dialysis or hooked up to respirators have the choice to end their lives by ending treatment. However, patients who are not dependent on life support cannot choose when they can pass. Many patients feel that because of their illness that life is not worth living for and that life has already been taken from them due to lack of activities they can perform. Most of the terminally ill patients are bedridden with outrageous amounts of medication and they don’t want family members having to care for them
...e terminally ill. This right would allow them to leave this earth with dignity, save their families from financial ruin, and relieve them of insufferable pain. To give competent, terminally-ill adults this necessary right is to give them the autonomy to close the book on a life well-lived.
So what options are out there? You are a terminally ill patient drowning in debt and unable to pay the bills. But, you have a choice to stop the treatments that have no significant effect on you, or do you keep suffering? So let’s say you decide to end this agony, you know the inevitable is coming, but you want to take charge of your own death. Although the state you live in does not support your decision and only gives the option of lying in your death bed on life support. This research paper examines, if assisted suicide should be allowed in all states? Within this essay, will be points about why someone would choose to end their life, what states have legalized assisted suicide, pros and cons, and why this topic should be more talked about. Evidence will be gathered from, written sources. Sources that will likely be scholarly-reviewed journals, magazine articles and other articles from a religious viewpoint along with a doctor, family, and the patient’s viewpoint. The public should be more informed of the pros and cons to assisted suicide and which one has the greatest benefit for the patient and their families.
In addition, the death with dignity act is performed through euthanasia which is the practice of intentionally ending a life to relieve pain and suffering. Since the death with dignity act isn't legalized all within america, it is a struggle among patients who rely on it. For instance, 3 years ago, 29 year old Brittany Maynard diagnosed with terminal brain cancer decided to move from her hometown California to Oregon, to take advantage of Oregon's death with dignity law. In other words, it allowed terminally ill patients, such as Brittany to choose where and when they want to die. After specialists told Brittany that she had 6 months to live, she was in a predicament to either follow a treatment plan which might ease her pain, but seriously diminish the quality of her remaining life, or reject the treatment and enable her family to watch her slowly suffer and die. however, Brittany looked for a third alternative and states that, “I did not want this nightmare scenario for my family,”(www.) On November 1st, Brittany planned to choose to end her miserable life in Oregon around her friends and family which Britanny called the ring of love. Without death with dignity, life can in fact, turn out to be hopeless since the terminally ill patient