Chronic Pain, Terminal Illness and Euthanasia

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Recommended: Describe fear of death

The fear associated with death is powerful, but even more so is the fear of living an unfulfilling life full of pointless suffering. This spurs the belief for those in such situations that we as bodied people have the power to control our fate. Many movements involved with Euthanasia and Physician Assisted Suicide (PAS) have started internationally with that phrase in mind. Euthanasia is defined as, “The painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease, or is in an irreversible coma.” Christopher Docker defines PAS as, " ... the provision by a doctor, consciously and legally, to a patient who has completely requested it, of the means for that patient to end his or her own life." (Docker 8) These groups focus on the question of why should we endure untreatable suffering, especially when modern technology does nothing to alleviate the pain. Terminally ill patients should have the right to choose a merciful release.
The Supreme Court concluded in the 1981 Botsford vs. Union Pacific Railroad Co. case that, " ...no right is more sacred or more carefully guarded, by the common law, than the right of the individual to the possession and control of his own person.” If this control is given to us in life, then surely people facing terminal conditions and constantly experiencing chronic pain should be able to relieve their suffering by means of their own choosing. It is important that each individual has power over their own life included in this should be the right to die if his/her life loses it’s quality. For example, people who suffer from painful, incurable diseases such as ebola hemorrhagic fever know that the illness is going to end their life, and their death may be complicated and painful. People in ...

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...y strengthens the essay.”
Docker, C. (April 2013). Five Last Acts - The Exit Path. Europe. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
Dowbiggin, I. (January 1, 2007). A Concise History of Euthanasia: Life, Death, God, and Medicine. Lanham, Maryland. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Dubose, E. R. (June 1, 2001). Physician Assisted Suicide: Religious and Public Perspectives. Park Ridge, Illinois. Park Ridge Center
ProCon (December, 13, 2013). Euthanasia. Retrieved from http://euthanasia.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000126 “This was a fantastic source to reference throughout this essay, it covers boths sides of this controversial issue without bias. It also covers the history of the subjects, which helped with building a timeline”
World Health Organization (April 2014). Ebola virus disease. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/

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