Physician-Assisted Suicide Essay - I Want to Die

Death and dying are a natural part of our lives. Not a day goes by that we do not take the chance of being run over by a car while running, being stabbed in a robbery, or being poisoned by bacteria in our food. In all of these cases, we have very little choice in deciding our fate. But what about those cases when we can do something to affect the dying process? What if we can decide whether we wish to live or die? For most of us, that is still uncharted territory, and just the thought of it chills us to the bone. Euthanasia is one such opportunity where a person can affect the dying process. It is not, as many people believe, a case of a physician killing a patient, but instead, a case where a patient who is facing a prolonged, painful, and, finally, terminal illness can make a conscious and reasoned choice to end his or her suffering early and in a dignified manner. It is the purpose of this paper to prove to you that euthanasia in the form of physician-assisted suicide (PAS) should be legalized. That a person facing a terminal illness should have the opportunity, and the right, to choose to die in a dignified manner when faced with a prolonged and terminal illness. That a physician should not be restrained in committing an act which might be in the best interest of a patient. And that if legalized, it would be possible to protect the patient's interests through regulation, and in effect, make euthanasia a perfectly safe choice for a patient.

One of the reasons that the idea of euthanasia antagonizes people is that the mere thought of the word brings to mind pictures of WWII Nazi atrocities. There is a big difference, however, between what Nazi Germany considered euthanasia, and what proponents today con...

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...however, we do not address these issues soon and attempt to solve them collectively, there will be a greater chance of something going wrong .

Works Cited

A Model State Act to Authorize and Regulate Physician-Assisted Suicide. http://www.efn.org/~ergo/mdlact.shtml 2 June 2007.

Alcorn, Gay. "First Assisted Suicide Under Euthanasia Law." Sydney Morning Herald. 26 Sep. 1996. 2 June 2007.

Helme, Tim. Proposals for a Euthanasia Procedure. http://www.islandnet.com/~deathnet/ergo.htm 28 Apr. 2007.

Hoefler, James M. Deathright: Culture, Medicine, Politics, and Their Right to Die. With Brian E. Kamoie. U.S.: Westview, 2004.

Misbin, Robert I., et al. "Physician Responsibility for Euthanasia." Euthanasia: The Good of the Patient, the Good of Society. Frederick: University Publishing Group, 2002.