Teminilzation

There is a debate over whether or not it is not only ethical but if it is legal for a doctor to help a patient “move on” through various different forms of assisted suicide. Do the terminally ill have a right to decide their own deaths; yes, I think that they do. When it comes to the legal side of things there should be no debate. It says in our Declaration of Independence that “They are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (Jefferson, 1776). This means that a person has the right to decide where to live, how to live, what to do with his life, and even how he would like to end his life. The pursuit of life refers to a man’s various choices to benefit him throughout life. But it can also mean that he has sovereign control over his own life. If he would so choose to end his life then he has the right to do so. If you have the right to drive, vote, and make choices that could change your life you should be able to end your own life if you see no other viable option to ease your pain. If he is terminally ill especially and there is no other way to escape a slowly degrading state of near death, then I say that they definitely deserve the right to take the back door out, so to speak


Whether or not it should be done is a different story. Just like in the previous post about organs just because I think that it should be legal does not mean that it is a good idea. I believe that it is a bad idea unless you have great need of it and only under painfully terminally ill cases. You apply this way out, there is no coming back. There is no addiction, no withdrawal, just death so you better only leave this to your last resort. “The longer the life expectancy the greater the patient’s suffering” (Marker) that means that doctors believe that the longer a terminal patient lives the mores suffering the go through. When and only when, you get to the point should you ever consider it? It is also possible that the elderly who are just tired of living could apply for this process but I think that they should enjoy life to its last moments possible. There are no laws against suicide but that does not make it acceptable end for any means.





Reference:
Jefferson, T. 1st. Continental Congress, (1776). Declaration of independence. Philadelphia, PA:

Marker, R. (n.d.). Euthanasia and assisted suicide: Frequently asked questions. Retrieved from [Only admins are allowed to see this link]

Matt, you made some really great points! On the legal side of the debate, it has been argued in numerous Supreme Court cases that "The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment protects the personal choice of a mentally competent, terminally ill individual to terminate unendurable suffering and hasten inevitable death" (Unknown, 1996). Like I mentioned in response to Cody, this is a topic much like that of organ harvesting; yes I believe patients should have the right to choose death, however under these circumstances, following these guidelines. You made a really good point about suicide not being against the law, but not socially accepted. One thing to consider would be the definition of terminally ill, mentally and physically. And if mentally, is the person competent to make the decision? And who is to make the decision of competence?

Unknown. (1996, October). aclu amicus brief in vacco v. quill. Retrieved from [Only admins are allowed to see this link]

Very good argument. There were a ton of good points in this that I don't even want to try to refute in any way. I especially thought your point involving the declaration was an important point that was well constructed and presented. The only thing I do ask is why do you say "he" so often? Not to say you're wrong in any way just saying try to include all genders or talk of the people as more of generalized group than one specific gender. Also another thing is just to watch how soveriegn you say individuals are. Yes we have rights but humans should not be able to have complete and total rule over everything and be able to use their rights as an excuse to do whatever they like. That could lead to some ilegal and plain stupid behavior activity. Other than that as I said very good argument and well constructed.