Physicians-Assited Suicide

I believe that terminally ill patients should have the right to end their lives if they want to. To me, paying expensive hospital bills, taking up a space in the hospital that could otherwise be replaced with patients that need it, and suffering longer than need be waiting around to die is unnecessary. In the article “Right To Die” It explains how giving the patients this option is an act of kindness. I agree completely. I believe that there are many people who could benefit from this option. It says in the article that “Medical professionals have considerable discretion in deciding when additional efforts to sustain life are futile and patient should be allowed to die.” It may sound harsh but it is very true. It becomes a great loss if we continually push medicine and procedures on a patient whose body is rejecting it. It’s a waste. Why shouldn’t the patient be able to say “this is no longer worth the fight?” It’s not just hard on the family, and doctors but the patient as well. They can only fight so long before the fight seems pointless to them.

I feel that if there are DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) papers, then why is this such a hard concept to follow as well. If someone signs a DNR paper, they clearly want to die because the fight itself is no longer worth it. They are completely over it! The article states that “although it is widely condoned around the world, only a handful of nations – The Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Luxemburg- have made physicians assisted suicide legal. But in the United State, those who help commit suicide may face criminal charges. Why? If I have the rights to my body, why can I not end my life if I see it to be fitting? Jack Kevokian said “Dying is not a crime.” How true is that, you can’t blame someone for death? It’s part of the life cycle, we are born, we live, we die. Another valid point is in the article, “Should Quality of Life Include The Right to Die?” it says, “A woman can become pregnant, decide that raising the baby is going to be ‘inconvenient’ and have a doctor perform an abortion.” How is this legal, regardless of the fetus’s process or development, it is still a human being and it didn’t have the choice to live or die that choice was made for it. Why can an irrational, carless women decide to kill her unborn child, but a stable suffering woman can’t end her life? Think of it in the sense of you are the terminally ill patient. Would you prefer death over suffering? Think of it in the sense of you being the family member, would you really want to see your loved one suffer and not have an out? Physician-assisted suicide should be legal.





Bibliography
McLeod, J. (2012, April 7). Should Quality of Llife Include the Right to Die? Retrieved September 18, 2012, from n/a: [Only admins are allowed to see this link]
n/a. (n/a, n/a n/a). Right To Die. Retrieved September 18, 2012, from Public Agenda: [Only admins are allowed to see this link]

Victoria i completly agree with you on all parts. If abortion is legal then euthanaisa should be, and every life should be valued. "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" (Jefferson, 1776), the value of human life is even in our Decleration of Independance. That everyone has the right to their own lives and that no one else does. Beacuse without that we might as stayed as a colony of a country that didn't respect our rights anyway. It also means that we can do what makes us happy and we have the right to do it without fearing reprocussion from the law for it. Even if that action is assissted suiced to end some kind of overwhelming suffering. It is and should be basic human right to have soveriegn control over their own lives.

I agree completely. I thought you had a well constructed argument. Altough one thing you should watch is when you talk about using space for people who actually need it. Yes terminall lll patiens may not need medical care if they're going to die but some people may view that as you saying that they are a waste of space. Other than that I thought it was a very well rounded viewpoint. Also when you were talking about family members not wanting to see their own family suffer that's why we should allow euthanasia is a very good and valid point.

I absolutely agree with you Victoria! I never thought about the abortion statement you made. It is so true, why should ending an unborn child’s life be legal and ending your own life is illegal? It makes no sense at all to me. I believe that there are many things wrong with the laws in this country and a great example is abortion vs. euthanasia. I believe you have many valid points. I enjoyed reading your post. Yet again, I would have to agree with Matt’s referral to the Declaration of Independence. The statement made in the Declaration is the foundation of so much. If we have those rights and still hold those statements made in the Declaration to be true and righteous, then why deny someone to make the decision themselves? All of the points you made in your post are one’s that support my point of view along with my factual information.