Argumentative Essay: The Choice Of Assisted Suicide

Assisted suicide is a topic that has ignited a severe debate due to the controversy that surrounds its implementation. Assisted suicide occurs when a patients expresses their intention to die and request a physician to assist them in the process. Some countries like Oregon, Canada, and Belgium have legalized the process terming it as an alternative to prolonged suffering for patients who are bound to die. Unlike euthanasia where a physician administers the process, assisted suicide requires that the patient voluntarily initiates and executes the process. Although there exists concession such a process is important to assist patients die without much suffering, there has emerged criticism on its risk of abuse and as an expression of medical

Brittany Maynard, a woman known for her advocacy in the controversial topic of assisted suicide, officially ended her life this fall after learning of her fatal brain tumor. After complaining of horrible headaches, she decided to see a doctor where they gave her this traumatic news. She had two corrective surgeries to try and stop the growth of her large tumor, but they were unsuccessful. Her doctor then suggested full brain radiation, but after months of researching this option, along with many other, she knew her quality of what short life she had left would quickly deteriorate. With the help of her family, friends, and newly-wed husband, she made the decision to move with her loved ones from her California home to Oregon, where death with

Many people in the world are suffering from illness that cannot be cured. They live their last days in pain and suffering wondering when and why it happened to them. Instead of suffering, many people dream of suicide to take their pain away but they know no one would understand. In very few states, it is legal for people to get assistance to put them out of their pain and suffering. It is called assisted suicide. Assisted suicide is the help from a physician to end their patients’ lives with their permission. The patient must have a terminal illness with less than six months to live to qualify. Many people are against assisted suicide because they believe that it is just a cover for murder. People should be thought of as dying with dignity

"You have stage IV lung cancer that has metastasized to your lymph nodes and bones. Your prognosis is poor; you may have another 18 months left [to live]." The oncologist’s words marked the beginning of my ex-husband’s physical and emotional suffering until his untimely death in January 2017. Witnessing his unrelenting pain and watching him suffer from lung cancer and the horrible side effects of chemotherapy, I wondered why the doctors did not offer him any other alternatives other than living in progressive pain. Why would they let him suffer for the next 18 months with ineffective pain management treatment when his prognosis was so poor? This option should have been available to him, but due to state laws and

In 1994, Oregon became the first state to pass a bill legalizing physician aid-in-dying (Richardson, 2011). This law would allow a terminally ill patient with 6 months or less to live to end their life by their own terms (“It’s Not Assisted Suicide”, 2011). This bill leads to the question “Why would a form of purposeful death be legalized?” The bill, itself was passed for many reasons including the fact that the patients want to have control over their life and ultimately their death (“It’s Not Assisted Suicide”, 2011). They also do not want to live in fear of what will eventually happen to them. “Death with Dignity” was passed is because many terminally-ill patients do not want to live in excruciating pain and in fear of what will happen to them, living a prolonged life or taking control over one’s death is a personal choice belonging only to the individual making it.

On New Year’s day in 2014, 29-year-old newly wed and hopeful mother , Brittany Maynard, was diagnosed with a malignant stage four brain tumor and was given six months to live. After two failed surgeries and full brain radiation, Maynard made the decision to die on her own terms. She and her family moved to Oregon and established residency so that she could utilize Oregon’s Death With Dignity Act. Maynard chose to end her life on November 1, 2014. Before her death, Maynard asked her friends and family: “Who has the right to tell me that I don't deserve this choice? That I deserve to suffer for weeks or months in tremendous amounts of physical and emotional pain? Why should anyone have the right to make that choice for me?” This same question

Too feeble to stand up himself, a grown man sits in the arms of hospice care day in and day out, just waiting to be picked up out of bed, given a little relief. All that crosses his mind is the thought of death. This man suffers through the pain of his condition everyday, until he sluggishly deteriorates. His body hangs on longer than his mind, until he dies exactly the opposite of how he wanted to, not of a sound mind. Death with Dignity states that 70% of people in the U.S. have joined the fight to legalize a practice in which people can chose to die at the end of their life in specific conditions. Voluntary assisted suicide should be legalized in Wisconsin because there are strict laws that will make sure that this process is done correctly,

Physician assisted suicide, or the so-called right-to-die, is a highly controversial issue that has appeared before many state and federal legislators but, has failed to pass in many states due to the huge opposition from groups such as the Catholic Church and disabled-rights organizations. However, physician assisted suicide is when a life ending medication is prescribed by a doctor for the patient, most commonly with a terminal illness, to take on their own. This medication merely accelerates the rate at which the person dies; therefore, it can not be considered suicide because they are only accelerating the rate at which the patient dies (Drum 29-31). In order for a patient to qualify

deaths every day. Within these 153,000 deaths, about 90% of them are terminally ill patients

On the morning of April 20th, 2017, nearly a year ago as of the writing of this paper, Charlie and Francie Emerick held hands for one last time. After months of preparation, both physically and mentally, the couple was ready. They were about to commit assisted suicide (Aleccia). While many argue against the ideals of assisted suicide, which is the act of, with the help of a physician, ending your life, I believe that, under the proper legislation, it is an acceptable form of death. While some people may argue that death should be natural, doctors won’t do it, and that it’s a cry for help, it’s obvious that this is a considerable alternative which is a genuine option to the end of life.

The debate on legalizing assisted suicide is an issue across the globe. It has brought countries to contemplate on the legalities of the matter in their respective legislative branches of government. Assisted suicide is just simply a matter of assessing one's will to perform such act with the permission of the subject or the patient in such way his will be done. The debate now focuses on either the act shall be legalized or not.

In the United States, it is an unacceptable act. States are allowed to enact laws permitting assisted suicide. A solution to this problem is to create a law to make it legal. If anyone had a problem with this law, they can go to court to talk about it. Court will only try to convince them of the benefits of Assisted Suicide. Another solution is to talk live on TV and explain the benefits of this. The government can convince the country of everything good to it. They will help this issue by explaining to the country how it really works. Only a few places Assisted Suicide is legal. Oregon was the first state to permit Assisted Suicide. In 1991, the citizens of Oregon voted to legalize a highly controversial practice called physician-assisted suicide in their state. In 1994, Oregon signed the Death with Dignity Act, allowing a terminally ill person meeting certain point to end their own life with the help of a doctor. The death with dignity act was written with several safeguards that are intended to protect the vulnerable, weak, sick, elderly, and others from being taken advantage of. In this case, physicians may not be forced to participate in the Death with Dignity Act. In 1997, President William Jefferson Clinton signed the Assisted Suicide Funding Restriction act. Montana, Oregon, and Washington legalized physician assisted suicide. California was the

John Berger once stated, “Without ethics, man has no future. This is to say, mankind without them cannot be itself. Ethics determine choices and actions and suggest difficult priorities.” The term ethics leads to many questionable opinions and contradistinctive ideals. Accordingly, learners wonder “Do societies’ ethical views and judgments on scientific experimentation, research, and artistic expression affect the practice, legality, and controversial nature of certain scientific explorations and art forms?” In the context of the aforementioned question, ethics pertains to dealing with morals or what you deem to be right or wrong. Subsequently, the term judgment leads to the decision making and forming process, which entails a wise conclusion

Now I have heard about assisted suicides before, I never thought they were real. I thought that it was just an idea that doctors have thought of, but never was able to legalize it. I researched this and found that it was very real. They have this law in several different states. Oregon, Vermont, California, and Washington; are the exact states that have these laws in place. In my opinion I believe this is a good idea. We put dogs down and out of their misery daily. We make sure they are comfortable, also that they don’t have to suffer anymore. We do this out of love and compassion. I have often thought to myself that this would be a very good idea for people as well. Hearing that this is very real makes me feel at ease. Now if only this choice was available in every state. If I had an incurable disease and knew that I was going to die a very painful death, having this as an option when I am out of them would be a peaceful feeling.

Physician assisted suicide is requested by the terminally ill, typically when the pain from the illness is too much to handle and is not manageable through treatments or other medications. Assisted suicide is more of a broad term for helping someone die a good death, physician assisted suicide is where a medical doctor provides information and medication and the patient then administers the medications themselves. Euthanasia is also another term that is commonly heard, this refers to a medical doctor that voluntarily administers the lethal dose of medication to the patient when the patient requests it, due to not physically being able to do it themselves (Humphry, 2006). There pros and cons with this topic throughout the world, but is one of the biggest debated things here in the United States of America and to this day there are only five states that have legalized physician-assisted suicide (ProCon.org, 2015). The government should allow patients that are terminally ill the right to choose physician assisted suicide, why should they have to suffer when there is a way out.