Persuasive Essay On Death With Dignity

I do support Death with Dignity Act, similar to the one in Oregon, to be implemented in other states. Death with Dignity allows a terminally ill patient, who has zero possibility of recovering with any kind medical treatment, to rest in peace at will. These are voluntary unlike Euthanasia. An eligible person, which would be a terminally ill patient in this case, can request the prescription and can choose if and when to take it. The case of Brittany Maynard clearly shows that patients who are sick and whose sufferings cannot be relieved , should have a choice to put an end to the pain and have a peaceful death with near and dear ones by their side. Dying with excruciating pain and suffering, within four walls of hospital with restlessness and

Choosing to die with the assistance of a physician is a much debated controversial issue in the states. Assisted suicide is where a patient with a terminal disease choose to take their life to relieve their suffering, sometimes with the aid of a physician, and is legal in only five states. Assisted suicide is “legal in Washington, Oregon, California, Vermont and Bernalillo County,New Mexico(Death with).” This option should be available to patients in all states, because terminally ill patients should have the choice to end their suffering if their pain becomes unbearable. Terminal patients should be able to die on their own terms.

“Having this choice at the end of my life has become incredibly important. It has given me a sense of peace during a [time] that otherwise would be dominated by fear, uncertainty, and pain” ("11 Emotional Quotes ). This quote was stated by Brittany Maynard, a twenty-nine year old who chose to end her own life. She had terminal brain cancer and chose to move to Oregon which, at the time, was one of the only states that offered the Death With Dignity Act. In a 2014 TIME article, it was stated that, “Maynard is one of more than 750 people in Oregon who have ingested a lethal dose of prescription medication since the Death with Dignity Act went into effect in 1997” (Barone). Every citizen should have the right to physician assisted death under circumstances of terminal illness and unbearable pain. (ADD THREE MAIN IDEAS AT THE END OF THIS PARAGRAPH)

Death with Dignity is an extremely controversial subject, the conflict is not one that many people can stand on the sidelines without an opinion. A person can either be for or against, while I understand why people agree with the concept and support those who choice to end their lives in this way, I do not agree with a person ending their life prematurely. My own ideas, however, should not affect another person’s decision about their own life. That is why, although I do not fully agree with the concept of Death with Dignity, I believe that it should be legal in all 50 states.

Brittany Maynard brought up a good argument when she said, “I would not tell anyone else that he or she should choose death with dignity. My question is: Who has the right to tell me that I don’t deserve this choice?” (Slotnik). Brittany Maynard was a young woman who found out she had a terminal brain cancer and ended up becoming the public face for the right to die act. Many people believe that this act should not be in place, but in taking this act away people lose their right to choose when they want to die. People may argue the fact that doctors have access the drug with assisted suicide is very unsettling; however, the doctors are professionals who are trusted with this drug. This act is important because it gives the terminally ill one last independent decision before they lose themselves. Taking away the act means taking their free will away from them.

If you don’t want something to happen to your body (e.g. for your body to become pregnant or for it to be kept working at all costs (both in terms of money and dignity), then you should have that right as well (Munkittrick, 2011, para. 11 & 12)”.

No matter how much relief from pain one can receive, it still seeps through and finds a way into the body. Being in an unimaginable amount of pain and being told you have to endure at least another six months of it would be dreadful. Wouldn’t you want an escape? Oregon’s journey to legalize Death with Dignity began in 1994 and influenced several other states to do the same.

In 1997 Oregon passed the Physical Assisted Suicide (PAS) called the Death with Dignity. PAS would provide terminal ill patients who desired to end their life with access to a lethal dose of medication. In order for a patient to get access to the lethal dose of medicine in Oregon: they must be 18 years or older, able to understand, verbalize the consequences, and be a resident of the state. Terminal ill patients have been medically diagnosed of living six month or less. If a patient in Oregon wants to commit suicide there would be a 15-day waiting period between the doctor’s agreement and the issuance of the prescription (The Times). PAS is not only legal in Oregon, but also in Washington, Vermont, New Mexico, and Montana. More than 70% of Californians support the legalization of PAS and no bill has been introduced since 2007. American culture has been emphasized that citizens of the United States have the rights and freedoms to make personal decisions. PAS needs to be legalized in California so terminally ill patients suffering from physical and emotional pain legally end their life.

You've sat in your hospital bed for at least three months now, and the pain and boredom is starting to become even more torturous than you could have imagined. The pain that you are experiencing on a day-to-day basis is excruciating; a normal, everyday procedure like using the restroom or getting something to eat is a long, drawn out, and painful ordeal. All of the doctors that you've talked to agree that you are going to die soon from the disease that has infested your body, but even six months sounds like an excruciatingly long amount of time, especially when all you have to occupy your time is lie in a bed painfully, waiting it out. Your family and friends are already distraught by the news; they already know that you are on the brink

We are culturally ingrained from an early age that life is precious and each day is a gift. Life should not be squandered but preserved.  We are encouraged to live with a purpose, cherish our loved ones and live life to its fullest. But what if life becomes too physically painful to endure, often experienced by many terminally ill patients suffering an incurable disease, or a chronically ill elderly person who lacks the ability to thrive?  For forty-five day’s I watched my chronically ill mother languish away in a hospice care facility. The experience was emotionally and financially draining, and I began questioning whether a person should have the right to choose when and how to end their life. In the United States, assisted dying is a widely debated and passionate issue. Opponents argue preserving life, regardless of how much a person is suffering, is an ethical and moral responsibility, determined only by a higher power.  At the other end of the spectrum are those who support a person’s right to end their life with dignity at a time of their choosing.   Wouldn’t my mother’s suffering been greatly reduced if her doctor was legally and ethically permitted to administer a lethal cocktail of drugs to end her life quickly and painlessly? Wouldn’t the prevailing memory of my mother see her in a better light instead of helplessly watching her undignified death? To deny terminal and chronically ill people the freedom to end their

"Life is but a dream for the dead", - Gerard Way. There is a set routine that all living things that exist on earth and everywhere else in the known universe must abide by. That in life we are born, we will live, and eventually we will die. Life itself is a miracle in its own sense. None the less, all good things must eventually come to an end. More so, to live means it is inevitable to die. That is the cost of living. However, death is not a stranger to the human race and although many have attempted, none have escaped its grasp. Death is not always quick and painless, nor is it ever suddenly expected. But for the few people who receive a terminal diagnoses, it unfortunately is. Death can then actually become a desired means to a peaceful

Imagine lying in a small hospital bed for three years and never being able to leave again. The excruciating pain from the radiation that is being injected into you every day. Knowing that even with the newest technology, nothing could cure your illness. Instead being in constant pain, you could end it all. Recently, Colorado approved a law called Proposition 106 that would allow those who have less than six months to live to “die with dignity”. There are many qualifications a patient needs in order to ask for the pill, including multiple doctors who say that they are mentally stable, have voluntarily asked for the medication, and must be 18 years of age or older. Only five other states have granted assisted suicide, including Montana, Vermont, Oregon, California, and Washington. Thousands of people selfishly voted against Proposition 106 without

On Tuesday, March 24, an elderly Oregon woman, acting with the aid of a doctor, dosed

As people age they begin to realize their fear of a painful death. This has lead to the desire for the creation of a “right to die”, where a person can be made dead painlessly with the help of a medical practitioner. Many believe that such a right is morally necessary, to prevent unnecessary suffering and because they feel patients deserve a death with dignity. Religious groups appear split on the issue, some arguing for the sanctity of life and others arguing that allowing unnecessary suffering is evil. Opponents of the right to die argue that the right cannot be a right at all and that if it were enforced regardless of this it would lead us down a path where the value of life is lost and the desire for improvements in medical technology is reduced. This complex issue will have resounding effects on the future of humanity and is important to consider carefully.

“Euthanasia and assisted suicide are terms used to describe the process in which a doctor or a close relative of an either sick or disabled individual (physically or mentally) engages in an activity which directly or indirectly leads to the death of the individual”(402), explains Tal Bergman Levy in the article “Attitudes towards Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide: a comparison between Psychiatrists and other Physicians”. This practice is also called “Mercy Killing”, for the fact that the main reason people do it is to be freed from the pain. The procedure may happen in a few forms, but it all depends on the patient and the circumstances; but no matter how it happens the result is the same. An overdose of a shot or pills is how the procedure will kill the patient; it will happen in a matter of minutes and will be given either by the doctor or the patient itself. Assisted suicide has been controversial throughout the United States, and only a few states have legalized it. But assisted suicide is wrong and should be illegal nationally because it goes against the Hippocratic Oath doctors take, it could easily be corrupted, and it goes against most of the human morals.