Persuasive Essay On Right To Die

According to Ullmann-Margalit (51) while dealing with the subject the agony of doubt deliberates that it is among the most confusing issues to deal with. Most people do not want to die, at least not now, and the debate of holding on to the inevitable and that of letting go heats up. Questions arise concerning the social, religious and ethical factors that have to be taken into play while considering end-of-life or right-to-die and thus bringing complexity to an otherwise easy decision. But the most crucial question to ask is: are those in support of the right-to-die justified in their movement? This will be the question that will be addressed in this argumentative essay.

The right to die has been a topic of many debates. People are either strongly opposed to the act, saying things like “In no situation is suicide the right thing to do,” while others argue the exact opposite. No compromises are made as an unstoppable force meets an immovable object, but this is life or death. The answer cannot be as simple as yes or no. We all go through difficulties in our lives, some even struggle with depression at times, but unlike those who are depressed or going through a rough patch, there are those who are doomed to deal with physical pain the rest of their lives. How could we deprive them the choice of a painless death, when letting them die slowly on a hospital bed is the only other option? Physician assisted suicide for those who are terminally ill should be legalized in America, because physician assisted suicide saves those who are hurting from living the rest of their lives in agony.

Florida passed a law that states under the right circumstances a doctor is allowed to help their patients with certain elements of ending their life but they are not allowed to prescribe medication that ends a life. The doctors are allowed to unplug life support systems at the request of their patient and can prescribe medication that eases the pain (Shoop). California, Colorado, DC, Montana, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington have all passed laws that legalize physician assisted suicide. In today’s time it’s becoming more common that states are allowing physicians to become involved in a patient’s suicide

In the United States, we have certain human rights and that includes the right to choose to end our lives. Under article 3 in the Declaration of Human Rights, it states, “Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person” (Appendix). Given this law, a patient has all the rights to decide if they want to live or die. According to Dworkin, “The individual has a basic right to determine the course of their own life and obviously death is a part of that course” (Bell). A fellow New Yorker also said, “Whatever view we take about, we want the right to decide for ourselves.” To sum up, it’s very important to allow us to make our own decisions.

If either physician’s believe the patient’s judgement is im-paired by a psychiatric or psychological disorder, he must refer the patient for a psychological examination; the prescribing physician must inform the patient of feasible alternatives to assisted suicide, including comfort care, hospice care and pain control. The prescribing physician must request, but may not require, the patient to notify his or her next of kin of the prescription request. In order to follow the law, physicians must report to Oregon Health services (OHS) all prescriptions for lethal medications. Physicians and patients who adhere to the act’s requirements are protected from criminal prosecution, and the choice of legal physician-assisted suicide cannot affect the statues of a patient’s health or life insurance policies. Physicians and health care systems are under no obligation to participate in the Death with Dignity

“Death smiles at us all, all a man can do is smile back” (Marcus Aurelius). Look in a mirror and imagine someone that has a horrible disease like breast cancer or AIDS and is suffering from all the pain that is killing them. People and terminally ill patients have the right to choose but they do not let patients choose when they want to end their lives when they have a terminal illness. The right to die and the right to choose has been in the Civil Rights for a while now and the other people that disagree would not let the people desire it. Terminally ill patients suffer from cancer and tumors, and they endure a lot of pain that they would kill for something to stop the pain. Death is no crime and does no harm to other people. They might feel mental pain, but no physical pain is inflicted. Assisted Suicide should be legal because it is a Civil Right, it can be for terminally ill patients, and it does not harm others.

The right to die debate has been an ongoing dispute between opposing sides of this controversial topic. The right to die is the decision made by an individual to die with dignity when they are still capable of continuing their life with the necessary support and equipment. It is a voluntary decision by an individual who is regarded as terminally ill to commit suicide with the refusal of any type of life support that sustains their life. Fatally ill patients who choose to end their own life can do so through physician prescribed medications.

Imagine being diagnosed with an incurable disease and told that you have less than six months to live. For the past few decades the united states has been debating whether physician assisted death should be legalized or remain illegal. Assisted deaths are legal in the states of Oregon, washington, vermont, california, and montana but remains illegal in 37 states. Would you want to be given the option or take on a natural death? Ultimately, assisted suicide is gaining importance in our society today.

“Americans are not entirely averse to suicide in cases of terminal illness. Currently six in ten Americans believe that a person has a right to end his or her own life if that person has an incurable disease” (Benson 267). It is obvious that most Americans can agree that assisted suicide is the final decision of the terminally ill patient. When it comes down to it, many terminal patients cannot make this decision, because they may live within a state where assisted suicide is illegal. So far, only seven states have made assisted suicide legal and one state has legal physician suicide by court ruling, while the rest still considers assisted suicide illegal. Even though some people do not approve of assisted suicide because of moral or ethical

Last year a young woman named Brittany Maynard made headlines when her choice of “assisted suicide” became publicized through a mutual friend. She became a public figure and advocate for the “Right to die”. Throughout the years and more recently in my personal work experience I have encountered numerous people; even relatives with life threatening illnesses, most of them who went on to die. I have often wondered how many of these people would take advantage of their right to die on their own terms if there were certain laws in place. If you woke up tomorrow with a debilitating, and life threatening illness how would you react. Would you go in time, or would you go on your own time. If your choice would be to go in your own time, there is a

Assisted suicide and the right to die has been a controversial topic in both society and the medical field. Many people are against assisted suicide due to religious or personal beliefs. This topic has many viewpoints and different reasons behind its position. These viewpoints vary from person to person, but only some main points can be covered. Most people feel that assisted suicide and the right to die should be only limited to people who are terminally ill, some think it shouldn’t be allowed to anybody and should be illegal to do so as it is in most states, and others feel it should be provided to everyone as it is their free will to do so. Whether or not someone should be able to commit suicide with medical help varies due to beliefs and morals. The answer of whether it should be legal or not is purely opinionated and will be debatable for many years to come.

Many people who oppose the right to die are young people who have no idea what it’s like to actually experience pain and suffering. It’s like someone who’s never had sugar to take candy from a baby because “it tastes bad.” The dictionary defines depression as, “sad; dejected… sunk below its surroundings”, none of which say anything about physical pain. The definition of suicide, according to authors Margaret O. Hyde and Elizabeth Forsyth, is “the act of intentionally destroying oneself” (15). While suicide altogether is never a light topic, it does make it easier to discuss when the patient is physically in pain and is asking a doctor for help. This only happens when both the patient and the doctor are out of options. If a person is able to function normally, then they should not be allowed to ask to die. By choosing death, the patient has a safe, painless opportunity to end his or her life instead of living in pain until he or she dies “naturally”. The right to die should be a human right whether it’s based on financial issues, misery and pain, spiritual reasons, moral issues or not, given the right circumstance, of

Walking down the cold, dimly lit hallways of one of the largest military hospitals in the United States listening to the coughing, moaning and sometimes crying coming out of the terminally ill patients rooms. I have watched many patients that I have personally cared for suffer a great deal during my time as a paramedic. During that span I have wondered and questioned why someone of their own free will not choose to end their own suffering. Working in this environment gave me some insight as to what others felt about the subject. One quote that has always stood out to me is “People want the right to die at a time of their own choosing. Too many families have watched helplessly as a relative dies slowly, longing for death”. (Toynbee) Some Doctors and nurses are totally against the idea while others support it. Let’s look into some of the reasons why assisted suicide should be a right for everyone.

Most people do not like to talk or even think about death; much less the topic of ending one’s own life. However, for some, death is a desired alternative to living in agony. Euthanasia has been a topic of debate since antiquity, and both sides stand firm on their beliefs. The right to choose death is illegal in most countries. I believe in people’s freedom to do what they please with their own bodies. The basic right of liberty is what America was founded on. Euthanasia should be a legal option.

The debate over the use of euthanasia is ever growing. This is due to the fact of constant increases in medical advances. Medical advances are growing the number of medicines one can be given before palliative care is an option. The main concern of the debate is whether trying new treatments and medicines are necessary before palliative care is given. Two articles will be analyzed using the Aristotelian method. Both articles are valid, but the New York Times article written by Haider Javed Warraich offers a complete perspective using all three persuasive appeals compared to the article written by Terry Pratchett for The Guardian, which the majority is written on emotion.