Should Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide Be Legalized?

Oregon is one of only five states along with Vermont, Washington, Montana and New Mexico that allow medically assisted suicide. In the rest of the country, assisting people with suicide even if they are terminally ill will be accused as a crime. According to the KQED news, ”Advocates of assisted-suicide laws believe that mentally competent people who are suffering and have no chance of long-term

Assisted suicide is the suicide of a terminally- ill patient, achieved by using a prescribed drug from a doctor for that specific purpose. It is legal in only six states in the United States of America including: Oregon, Montana, Washington, Colorado, Vermont, and California. Countries such as Germany, Japan, and Switzerland have legalized assisted suicide in past years. It has been disputed for many years and continues to be a controversial issue whether physicians should be authorized to end an individual’s life with their prescription and if this should be done legally.

For multiple years, the debate on physician assisted suicide has prevailed. Physician assisted suicide is the death of a terminally ill patient, who wants to die on their own terms with the administration of a doctor. This is different than euthanasia because physician assisted suicide is backed by a controlling legal authority (“Physician…”). Some debaters are uncomfortable with the morality issues that arise with doctors killing patients or physician assisted suicide being abused. Others focus on the pain people who are terminally ill suffer from and the control physician assisted suicide gives them. Overall, the right to live or die should not be up to the government. Physician assisted suicide is legal in six states within the United States. Specific regulations are already practiced in five of those six states. Legalizing physician assisted suicide nationally would solve any regulation issue. Physician-assisted suicide should be legal nationwide with strict regulations in order to offer the freedom that the United States stands for.

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.

Taking a pro approach for physician assisted suicide, Jones’s article delivers the facts to why physician assisted suicide becomes legal. Physician assisted suicide is indeed legal in five U.S states such as, California, Oregon, Washington, Vermont, and Colorado. Rather than the article being good or bad, this text is highly biased. Jones provides facts to why physician assisted suicide should be legalized. Applying this article helps provide factual evidence about the Death with Dignity laws.

Assisting suicide is only legal “in the u.s, Oregon, washington, and montana have legalized the practice of physician assisted suicide, and in 2013, vermont declared that suicide with prescribed medications was a legal “medical treatment”(Health Research funding 2). Only four states in the united states legalized assisted suicide. The legalization of assisted suicide is still ongoing. There are so many opinions and arguments to legalize, a doctor to give a patient pills that can kill them. “In 1997, Oregon passed the Death and Dignity Act, Which made doctor assisted suicide legal in that state”(Forman 8). Federal authorities tried to change this state law. But failed and it still today is

Physician-Assisted Suicide is legalized in the following states: Oregon,California, Montana, Washington, Colorado, and Washington D.C. Oregon was the first state who legalized Physician-Assisted Suicide. “The very first annual report on the usage of the new Oregon Death with Dignity Act showed that 14 physicians prescribed medications under the law to 24 patients received prescriptions under the new law, of which 16 chose to take the medications. The patients’ median age of the patients was 69.”, (“MenuSite Navigation  Death with Dignity Act Annual Reports.” Oregon Health Authority : Death with Dignity Act Annual Reports : Death with Dignity Act : State of Oregon, www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/ProviderPartnerResources/EvaluationResearch/DeathwithDignityAct/Pages/ar-index.aspx.).

In our society today, many terminally ill struggle with pain and fight through their disease. No methods have been discovered to cure these poor people. Everyday, he or she wish for relief on their significant unrelenting pain, but the only method right now is to end their lives. There are two methods that many terminally ill look to that are familiarized by our society, physician assisted suicide and voluntary active euthanasia. Physician assisted suicide is when the patient is prescribed lethal medicine by the doctor to commit suicide. While, voluntary active euthanasia is when a physician takes an active role in the action of killing the patient. There is often debate on whether or not any of these actions should be legalized in all states. Physician assisted suicide is legal in Oregon, California, Montana, Vermont, and Washington. Voluntary active euthanasia is illegal throughout the country. In my opinion, I believe that both voluntary active euthanasia and physician assisted suicide should be legal in every state.

The federal government has outlawed the use of federal funds in assisted suicide. Assisted suicide is, however, legal in Oregon, where state law authorizes physicians to write lethal prescriptions at the request of patients who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness reasonably likely to cause death within six months. These guidelines include requiring a second opinion to verify the diagnosis, referral of the patient to a mental health professional if the doctor suspects the patient has a psychiatric or psychological condition that causes impaired judgment, a fifteen-day waiting period between request and prescription, and reporting the assisted suicide to the Oregon Department of Health (deathwithdignity.org). Most current legalization proposals in the United States follow the format of the Oregon law. These guidelines ensure a safe and ethical assisted suicide in regions where it is

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.

“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.

Millions of precious lives have been deliberately taken throughout the world due to the new Euthanasia Law. Euthanasia is the practicing of assisted suicide, due to terminally ill patients or depression. The practicing has just been legalized September 2015, and will be put into effect in California January 1 2016. Although, it is still being argued if adolescents should have the right fro this and if it’s morally correct all together. Euthanasia should be illegal throughout the world, because people shouldn’t be the ones to decide their own death.

In other states, such as Washington, Physician Assisted Suicide has been legalized by the Death with Dignity Act

“It has been estimated that of the 2 million Americans who die each year, 80% die in hospitals or nursing homes, and 70% of those die after a decision to forgo life-sustaining treatment has been made” (Pozgar, 2014). As terminally ill patients come to terms with an end-of-life diagnosis, one of their main concerns is dying with dignity and not left to suffer a long and drawn out death. Euthanasia, also known as mercy killing, is a sensitive and very controversial subject. Several people believe, doctors should not participate in any action that ends a person’s life due to the Hippocratic Oath stating that doctors are obligated to save lives. Although, euthanasia is considered to be immoral and even murder, it should be legalized when a person’s quality of life, due to an incurable illness, is gradually going to deteriorate.

Currently, voluntary euthanasia is only legal in five states: California, Oregon, Washington, Vermont, and Montana (Galewitz, "Aid-in-Dying Advocacy Group Girds for Battles After California Victory"). These states all have their own individual laws deciding who can or can’t be euthanized. For example, Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act restricts anyone without a terminal illness that can cause death within 6 months and anyone under 18 from using euthanasia (“Death With Dignity Act”). Rules like these prevent irresponsible use of euthanasia, and give physicians a general guideline to administering the drugs. Outside of the listed states, any form of euthanasia is considered a