The Death Of Terminally Ill

Currently, six states have enacted the death-with-dignity law allowing a terminally ill patient the right to choose how their life ends after obtaining permission from those in authority. In 44 states, state law prohibits assisted suicide and an active participant considered as committing a criminal offence. The U.S. Supreme Court protects a patient’s liberty to refuse medical treatment, but continues to side with the government’s interest in preserving life outweighing a person’s right to assisted-suicide. According to the U.S. Code, “Assisted suicide, euthanasia, and mercy killing have been criminal offenses throughout the United States and, under current law, it would be unlawful to provide services in support of such illegal activities.” (U.S. Code)

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.

After years of fighting for someone, somewhere in the United States , recognized the right to practice euthanasia in Oregon, it was held the first legal assisted suicide in the history of this country.

People of the United States of America have basic human rights. Among them are the rights to education and democracy, freedoms of speech, thought, and expression, and the right to life. However, currently, there is no right to die present in the U.S. The right to die is defined as the right of persons to choose natural death and refuse any medical measures to prolong their lives under the circumstances of terminal illnesses and the unlikeliness of them getting well (“Right-to-die”). “Death with Dignity” laws are present in a few states such as Oregon, Washington, Vermont, California, and Montana via court decision, but these laws are still not recognized on the federal level. For a terminally ill person, it is often not an option to move to one of these states to execute the right to die since the law has strict residency requirements, including state Driver License, filed state tax returns, lease or property ownership documentation (“Public Health’s Role”). Thus, the persons, being weak physically and mentally are forced medical care to prolong their lives by reducing the quality of them without any hope for recovery. Unmanageable health care costs become a burden on the family members and loved ones of the patients. Terminally ill patients should have a choice to die on their own terms to avoid further unbearable pain, to prevent the demolition of the quality of their lives, and to stop the sufferings of their loved ones.

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.

“With the right safeguards in place assisted suicide can help terminally ill patients a semblance over their lives as disease, disability, medical machine tries to wrest them away from them” (www.nytimes.com). In other words, assisted suicide should be legal overall. Assisted suicide is an act of taking someone’s life on their own terms. So far, the right of passage is legal in six states which are Oregon, Colorado, Vermont, Washington, California, and Montana. The death laws are based off of Death with Dignity Act Organization, which help provide the proper safeguards to perform the act. In general, the act of assisted suicide should be legal.

Since the fifteen century, society has viewed suicide or intentional death as immoral. It was not until the twentieth century that these “immoral” attitudes were challenged. As of 2016, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Colombia have unambiguously legalized direct assisted dying. Other areas, having to undergo a process of either a judicial or legislative decision, include Canada, Japan, and Germany. Currently in the United States, following the same process of a judicial or legislative processes, are the states Oregon, Washington, Vermont, Montana, and California.

The right to die have been a controversial topic. When some people like Brittany believe it is their right to end their live when facing a terminal ill disease, others like religious believe only God have the right to end someone life. What is the purpose of prolong grieving period of families, the financial cost for medical terminal stage, the prolong unbearable pain and suffering if knowing the person will die no matter what. Terminal ill patients should have the right to euthanasia.

Although death is common, it seems to be a hard topic for people to discuss, especially when someone chooses death over life. Assisted suicide is the act of getting the help of a medical professional, through medication, in order to end a person’s life. Because people believe that their life is not worth living, people with a terminal illness, the elderly, and the disabled may request an assisted suicide. (IP) In James J. Werth Jr.’s novel, Rational Suicide? Implications for Mental Health Professionals,  he “asserts that people should be allowed to commit suicide if they have a “hopeless condition,” which he also defines as including, but not necessarily limited to, terminal illness, severe physical and/or psychological pain, physically or mentally debilitating and/or deteriorating conditions, or quality of life no longer acceptable to the individual” (Smith, 2000, p. 2).  One may use assisted suicide as a tool if they have a “hopeless condition”, but not all states legally allow it. (CC) “Medically assisted dying is legal in the U.S. states of Oregon, Washington, Vermont, and Montana” (Thompson, 2014, p. 6). However, the updated list now includes Colorado, Washington D.C and California. California seems to be a huge advocate

Laws that protect the rights of the terminally ill and offer assisted dying are already in place in some states in America and other countries around the world. Places in the United States where assisted dying is legal include Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and soon to be

Assisted Suicide or Voluntary Euthanasia is when a patient with a terminal illness request to end their life by taking a lethal injection or a prescribed medication with the help of a medical professional. In the United States each state has the choice on whether or not it is illegal to perform the task of assisted suicide. Out of all fifty states there are only five with a legal method for assisted suicide. In Vermont, Washington, California and Oregon it is mandated by state law and In Montana it is by court order (CNN). Assisted suicide is legal in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg and

What is the right to die, euthanasia or physician assisted suicide? Is there a difference? Should a patient be left to suffer and die? Is there a difference? There is no difference because whether it’s a merciful death, assisted death, natural or artificial death, the patient will eventually die. However, the right to die a much faster and painless death with dignity is wiser. The Improvements in medical technologies enable individuals to delay the inevitable fate of death, but there are patients within the United States who technology cannot delay their fate of death, such patients, terminally patients. These patients should have the right to choose death over life to end their intractable pain, but with dignity. Death with dignity has been

The way that Euthanasia works is that it is, “performed by the attending physician administering a fatal dose of a suitable drug to the patient on his or her express request.” (Euthanasia) The word Euthanasia derives from the Greek words, Eu (good) and Thanatosis (death), it means “Good Death” or “Gentle and Easy Death”. The earliest recordings of the use of the word was by Suetonius, a Roman historian, in his De Vita Caesarum - Divus Augustus in order to describe the death of Augustus. Despite this the first use in a medical context was used by Francis Bacon within the 17th century, as a reference to an easy, painless, and happy death. During which it was a “physician’s responsibility to alleviate the physical sufferings of the body”. (life.org) Euthanasia is a rejection of the importance and value of human life. With euthanasia no one’s life is being saved – life is only taken.

Over the years assisted suicide has become more and more popular. Debates have happened, and laws have been made, but the United States have never com into an agreement on whether or not assisted suicide should be allowed. An article about euthanasia stated the US Supreme Court upheld laws forbidding physician-assisted suicide, but let the door open for states to pass legislation permitting the practice” (Euthanasia). Since the United States Supreme Court did not not make up their mind, states now have the right to

Euthanasia is the practice of ending an individual's life in order to relieve them from an incurable disease or unbearable suffering. The term euthanasia is derived from the Greek word for "good death" and originally referred to as “intentional killing” ( Patelarou, Vardavas, Fioraki, Alegakis, Dafermou, & Ntzilepi, 2009). Euthanasia is a controversial topic which has raised a great deal of debate globally. Although euthanasia has received great exposure in the professional media, there are some sticky points that lack clarity and need to be addressed. Euthanasia is a divisive topic, and different interpretations of its meaning, depend on whether the person supports it or not. While a few societies have accepted euthanasia, there are