Why Do People Have The Right To Choose Death?

Humans should not be forced to live against their will when they are suffering from an incurable illness that will lead to an undignified or painful death. Doctors have enough knowledge and experience to know when a person is close to the end with no hope for a cure. It should be their legal right to choose to end their life in a humane way, instead of waiting for death knowing that it’s not going to be peaceful. It’s common practice to put an animal down to end its suffering, yet that same kindness is being denied to human beings who would choose it for themselves.

Physician-assisted suicide needs to be recognized by the federal government to show terminally ill patients that their right to autonomy is not being ignored. The Bill of Rights of Patients was constructed to outline just this. According to the American Cancer Society, “the American Hospital Association drafted a Patients’ Bill of Rights to inform patients of what they could reasonably expect while in the hospital.” One of the notes stated in the Bill of Rights of Patients is the right to autonomy. The right to autonomy specifically states that “patients have the right and ability to make their own choices and decisions about [the] medical care and treatment that they receive” (US Legal). If this right to autonomy is ignored what rights do terminally ill patients have? The answer is little to none. Physician-assisted suicide and the right to autonomy go hand in hand. The more knowledge that people have, the greater their ability to make educated and insightful decisions about the medical choices that are accessible to them and their families. Physician- assisted suicide should be like any other treatment someone can ask for, and the right to autonomy protects this doctor-patient agreement.

According to the Fourteenth Amendment of The Constitution of The United States, the State cannot deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law; nor deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. Indeed, a terminally ill patient has the Constitutional right to decide whether right or not to end his or her life. “Supporters of legislation legalizing assisted suicide claim that all persons have a moral right to choose freely what they will do with their lives as long as they inflict no harm on others. This right of free choice includes the right to end one 's life when we choose” (A Right or a Wrong?). People have the right to die with dignity and in a humane way. If they feel like they have to do a certain thing, it is

Should terminally ill people be allowed to decide rather or not they want to live in constant pain and suffering? “Physician-assisted death is defined as the physician providing the means for death, most often with a prescription. The patient not the physician will ultimately administer the lethal medication” (Braddock & Tonelli, 1998) To better explain physician-assisted suicide, a situation in which a patient kills him-or herself, using means which have been supplied by the physician, with the physician being aware that the patient will use those means for the purposes of suicide. Physicians are trained to heal the sick, care for the injured, and cure diseases. However, medical school does not prepare them when they cannot cure

Choosing the Physician Assisted Death is a basic right to terminally-ill, it’s an autonomy for dying, and it’s a way to end their misery as well as end the sorrow and grief of their

We as U.S. citizens have a right to make an informed decision about how we should end our own life if we are diagnosed with a terminal illness. Currently, SB 128 “establishes the End of Life Option Act allowing an adult with the capacity to make medical decisions who has been diagnosed with a terminal disease, to receive a prescription for an aid-in-dying drug in order to end his or her life in a human and dignified manner” (Senate Bill 128, 2015, p. 2). End of Life Option Act is consistent with the social work values because this act is about self-determination, which is the primary goal of a social worker and this act is giving every one a fair and equal chance to decide their own fate in a human and dignified way.

It’s one’s right to decide what happens to their body. Deciding one wants to end their life because they’re terminally ill and in pain should be permissible. It's no worse than a cancer patient refusing treatment, or a person being taken off life support. In fact, it might be better for people to be able to access physician assisted suicide as those suffering with chronic pain and no hope for a better future will be able to choose to die painlessly and with much more dignity. When the government refuses patient’s physician assisted suicide, people do at times decide to take matters into their own hands and attempt to end their own lives. This can go wrong and cause the patient to be in even more pain. This only includes those who are mobile enough to attempt suicide as well. The law against physician assisted suicide can also drive loved ones to end the patient’s suffering: so they no longer have to see them live in agony and misery. This causes many issues as the loved one may go to jail, or deal with psychological guilt for the rest of their lives. It seems better to allow people the ability to access physician assisted suicide as it’s no different than when one refuses treatment which is only prolonging

“The right of a competent, terminally ill person to avoid excruciating pain and embrace a timely and dignified death bears the sanction of history and is implicit in the concept of ordered liberty. The exercise of this right is as central to personal autonomy and bodily integrity as rights safeguarded by this Court's decisions relating to marriage, family relationships, procreation, contraception, child rearing and the refusal or termination of life-saving medical treatment.” (ACLU, 1) This right has nothing to do with just someone being able to kill themselves for no reason. This law enables the people/patients in the certain states to have another option in their end-of-life care versus just dealing with the pain and living the rest of their lives on medication that doesn’t help. In the law, it states that this is similar to laws regarding marriage and the refusal or termination of life-saving treatments such as a Do Not Resuscitate order(DNR). Just like the DNR, the assisted suicide is the patient’s choice to start the

In 1776, our forefathers signed the Declaration of Independence, guaranteeing life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This brings up the question, if you have the right to life, do you have the right to death? After all, it is your life and no one else’s, right? This is the question at the very center of the controversial debate on the legalization of physician assisted suicide in the United States. Anti-physician assisted suicide groups often argue that no individual truly wants to end their life. However, that statement does not ring true to those who would actually utilize physician assisted suicide- terminally ill patients. Imagine being diagnosed with a terminal disease, followed by months and sometimes years of treatment that brings insufferable side effects due to countless medicines, drugs and surgeries only to be told that you have a minimal chance of survival and will have to undergo treatment for the rest of your life. This is the bleak reality for many who are terminally ill. A compassionate individual would conclude that it is not fair for patients to be forced to live this kind of life or lack thereof, if they do not wish to do so. Physician assisted suicide should be a legal option to competent, terminally ill patients in the United States in order to end their suffering, reduce the damaging financial effects of hospital costs on their loved ones and families and to preserve the individual right of people to determine their

There has been an ongoing debate about whether or not if a terminally ill individual should be able to have the option to take their life. The process is called physician assisted suicide. This process is different from euthanasia because with physician assisted suicide is the patient’s decision. Euthanasia is a decision made by the doctors. Physician assisted suicide should not be a legal option for terminally ill patients. according to an article in the NPR journal called “Debate: Should Physician-Assisted Suicide Be Legal?” A concession to this argument would be that since mentally ill people are suffering and doctors believe that since they have no chance of survival, they have the right to

The terminally ill should have the right to doctor assisted suicide since every person has the right to personal control over his or her body. Every individual has personal morals. No one wants to suffer while others, especially family, can do nothing but simply watch them perish. Everyone has the right to a peaceful death. A woman, carrying an unborn baby, has the choice to keep the baby or abort it. We give women the right to murder innocent, unborn babies who have never even seen the world, therefore, terminally ill people

Terminally ill patients are able to make the decision to take their lives because they believe it is the best decision for them to make. However most patients do not have the mental strength to support the decisions they are making. It is true that terminally ill patients understand what is best for them. especially considering they are in pain and want relief. However because they have a disability should not be allowed to make these decisions. Dr. Leon Kass who was a medical doctor explains, “…physician-assisted suicide ‘is, in fact, the state’s abdication of its duty to protect innocent life and its abandonment especially of the old, the weak, and the poor’” (Anderson). This shows how it is our duty to protect the absent minds of those who

The right to die is a topic that will always be controversal. We as people do not get to dictate whether or not others feel as if they have served their purpose on this earth. People should be able to manage their lives and a say in what happens to their bodies. Having this alternative to people who are suffering can help lead to a more serene death. As well as empowering people with the personhood they deserve and rightfully earn when they are born as women and children or the earth and god.

Should death be a choice? Google defines Euthanasia as “The painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma.” Euthanasia is illegal in most places of the world. It is a topic a lot of people disagree on, but I personally believe it should be legalized all over the world.

As American citizens, we are protected by individual liberties and the Bill of Rights. The purpose of the Bill of Rights is simple; it is to ensure that the American citizens are guaranteed a substantial number of personal freedoms. What if a person’s dying wish was to die on his or her own terms? Dying on peoples own terms, seems like it would be a constitutional freedom, but sadly, it is not. Image a loved one, a friend, or a family member struck with immeasurable pain faced with a terminal and intolerable illness. This patient would have to go through agonizing pain to fight a battle they cannot win, for the disease has already won. When faced with pain and death, neither the government, nor doctors should have a say other than the patients themselves when choosing to end their life. The decision or ‘the Right To Die’ is solely for that person to make. The decision to end one’s life should be a personal freedom.