Legalization Of Assisted Suicide And Euthanasia
The word euthanasia has been around since the 17th century. The term was first used in a medical context by Francis Bacon to refer to an easy, painless, happy death, during which it was the responsibility of the physician to relieve the patient from physical suffering. Euthanasia and assisted suicide has always been a ‘hot topic’ in the medical world, “Is it ethical to contribute to your patients’ suicide?” Today, many doctors would rather not get involved because it violates the classic Hippocratic oath which states “I will not give a lethal drug to anyone if I am asked, nor will I advise such a plan..” Euthanasia is almost always related to the infamous Jack ‘Doctor death’ Kevorkian who was an advocate for ‘assisted suicide’ in the 1990s. He claimes to have helped about “130 people commit suicide” according to Kate Pickert from Time. He spent years in prison for his efforts in creating a suicide machine which was to help those who no longer wanted to live due to medical conditions.While this movement seems to be recent, it has dated back to 1938.
In 1938 the Euthanasia Society of America or ESA was founded in New york. Their goal was to gain social acceptance for the “right” to die. Only a year after the society was founded they made their first attempt to legalize it by proposing the idea of “voluntary’ euthanasia, however, the Patients Rights Council states that the ESA “hoped eventually to legalize the putting to death of non-volunteers beyond the help of medical science.” this only gave the movement a bad reputation that resulted in them changing their name countless times.
While the movement seemed to have come to an end, it was really just getting started, many started their own campaigns and other organizations rose. They gained so much recognition that in 1994, after the conference in San Fransico, held by Death with dignity, Oregon finally approved the Death with Dignity Act, making them the first and only state to transform the crime of assisted suicide into a medical procedure.Other states should follow in Oregon’s footsteps and allow patients to end their suffering by participating in assisted suicide free of consequences.
In today’s world, there is a large amount of different treatments, medication, and even procedures that can cure the ill , but not every disease has this. For example cancer, while there are many different treatments for it there is still no cure and no guarantee that the cancer is 100% gone. Patients with diseases and illnesses like these are tired of the various forms of rigorous treatments that they must undergo. Many of these patients even state “I don’t have any control over my illness, might as well control how I die”. According to Andrew Solomon ,professor from Columbia University, he states that “because of modern medicine it not only prolongs the living but the dying as well, we must rethink death itself. Making someone die in a way that others approve but that he feels is anathema is an odious form of tyranny”.
These patients should have the right to choose how they leave this world, especially in a country where we are given the right to deny a medical procedure, and given the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Refusing to let someone exercise their right to happiness is a form of oppression which has been looked down upon in recent years. The USA claims that they are for the people, yet patients are often found feeling alone and not in control of their own lives.
On the other hand, many compare the idea of a patient wanting a physician assisted suicide with being “suicidal”. This however is not the case at all. Being suicidal has to do with various forms of depression and personal disintegration ( Solomon) whereas this is about a physical disintegration. An assisted suicide has much more meaning to it, it is about a whole new level of confidence that is reached by the patient when they decide that they no longer want to live when they are already dying(Solomon). Professor Solomon clearly distinguishes the difference between someone being suicidal and someone who isn't and it is clear that most patients just want to feel “in control” of their own lives and subsequently their own death as well.
Many claim that it is the doctors duty to help patients and their reasoning is the Hippocratic oath that they must take before becoming a professional, but the oath has changed over time due to changing viewpoints. People fighting for abortion and other movements have changed the oath. A doctor's duty IS to help patients but as everyone knows, everyone has different types of needs and therefore have different definitions of being ‘helped’. “You're supposed to cure, you're supposed to help this person, my answer to that is some people need help dying.” is what Robert Olvera, a retired family doctor, states. Keeping someone alive when they don't want to can sometimes do more harm than good. Isn't this the opposite of ‘helping’? A good doctor should know what a patient needs but the society and the law must be on their side. A doctor cannot do their job to the fullest extent if they are worried about the consequences such as jail time and this , unfortunately, affects the patient as well.
Since the passing of the Die with Dignity act in Oregon, there has been an increase of people not only supporting it , but patients also ‘participating’ which shows that it is something the people needed.
The graph shows that in Oregon, with every passing year there are more and more people who have chosen to die with ‘dignity’. The trend of the graph is increasing for both deaths and prescription recipients, which are those who decide to take lethal, but non-painful, drugs to speed up the process. As said before, the DWDA is something that many patients are taking advantage of.
Another opposing viewpoint to assisted suicide and euthanasia is when the patient is in a vegetative state or incapable of taking care of themselves like the elderly. Some worry that If the “right to death” is legalized in the USA as a whole then they will be an increase in the elderly dying. This could be due to the family not wanting to watch or be responsible for those who are incapable of taking care of themselves. This is by far one of the biggest reasons why assisted sucide is so controversial behind religion. Especially when it comes to the elderly due to such high numbers of elderly abuse. The concern is the risk of people taking advantage of the act by claiming the death as assisted suicide.
However , there are measures that must be taken before approval. The families must prove that the patient themselves want to end their life. Another question that this raises is ‘how?’. Well there is a process that the family must undergo which is very long and often when a family member is in a vegetative state it is hard to prove that the patient wants to end their life. In California, there are certain requirements that have to be met in order to be eligible. These requirements are: 18 years of age, a resident of California, capable of making and communicating health care decisions for themselves, diagnosed with a terminal illness that will lead to death within six months, and physically and mentally capable of self-administering the aid-in-dying drug.
After this there are more steps that have to be taken in order to be approved, this includes proof and physician protocol that also has to be done in order for the physician to conclude that the patient is mentally stable and their judgment is not impaired. In only one state out of nine who legalized assisted suicide requires a court hearing in order to grant them the right. As you can see there are measures and steps that are taken in order to ensure that the request is truly for an assisted suicide due to an illness and not anything else.
Assisted suicide should be legalized in order to give the control back to the patients. Being under control is something that not many people enjoy. These patients and families should have the ability to take charge of their own life just like everyone else. Not only that but it would be unethical as a doctor to keep the patient suffering when what they desire most is to end the pain not only for themselves but for their families as well. While some see it as a potential disaster, others see it as a new form of life where they can take back control and die on their own terms. The doctors job is to help the patient and sometimes it means help them die. No one wants to live their life in misery and suffering, so why should they. Assited suicide should be legallized nationwide to show these patients that the people are on their side. Times are changing, which is why the Hippocratic oath was changed as well. Why not open up our minds with this topic too and help those who need help in a more useful way that just long treatments and medication.
