Assisted Suicide, Thesis Paper Example

Life is the most precious gift we get and we get it only once. Thus, it is not a surprise that the topic of assisted suicide draws passionate debate on both sides of the issue. We even have certain inalienable rights such as liberty and the freedom of speech in the West so that everyone is able to experience the true beauty of life and not surprisingly, these rights are also gaining traction in developing countries. While life is a beautiful thing, it is not always fair and sometimes the circumstances are so extreme that life becomes a curse rather than blessing as is usually the case with those facing terminal illness or who may be in a vegetative state. The critics of assisted suicide oppose it under any circumstances but assisted suicide should be made legal under certain circumstances because it benefits the individual under question, his/her family, and sometimes even the state.

The opponents of assisted suicide often cite their religious beliefs as one of the major reasons for their opposition. They claim that life is given by god and only god has the reason to take away life. The Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith declared on 5^th May 1980 that euthanasia violates the laws of God, offends individual dignity, and is a crime against humanity (Religion Facts). But the opponents forget that the U.S. constitution has drawn a clear line between church and state which means citizens have the freedom to follow their religious beliefs but they can’t expect their beliefs to become the law of the land.  In fact, public surveys show that most people are in favor of assisted suicide under extreme circumstances. A poll by Pew Research Center found that 70 percent of the respondents were in favor of assisted suicide under certain circumstances while only 22 percent opposed it. In addition, 74 percent stated that a family member or guardian should have the right to make the decision regarding assisted suicide if the patient is unable to make decisions (Pew Research Center). Thus, it is clear that most of the Americans support assisted suicide because they realize that certain circumstances only result in undue hardship on both the patient and their guardians.

Most of us know we desire to be independent and self-reliant as adults. This is because not being able to take care of oneself as an adult doesn’t only hurt personal ego but also carries social stigma. Those who come from families with limited economic means also seek financial independence so that they can get rid of the guilt of being a burden upon their families. Terminal ill people or those who may be in a vegetative state are not only unable to financially support themselves but may even require constant care for day-to-day tasks. Moreover, most of them have very little probability of recovering or getting back to their normal daily routine which only adds to their mental anguish. The inability to enjoy even basic activities that are taken for granted by us, only adds to their depression. The circumstances of such individuals could be exemplified through the life of Dan Crews who has pleaded for his ventilator to be removed because his condition has not only negatively affected his own life but has also proven to be a financial disaster for his family. His $6 million settlement has almost run out and now his home was in foreclosure as of April 2011 (Black). Crews’ life also reminds of the double standard of the society which has not granted his desire to be taken off the life support yet has also failed to ensure that Crews is taken care of financially for as long as he is alive since he cannot work nor will ever be able to.

Assisted suicide should also be made legal because it will not only reduce the sufferings of the patients and their guardians and economically benefit them but will also lower the financial burden on the state healthcare system. U.S. healthcare system compensates people with disabilities to some extent for loss of income and medical treatments and the healthcare costs for terminally ill or vegetative patients can be quite enormous. In fact, the support for assisted suicide has been growing even stronger and proposals have been introduced in at least six states. The proponents of assisted suicide are also aware of the fact that population is aging and the problem will only grow in magnitude over time. Two states Oregon and Washington already have right-to-die laws (Haigh).

Phillip J. Miller at the University of Tennessee at Martin presented a very persuasive argument for giving patients the right-to-die. Miller argued that government has no business in deciding what’s good or bad for us through the analogy of junk food. Miller also said that every person has the right to a dignified life and reminded us that patients in vegetative states would die earlier if it were not for the technology (Miller). The medical profession has a fiduciary duty to maximize the wellbeing of the patients and if there is no hope or possibility of cure or recovery, then the patients’ well being may actually be ensured by minimizing their sufferings.

The opponents of assisted suicide offer several arguments to support their position. First of all, they claim that it is immoral to assist someone with suicide under any circumstances because life is only given once. They also argue that legalizing assisted suicide will only result in the misuse of the privilege. They also claim that the job of the medical profession is to make people live long and not short (Pretzer). Those who claim that assisted suicide is immoral often base the claim on their religious beliefs and while they have the right to follow what they believe, they do not have the right to impose their beliefs on those who may disagree with them. Assisted suicide is a voluntary privilege and not a forced one. The critics argue that the privilege of assisted suicide will be misused and their concerns are right but the potential of misuse is not an excuse to oppose the law. The goal instead should be design the law in such a way that it minimizes the potential misuse. In fact, states like Oregon and Washington took several measures to discourage misuse before passing the assisted suicide law. Washington State’s law placed several conditions some of which are given below (Marczynski):

• Patient must have been diagnosed with a condition that will cause death within six months, be mentally and emotionally sound, and can take pills without aid
• Two oral and one written request be made to the physician
• Two witnesses for written request at least one of which is not related to the patient, doesn’t financially gain from patient’s death, and doesn’t work in the facility where the patient receives care
• Waiting period of at least fifteen days between oral requests
• Confirmation from two doctors and the primary doctor should offer the patient a final chance to reconsider

The above mentioned steps already have the potential to significantly minimize the potential misuse and as is common with most laws, experience over time will help states further improve the assisted suicide legislation.

It is a surprise that U.S. has made such a little progress in the area of assisted suicide when other developed nations like U.K. have the law in place for quite a long time. U.K. passed its assisted suicide law in 1961 or more than half a century ago. Thus, countries like U.K. can serve as a model for the U.S. In fact, a survey in the U.K. revealed that 86 percent of the public supports assisted suicide laws (The Week UK). This means the system has worked well in the U.K. and there is no reason it should not work well in the U.S. which also has the advantage of learning from other countries’ mistakes, enabling it to get things right from the start.

As already noted, care of terminally ill and/or vegetative patients requires huge financial resources which could financially destroy entire families. If there is no hope of the patient ever recovering, a logical approach may be to at least protect the families since healthcare system doesn’t guarantee financial support to patients till the last breathe of their lives. Dan Crews serves as a bitter example since he had been fighting for right to death for several years and hoped that the leftover funds may secure his family’s financial future but denial of right did little to improve his condition and only led to total financial collapse of his family by 2011 (Ghose).

Assisted suicide continues to be a controversial issue in America and unfortunately little progress has been made as opposed to other developed countries like U.K. The opposition to assisted suicide is mainly influenced by religious beliefs. The critics also argue that the law will be misused but Oregon and Washington State already have passed laws with several build-in features to prevent such misuse. Assisted suicide laws should be passed in every state because they will improve the well-being of patients, their guardians, and even the whole society.

References

Black, Lisa. As life closes in, Antioch man seeks to end it. 12 April 2011. 12 February 2013 <http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-04-12/news/ct-met-paralyzed-man-foreclosure-20110411_1_nursing-home-nursing-agency-antioch-man>.

Ghose, Tia. Paralyzed accident victim fights for right to die. 28 November 2010. 12 February 2013 <http://www.jsonline.com/features/health/110948384.html>.

Haigh, Susan. Assisted suicide on legal agenda in several states. 9 February 2013. 12 February 2013 <http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/08/16901034-assisted-suicide-on-legal-agenda-in-several-states?lite>.

Marczynski, Evan. Death with Dignity Act may face amendment. 7 July 2011. 12 February 2013 <http://westernfrontonline.net/news/13629-death-with-dignity-act-may-face-amendment>.

Miller, Phillip J. “Death with dignity and the right to die:.” Journal of Medical Ethics 1987: 81-85.

Pew Research Center. Strong Public Support for Right to Die. 5 January 2006. 12 February 2013 <http://www.people-press.org/2006/01/05/strong-public-support-for-right-to-die/>.

Pretzer, Michael. Assisted suicide: Should it be legal. 25 January 2000. 12 February 2013 <http://articles.cnn.com/2000-01-25/health/assisted.suicide.wmd_1_physicianassisted-suicide-terminally-ill-patients-deadly-drug?_s=PM:HEALTH>.

Religion Facts. Euthanasia and Christianity: Christian Views of Euthanasia and Suicide. 12 February 2013 <http://www.religionfacts.com/euthanasia/christianity.htm>.

The Week UK. Pros and cons of assisted suicide. 23 September 2009. 12 February 2013 <http://www.theweek.co.uk/politics/25333/pros-and-cons-assisted-suicide>.