Youkhana 1 Zachary Youkhana Mrs.

Fisher English 10 April 19, 2013 Assisted Suicide Is Moral and Just Imagine being in the position of a terminally-ill patient, where, as you await death, you are presented with the choice to continue fighting for life or to allow your doctor to assist you in death. Many legislators believe that if a doctor was to help a suffering patient with no hope in their death, they would be violating the Hippocratic Oath they take to become doctors. Others argue that a doctor would be improving the quality of life of his/her patient, which is the doctor's primary function. Although many people believe physician-assisted suicide is unethical, it should become a legal medical practice because it spares patients and their families weeks or months of suffering and waiting, and every individual should have the right to die ; therefore, physicianassisted suicide should be legalized with necessary safe-guards in place in order to ensure a patient is suffering and truly desires death before a physician assists them in dying. Assisted suicide is the practice of doctors assisting terminally ill patients, those who are suffering and are sure to die, in a dignified death. The issue of whether or not a terminally ill individual has the right to die has been troubling politicians for decades. The debate is now more intense than ever before with modern technology that can prolong a patient's life for an extensive period of time, such as respirators and life support machines that mechanically breathe and feed the patient, leading to what is described as "artificial nutrition and hydration" (Wolf). Many people, most notably priests and other members of the Catholic community, believe that all human life is sacred. This belief is called the Sanctity of Life Mentality, Deacon Doug McManaman says that this mentality "regards individual human life as holy, sacred, and of

Youkhana 2 immeasurable value." Others are more keen to believe in the Quality of Life Mentality, which states that a dying patient's will and comfort should dictate the course of medical action taken. Many experts opposed to assisted suicide also believe "that, if doctors were allowed to withhold or withdraw life support, we would immediately find ourselves on a slippery slope...Hospitals would become cruel and dehumanized places. Patients would come to think of their doctors as executioners"(Schafer). Although many experts believed that this would be the case, in 1992 "Nancy B., a 25 year-old quadriplegic, told a Quebec Superior Court Judge :'I am fed up with living on a respirator. It's no longer a life'... This case helped establish that, in Canada, a competent adult has the right to refuse life-prolonging treatment"(Schafer). This court case was highly controversial, but it comes to show that many nations, Canada in particular, are beginning to accept that their terminally patients need to have a choice. Arthur Schafer also says that since this case took place, "what happened was exactly the opposite of what was predicted by naysayers" and that patients are being better respected. Due to surmounting evidence, assisted suicide should become legalized with the implementation of proper safeguards to be sure that the treatment a patient receives is what the patient requested. Many of those opposed to the Quality of Life Mentality believe that it "does not see individual human life as holy, sacred, and of immeasurable value, but actually places a value on individual human life..., as we would place a price on a product" (McManaman). Many also claim that a doctor's primary purpose is to heal, not to assist patients in their demise. Some who oppose assisted suicide do not even do so because they believe it to be morally wrong, but due to "the slippery slope argument," which contends "that legalizing euthanasia for the terminally ill will eventually lead to involuntary euthanasia" ("Preface"). This same researcher also claims that there is evidence supporting this argument to be seen in the Netherlands, one of the few countries

Youkhana 3 internationally in which assisted suicide is legal, and states that " in that nation nonvoluntary [sic] and involuntary euthanasia do at times occur, a prime illustration of the dangers of legalization"("Preface"). Involuntary euthanasia is used to refer to a situation in which a patient did not request death, but was murdered by their doctor instead. This fact often frightens people into believing assisted suicide should not be legalized. This, however, should not be the case. There is sufficient proof that with proper security measures, involuntary euthanasia can be eradicated. In Oregon, the only state in which assisted suicide is legal and proper safeguards are practiced, assisted suicide is very well monitored. Carrie Snyder says that Oregon acts "as a perfect example of how the practice can be contained" and that "lawmakers made the Death with Dignity Act virtually foolproof." It is also wrong for people to argue against assisted suicide on the grounds that it does not treat life as sacred. For life to truly be valued the way that it should be, each person's own rights and choices should be respected. A person is not being treated with dignity if his or her last and final wish is not respected. While it is expected for many to find assisted suicide unethical at first glance, they need to take into consideration the amount of good it can do for terminally ill patients and their families. It is entirely unjust to not respect a person's final wish to die with their dignity intact by forcing him or her to live artificially through the use of modern technology. Susan Wolf writes of her father, whom she describes as having been a strong opponent of assisted suicide for his whole life, as wishing that he could have made the decision to end his life and "accelerate" his death while he was on "artificial nutrition and hydration." This example shows people how difficult it must be to live as a terminally ill patient, and that Society should not try to make these difficult decisions for them. This is one reason why the option for terminally ill patients to end their lives without pain must be there when they need it. Another author states the motivation for

Youkhana 4 his push for the legalization of assisted suicide is the fact that "it is a humane impulse of kindness, based on the realisation that we are gentler to our pets than to our fellow humans in facilitating an ultimate release from suffering when it is needed" (Grayling). It is unfathomable and wholly unreasonable for society to pardon animals from extraordinary suffering while they approach death, but not grant the same right to their loved ones. Many criticize these ideas due to the belief that life is far too sacred for one to end intentionally. This argument does not work, because in the words of the same expert, "To believe that mere length of existence, however unbearable and painful, trumps the kindness of granting someone's request for help to end their suffering easily and quickly, is to have one's priorities utterly wrong" (Grayling). This explains that the success of doctors' treatments should be based upon how much it allows the patient to feel better, and not by how long artificial life can be sustained. This "artificial" living, may be entirely against a patient's will in the first place, which must take priority above all else. Modern Society has come to recognize that individual liberties are the most important freedoms its citizens must be given, therefore, it must be an individual's right to die. It is both illogical and inhumane to eliminate this right from human beings suffering horribly at the end of their lives. A.C. Grayling, a British philosopher and founder of a private London college, writes that more than 80 per cent of the public want physician-assisted suicide to be available to them as an option if they should find themselves in circumstances where their lives have become unbearable without hope of remedy. Even though this statistic represents the British population, many reforms and movements within the West have began in Britain, such as the abolitionist movement. Grayling continues to say that assisted suicide is "a release from suffering that the sufferers themselves earnestly desire and request; refusing them denies their autonomy, and is at least unkind and at worst cruel." This is a clear message of how comforting a sense of autonomy

Youkhana 5 can be for someone who feels like they have no control over his or her life. It should also be noted that in the United States, it is no longer a felony to commit or to attempt to commit suicide. One researcher sums up this fact by stating that the reality "that suicide or attempted suicide is no longer a criminal offense in virtually all states indicates an acceptance of individual selfdetermination in the taking of one's own life " (Brock). This proves that Society believes that suicidal people should not be punished, but helped, and the only way to help a terminally ill patient is to pardon them from their suffering. Many people may object to these ideas on the grounds that, if society were to allow terminally ill individuals to end their lives, that the offer might extend to people with curable diseases or even no disease at all. These people also claim that it becomes harder to monitor whether a terminally ill patient can rationally determine the proper choice. This reasoning is quite flawed because no one other than terminally ill patients know what it feels like to be terminally ill, therefore, they are best-suited to know what decision to make for themselves. There is also evidence in Oregon, a state in which assisted suicide has been legal since 1994, that " aid-in-dying laws can, and do, work well" through the use of "tightly controlled procedures" (Tucker). This is substantial evidence that assisted suicide can be legalized without major repercussions if implemented strictly and with proper safety measures. With that being said, it is just as important to be able to enforce the proper practice of euthanasia within hospitals as having the right of assisted suicide for terminally-ill patients. The greatest fear of the legalization of euthanasia is that it will eventually be preferred by doctors and patients for economical reasons and that it will become "much more difficult to limit the practice to only these patients" ("Preface").This is a logical fear, but as long as it is addressed and proper precautions are taken, it should not be a major problem. Oregon's successful experience with assisted suicide "has demonstrated that a carefully drafted law does not place patients at risk"

Youkhana 6 (Tucker). Some of the important methods being used to regulate euthanasia in Oregon require that the doctor "among other things, determine that the patient is mentally competent and an Oregon resident, and confirm the patient's diagnosis and prognosis" (Tucker). Another important procedure to have in place is requiring that a patient be diagnosed by two doctors with a terminal illness with only six months or less to live, and only then prescribing a lethal dosage to the patient which must be administered by the patient himself or herself to ensure their consent (Smith). These measures help ensure that a patient's choice is unbiased and that he or she truly wishes for death. Another measure that should be taken is requiring the presence of at least one family member representing the patient to testify that the suicide was carried out in a proper manner. Following such measures will allow society to guarantee that euthanasia will be properly practiced and that terminally-ill patients can end their suffering in a dignified way. It is very clear that terminally-ill patients need to have the option of assisted suicide should their pain ever become too unbearable. Even though many believe that it is immoral for a doctor to help his or her patient die, it is illogical to put faith in such an argument. It is also clearly more ethical for a doctor to help patients die with dignity, rather than trying to keep them alive for as long as possible whatever the cost may be for the patient. It is also, without doubt, the right of any suffering individual facing sure death to choose a more dignified death and a humane end to their suffering. Society needs to show more compassion for terminally ill patients who face excruciating pain and allow this option for the few who wish for it to be granted (Grayling). Nobody can predict how it would feel to withstand a terminal illness, but what is known is that people should have the decency to treat terminally ill patients with the compassion they would expect in such a situation.

Youkhana 7 Works Cited Brock, Dan W. "Voluntary active euthanasia." The Hastings Center Report Mar.-Apr. 1992: 10+. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 16 Apr. 2013. Grayling, A. C. "It Is Compassionate to Permit Assisted Suicide." Assisted Suicide. Ed. Nol Merino. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Current Controversies. Rpt. from "Allowing People to Arrange Their Death Is a Simple Act of Kindness." Times 31 Mar. 2009. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 16 Apr. 2013. McManaman, Doug. "Active Euthanasia Is Never Morally Justified." Assisted Suicide. Ed. Nol Merino. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Current Controversies. Rpt. from "Euthanasia and the Sanctity of Life." Catholic Insight (Mar. 2010): 24-25. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 16 Apr. 2013. "Preface to 'Would Legalizing Voluntary Euthanasia Lead to Abuses?'." Euthanasia. Ed. Carrie Snyder. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2006. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 16 Apr. 2013. Schafer, Arthur. "The Legalization of Assisted Suicide Does Not Lead to a Slippery Slope." Assisted Suicide. Ed. Nol Merino. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Current Controversies. Rpt. from "The Great Canadian Euthanasia Debate." Globe & Mail 6 Nov. 2009. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 16 Apr. 2013. Smith, Michael. "There Is No Evidence of a Slippery Slope with Right-to-Die Laws." The Right to Die. Ed. John Woodward. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2006. At Issue. Rpt. from "No 'Slippery Slope' Found with Physician Assisted Suicide." MedPage Today. 2009. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 16 Apr. 2013.

Youkhana 8 Tucker, Kathryn L. "Assisted Suicide Works Well in Oregon." Assisted Suicide. Ed. Nol Merino. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Current Controversies. Rpt. from "In the Laboratory of the States: The Progress of Glucksberg's Invitation to States to Address End-of-Life Choice." Michigan Law Review 106.8 (June 2009): 1593-1611. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 16 Apr. 2013. Wolf, Susan M. "Confronting physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia: my father's death." The Hastings Center Report Sept.-Oct. 2008: 23+. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 16 Apr. 2013.