Assisted Suicide Research Paper Samples

This is a critical debate among physicians and common mass that should a patient be allowed to end his/her life to get rid of severe health issues. This term is often mixed with the term physician-assisted suicide (PAS). However, the later one is somehow considered legal in some states of the World. The purpose behind this law is to provide hopeless and ill people to end their life more comfortably with the help of a physician to get rid of an incurable and panic disease. It can be from different argument (Meisel & Cerminara, 2004). The point to be in value is that, is it right and ethical to end one's life by oneself in crucial circumstances?
Ethically and morally, it will never consider good. Human life is a gift of nature, and a person has no right to end it. Thousands of medicines have been prepared and are in the manufacturing process to save a human life (Kohut, et al., 2006). Doctor or a physician is as a life savior or Messiah for the hopelessly dying patients. How it can be that a physician, who takes the oath at the graduation ceremony that he or she will do every possible effort to save his or her patient, is now willingly killing that patient? The second ethical paradigm is Sanctity of Life. Assisted suicide is never found an "allowed" tag in any religion (Kohut, et al., 2006). Though different, but all of them have a common point that a person must never end his life intentionally, or a person must never kill an innocent life in the name of relief or comfort. Naturally, a person should not interfere with God’s master plan.
Lastly, quality of a patient’s life is worthwhile. He or she deserves to be given the required treatment, as it is their utmost civilian right. Treatment may cause pain or shortening of life, but it is still a hope. On the other hand, as number of chronic diseases, depression, financial pressures and loss of dignity is increasing day by day, sometimes, it becomes unbearable for a person to survive in this World. People, who suffer from these circumstances, not only burden their life but also people associated with them.
This issue caught fire when Brittany Maynard committed assisted suicide on November 1, 2014. She was 29 years old, and she was suffering from terminal brain cancer. She took this decision after Death of Dignity Act went into effect in 1997 (Bever, 2014). She, herself was an advocate for the legalization of aid in dying. In her death certificate, brain tumor was recorded as the official cause of death. This was done in accordance with Oregon State of Law. She was reported as "a new face" of this assisted-dying movement. Mixed responses were seen by patients, physicians and advocates but after three days of her death, her action was strongly condemned, and a top Vatican official called her work illogicality (Bever, 2014). However, her mother defended her daughter saying that she chose a gentle way to die instead of suffering from mental and physical degradation. Therefore, strangers should not have a right to label her as eccentric as they do not know her personal and particular situations. She died but opened a door to many unasked questions. She showed severe terminally ill people a way to do the same if they want to die honorably without risking anyone's reputation (Bever, 2014). On the same time, many critical patients criticized her, as she is a reason to prune their hopes to live a normal life again.
Currently, there are four states of America, Montana, Washington, Oregon, and Vermont, who has declared legal Physician-Assisted Suicide. In 46 states and DC, assisted suicide is illegal. According to "Death with Dignity Laws in America", aid-in-dying is practiced in five states now, either by voted legislation or case ruling (Kohut, et al., 2006). New Mexico is also included in the list now. They issue code of conducts under which a person fulfilling specific conditions can use prescribed life-ending drugs by authorized physician. Euthanasia is an exceptional case as it is a direct killing of an individual by injecting lethal substance. It is in all 50 states (Kohut, et al., 2006). People who support legislation legalizing assisted suicide argue that everyone should have a right to do whatever they want to do with their lives. If killing oneself to get free from the insufferable pains of life do not cause harm to any other is life, it is not a big deal. If a skin cancer, patient has lost his organs and he cannot compete in the race of life usually, his wish to die in a dignified manner should be respected.
Concluding this debate, both cases are strong in their way. Supporters claim that people should have the freedom of living and liberty to die when they see the right time has come. However, the people who are in this case speaking for respect and sustenance of Human Life as far as God decide Him to take back one's life. It is now on us that what way we choose: to die in comfort or to struggle for the gift of life that is rewarded once to every living being on Earth.

References

Kohut, A., Keeter, S., Doherty, C., & Press, T. (2006). Strong Public Support for Right to Die More Americans Discussing – and Planning – End-of-Life Treatment. Pew Research Center for the People & the Press (pp. 1–45).
Bever, L. (2014, November 3). How Brittany Maynard may change the right-to-die debate - The Washington Post. Washingtonpost.com. Washington. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/11/03/how-brittany-maynard-may-change-the-right-to-die-debate-after-death/
Meisel, A., & Cerminara, K. L. (2004). The Right to Die: The Law of End-of-life Decision-making (p. 1374). Aspen Publishers Online. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=qSRYYfZAYnwC&pgis=1