Right To Die

The Right to Die

Assisted Suicide

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Table of contents 2

Introduction 3

Purpose 4

Research Question and Thesis 4

Significance 4

Findings 4-

Discussions

Conclusion

References

INTRODUCTION

Assisted suicide has been an issue since the 1906. The ethics of assisted suicide is mounting concern about control at life's end has generated serious consideration of legalizing the practices. Public discussion has centered on the desire for control over the timing and manner of death, overriding society's long-standing prohibitions against assisting suicide or directly causing another person's death.

The most common desire among those with a terminal illness is to die with some measure of dignity. From advance directives to physician-assisted dying, death with dignity is a movement to provide options for the dying to control their own end-of-life care.

Concurrent with this public debate, but in many ways separate from it, has been the discussion of assisted suicide in the medical and ethi

cal literature. In this debate, some advocate that assisted suicide, or both assisted suicide and euthanasia, should be recognized as legally and morally acceptable options in the care of dying or severely ill patients.

They have terminal illness and do not want to diminish their assets by incurring large medical costs as their death approaches. As an act of generosity, they would rather die sooner, and pass on their assets to their beneficiaries

This paper will discuss the different type of assisted suicide and their definitions, summarize a number of cases where individuals have utilized assisted suicide and, my stance on the issue as a whole.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this research paper is to examine the greatest human freedom: the right to live, and die, according to one's own desires and beliefs.

RESEARCH QUESTION AND THESIS

Is an individual's right to die by assisted suicide ethical? In my opinion, yes! When an individual who is terminally ill, feels that their life is not worth living because of loss of capability and/or dignity, who has repeatedly and actively asked for help in committing suicide and who is sound mind and not suffering from depression chooses to die, they should have the right to do so in the presence of friends and love ones.

SIGNIFICANCE

People who request assisted suicide should be able to control the time and circumstances of their own deaths.

FINDINGS

The right to die by assisted suicide has many terms, most commonly are "physician-assisted suicide" and "Euthanasia" which are often used interchangeably.

Physician Assisted suicide occurs when a person, typically someone suffering from an incurable illness or chronic intense pain, intentionally kills himself with the help of another individual. Physician Assisted for example, a doctor may prescribe drugs with the understanding that the patient plans to use them to overdose fatally. Or a doctor may insert an intravenous needle into the arm of a patient, who then pushes a switch to trigger a fatal injection.

Euthanasia originated form the Greek language: eu means "good" and thanatos means "death. One meaning given to the word is "the intentional termination of life by another at the explicit request of the person who dies." (Horgan, John) That is, the term Euthanasia normally implies that the person who wishes to commit suicide must initiate the act. However, some people define Euthanasia to include both voluntary and involuntary termination of life. Like so many moral, ethical, and religious terms, "Euthanasia" has many meanings such as Passive, Active and Involuntary. (www.utm.edu)

Euthanasia when passive may be in cases where a physician does not resuscitate a patient whose heart has stopped. It can also be active, such as when a doctor gives a lethal injection to a patient. Or it can be involuntary such as when a doctor removes life-support equipment.

Most individuals who request assisted suicide are individuals who are terminally ill and diagnosed with a degenerative, progressive illness like ALS, Huntington's disease, Multiple Sclerosis, AIDS, Alzheimer, etc., those who fear a gradual loss of the quality of life in the future as the disease or disorder progresses, and those who has a serious disorder and/or disease that has adversely affected their quality of life to point where they no longer wish to continue living.

In 1997, Oregon voters reasserted their desire to make physician-assisted suicide legal. Oregon's law requires that the patient be "capable" to make the choice and that he or she make this choice voluntarily, without pressure from family or health care providers. It is not yet clear how these troubling characteristics will be interpreted in the law. In a recent vote by 6-3 the U.S. Supreme