The idea of assisted suicide is a very, very slippery slope in my opinion - not that I don't approve of people having the right to make their own choices as to when they've had enough, but it could lead to lawmakers and other people in positions of power deciding that people with certain conditions or with a certain degree of severity are not worthy of being alive based on some subjective measure of "quality of life". We've already seen it, with disabled people (particularly developmentally disabled people) being denied heart transplants, kidney transplants, etc. because doctors feel that the lives of non-disabled people are more worth saving than disabled people. I'm very scared that the personal choices of disabled people will be co-opted to make assisted suicide a choice on the part of others "on behalf" of the disabled person. Again, it's already happening. Robert Latimer, who murdered his daughter Tracy in 1993, told police that he could not bear to watch his daughter suffer. The judge who exempted Latimer from the minimum sentence for second degree murder called it "compassionate homicide".
Tracy Latimer had CP, just like me. I live in fear of someone, someday, deciding for me that my life is not worth living. Where is the dividing line? Because I can walk, because I can talk, does that mean I'm somehow exempt from someone trying to kill me? Proponents argue that it should only be used with people with the most "severe" disabilities. What defines severity? Functioning labels are arbitrary and absurd. And one person with the exact same capabilities as another may enjoy life far more, for a myriad of reasons.
Not to mention quality of life is not solely defined by internal factors. As I mentioned above, two people with the exact same capabilities (if such a phenomenon even exists in the wide world of disability) could have diametrically opposing views on their quality of life. I postulate the situation of two people of the same age with the exact same disability, exact same capabilities and abilities. One could live independently, with a power wheelchair and lift equipped van, while directing a team of qualified and reliable personal assistants to manage their daily care. The other could still be living with their parents, stuck using a manual wheelchair that they are unable to propel independently, reliant on their parents or unqualified personal assistants for their daily care. They may also be effectively homebound, without a lift-equipped van or predictable public transit in their area. I consider the first person to have a far better quality of life, and these external factors can have a tremendous effect on a person's perception of their own quality of life.
Our perceptions about assisted suicide and quality of life are also heavily influenced by societal and cultural norms. In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Ethics", Worf attempts to convince his friends to assist with his suicide. Because he is a Klingon, part of a warrior race, he sees no honor in his condition, and
come into play. When discussing the everlasting debate over legalizing the practice of physician- assisted suicide I believe every patient has the right to choose between life and death if they can no longer benefit from standard methods of treatment. In their book, Physician- Assisted Suicide -The Anatomy of a Constitutional Law Issue, Susan Behuniak and Arthur Svenson define Physician Assisted Suicide (PAS) as a medical practice that involves a physician assisting a terminally ill, competent adult…
Kylie Brown Period 1 English H March 5, 2015 Should Assisted Suicide be legalized? Every year in the United States, a little over one million people die of a terminal illness that they know will not be cured and they will die. Many of these desperate patients go through a long and traumatic experience that drains everything they have, emotionally and physically. While coming to the end of their life, they are in excruciating pain and there is nothing to do but sit and wait. In four states, Euthanasia…
A. English 104 - 407 25 October 2014 Assisted Suicide The concept of assisted suicide may seem twisted to those who do not understand. It may seem wrong for someone to end the life of another person upon their request. The problem with this is that some cannot bring death upon themselves due to disease or illness that prevents them from doing so. These situations are either fixed or prolonged with or without the practice of assisted suicide. Assisted suicide is brought on by a lethal drug, gun,…
certain issues. I am going to discuss the ethical issues with physician assisted suicide and how negative it can be. Some physicians may think that they are helping their patients by doing this but it is wrong are numerous different ways and I will share several of them in this essay. There are ethical issues all around us and one particular that I personally find disturbing that happens all the time is physician assisted suicide. This is something that is downright despicable to help take a human…
Thinking Ethically: Who Gains from Employee Development Jessica Berry Kaplan University AB203: Human Resources Management – 02 Jennifer Bryant May 23, 2014 In simple terms, training and development refers to the imparting of specific skills, abilities and knowledge to an employee. A formal definition of training & development is… it is any attempt to improve current or future employee performance by increasing an employee’s ability to perform through learning, usually by changing…
Pro Choice: Physician Assisted Suicide Assisted suicide can date it origins back to Roman times before the christian overhaul, where doctors gave suffering patients a fatal poison. With the new coming of religon throughout the world the act of “assisted suicide” was deemed a sin. Not until recently in the 20th century has this issue been a frontpage headline that is causing severe controversy. The arguments for and against loosly include that it is murder offends many religons and is inhuman. Support…
The Legalization of Assisted Suicide Assisted suicide is a topic that has caused much controversy as to whether it is a humane way to end a terminally ill person’s life or if it is a violation of the basic laws of medicine and devalues a person’s life. I personally believe that assisted suicide should be legalized in all states because every person has the right to decide what is best for his or her own life whether that decision is to live or to die. Assisted suicide is when a physician does…
Physician Assisted Suicide Itay Stawski ITT Technical Institute EN 1420 Professor Jeremy Pilarski November 10 2014 The Right to die debate; is the common name of this current issue. It’s legal in the state of Oregon since 1998. Since then more than 341 terminally ill people have taken advantage of it to hasten their deaths. According to Humphry (2013, September) “The Washington Death with Dignity Act, Initiative 1000, codified as RCW 70.245, passed on November 4, 2008” http://finalexit…
can die with dignity rather than becoming a shell of their former selves. Without PAS people may commit suicide in a messy, horrifying or traumatic manor. Physician assisted suicide (PAS) is not for everyone, but for someone who wants to end their life because of a terminal debilitating illness, they should have that option with the help of a knowledgeable physician. Physician assisted suicide is defined by the American Medical Association as “when a physician facilitates a patient’s death by providing…
Name: Marva Dyer Date: June 3, 2008 Class: PHI1103 Word Count: 1225 Topic: Physician Assisted Suicide 1. Introduction and Thesis Chronic and life-limiting illness can also make a person feel like they have lost all control of their lives. The body isn’t doing what it should and there’s no way to stop it. Physician-assisted suicide (PAS) may feel like a way to regain some of that control. If they can’t control the illness, they can at least control how they die. Quality of life is the…