Argumentative

Voluntary Euthanasia: A Reasonable Act of Mercy

Imagine people suffering greatly, just waiting for their terminal illness to finally take them away. They go to their loved ones and tell them that they just want to die and be put out of their misery.Is it wrong for them to even say this? Why shouldn’t they have the right to choose death? Voluntary euthanasia would allow them to end their life in a painless manner and finally be free from all the pain that has engulfed them since they became terminally ill. Voluntary euthanasia should be legalized across the United States.

Voluntary euthanasia, also known as physician assisted suicide or mercy killing, refers to a physician administering a lethal prescription to end a patient’s life (“Physician Assisted Suicide”).Kat Yares, who wrote the article “What is Euthanasia,” states that the lethal injection they use for euthanasia is the same drug they use to execute those on death row. Many fear that legalizing voluntary euthanasia will lead to other forms of immoral suicide. However, acknowledging the worries of potential abuse would help enforce protective guidelines. If the right guidelines were put in place, voluntary euthanasia would not be a problem (Pros and Cons).

Voluntary euthanasia is already legal in Oregon, but that is the only state in the United States that has legalized this action. In 1994, voters in Oregon approved a ballot measure legalizing euthanasia with certain condition. There is a specific criterion that one has to meet to be considered for physician assisted suicide. The person must be terminally ill with only six months or less to live and the person must make two oral requests for assistance in death while also making one written request. The person must also convince two physicians that he or she is sincere about the decision and not just acting on a whim. The person cannot be influenced by depression and must be told alternative options such as hospice care and pain control. After clearing all of these criteria the person then has to wait for fifteen days. After fifteen days a physician could provide a prescription of barbiturate to cause the patient’s death. The physician is not allowed to induce death by injection or by way of carbon monoxide ("Oregon's Euthanasia Law").

The Death With Dignity Act (DWDA) barely passed in Oregon. It passed by one percent: 51% to 49%.According to the article “Life Issues Institute-Oregon’s Euthanasia Law,” over the nine years euthanasia has been legal, 445 people have requested lethal drugs from their physician. Out of these 445 that have requested physician assisted suicide only 292 people have actually gone through with the process of euthanasia. Every year the numbers of death by euthanasia continue to rise in Oregon.

If the state of Oregon has found a way to make euthanasia legal and not be abused then the rest of the United States should be able to as well. Having certain criteria that a person has to meet before a physician can perform the action is very beneficial. The criterion helps the physician tell if it is a rash decision or if it is something that the person truly wants. If the physician believes that death is truly what the patient wants then there should be no reason why they cannot provide the action.

Some people may believe that voluntary euthanasia is immoral and against human nature. They believe that there is no need for terminally ill patients to ever be in pain.However, nobody can predict or control the pain someone who is dying may feel. Prescribed pain killers and medicine can only relieve the pain temporarily; they can never make it vanish completely. The pain will always come back.Many people feel that nobody should ever give up on life no matter the quality. However, if someone is in so much pain that it hurts to even move then they are not living much of a life.It would be much more humane to just let the ill person choose to die then make them suffer through their illness that is going to kill them eventually. At least let them die with the little bit of dignity that they may have left (Webster).

It is always hard for someone to lose a person close to them that they loved with all their heart. Yet, it might help them cope if they are part of the process and have a chance to say good bye to their loved one before they pass away. Voluntary euthanasia would allow the patient’s family and friends to do just that. Being part of the process might help them understand the patient’s reasoning of choosing death. Others may argue that it puts an unbearable burden on the family and friends. This said burden could also pressure the ill to choose to die even if that’s not what they truly want. If someone doesn’t believe that they have support from their family and friends throughout their illness that might make a rash decision. However, just because the family thinks it is better for their loved one to pass on doesn’t mean that they don’t support them. It just means that they no longer want to see that person suffering (Webster).

Many people believe that voluntary euthanasia puts doctors into an impossible position. While taking care and examining their patients regularly the bond between the two becomes very close. Doctors always want the best for their patients but they can’t always provide the patient with the help they may need. They can provide the patient with pain medication but if that doesn’t help then they are out of options. They don’t want to see their patients suffering just waiting to die. Doctors want to be able to help their patients the best way they can; voluntary euthanasia would allow doctors to do just that. Others may argue that a doctor’s role should not be confused. Doctors are there to treat the patient to their best ability not choose who should live and who should die (Webster). Every doctor has to take a Hippocratic Oath swearing to ethically practice medicine. This text is one of the first statements of moral conducts to be used by a physician (“Hippocratic Oath”). However, that choice would never be up to the doctor.It would always be the patient’s choice. If the patient was in so much pain that they wanted to give up their life and be put out of their misery then that is what the doctor should be able to deliver (Webster).

Bobby Webster, author of “Assisted Suicide/Voluntary Euthanasia,” argues “every human being has a right to life; with every right comes a choice.” If someone is suffering greatly they should have a right to choose when they die. They shouldn’t have to be miserable and in constant pain with no quality of life. If someone doesn’t want to live that way they should have the right to choose not to. Voluntary euthanasia would provide them with the means to take their life away painlessly and allow them to die with the little bit of dignity they may have left. It is wrong to not give someone the choice between life and death. Some people believe that voluntary euthanasia should remain illegal because there is no comparison between the right to life and other rights, such as freedom of religion. When someone chooses to die there is no second chance at life. Nobody can change their mind and be brought back from the dead. Death is a final destination. It is inevitable and once someone dies there is no bringing them back to life.

What if the day after someone goes through with euthanasia scientists find a cure for their disease? This is one of the main concerns someone may have with accepting and legalizing euthanasia. True, if one did go through with the act and shortly thereafter a cure was found, it would be devastating. However, so is watching a loved one suffer with no quality of life. Nobody can ever guarantee what tomorrow will bring. There is always the “what ifs” in life. That is why nobody should ever live in fear, but instead live like there is no tomorrow. Someone could just be at the wrong place at the wrong time and get killed. What if they arrived there just one minute later? What if they changed their mind and decided to go somewhere else that day? Life is never going to be perfect, but then again who would want it to be?

Euthanasia should be legalized across the United States.As long as there are rules and regulations nobody should be able to abuse the concept of euthanasia if it were to be legalized. With legalizing this action the number of suffering people in the United States would decrease. This would affect everybody that encountered it in different ways. It may help some and it may hurt some. However, the most important thing to keep in mind is that the person suffering would be better off and no longer have to live everyday with the excruciating pain that has engulfed them.

I have seen someone I love suffering tremendously and endlessly. It was the hardest thing I have ever had to witness in my life. In my case, my grandmother completely gave up on life at the end of her terminal illness. Her body was still there but her soul didn’t remain. She hated living the way she was. Euthanasia would have helped end her life and put her out of pain like she wanted. I have also known others who have had to deal with the constant suffering of a loved one until they finally died. Nobody should have to see their loved ones like that. Legalizing euthanasia across the United States would be the right thing to do. It would prevent a lot of people and their loved ones from suffering. After all isn’t that the most important thing?

Works Cited

"Hippocratic Oath."Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 11 Nov 2009, 03:09 UTC. 112009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hippocratic_Oath&oldid=325176344>.

Web. 10 Nov. 2009. <http://www.lifeissues.org/euthanasia/oregons_law.htm>.

2009. <http://law.jrank.org/pages/6602/Euthanasia-Oregon-s-Euthanasia-

Law.html>.

"Physician-Assisted Suicide."Ethics In Medicine. University of Washington School of Medicine. 1998. University of Washington, Web. 29 Oct 2009. <http://depts.washington.edu/bioethx/topics/pas.html>.

Webster, Bobby. "Assisted Suicide/Voluntary Euthanasia."International Debate Education Association. 14 July 2009. Web. 29 Oct 2009. <http://www.idebate.org/debatabase/topic_details.php?topicID=55>.