Doctor-Assisted Suicide - Research Paper Example

Doctor-Assisted Suicide should be legalized for the Terminally Ill Extreme cases of diseases such as stroke, cancer and some mental diseases cannot be treated medically by the doctors. In such cases when the medical treatments are futile, the patient’s condition becomes worse day by day but death does not occur. The patient is in so much pain that the relatives of that patient think that death for the patient is better than life. Although many organizations have been formed for supporting assisted suicides, but doctor-assisted suicides are still illegal in many countries of the world. However, I strongly believe that doctor-assisted suicide should be legalized for the terminally ill. Voluntary Death Across the globe doctors, legal authorities, religious leaders, relatives of patients in critical conditions and patients battling for life themselves are concerned about the issue about of doctor-assisted suicide. Whether or not doctor-assisted suicide can ever be justified as a compassionate response towards the voluntary elimination of a person’s life is a major source of concern in today’s world. Generally, euthanasia has been termed as a process of ‘assisted suicide’ upon someone who is under severe medical conditions and the probability of survival is almost zero. This is a reason why euthanasia has also been tagged as a form of mercy killing for the benefit of the patients themselves. Many individuals believe that life is a very sacred and gifted thing and by taking it away it can be tagged as murder, other people, however have different views. They believe that a person’s life is his own and he/she has the right to do whatever he/she wants with their life, even if it calls for termination (1). Case of Terri Schiavo The name Terri Schiavo should ring a bell in every person’s mind. It has been the most renowned cases in the history of America regarding doctor-assisted suicide. Teri, at the age of 26 was diagnosed with a neurological condition called PVS also known as the persistent vegetative state according to which she was practically brain dead. Teri’s parents fought against her husband and were adamant to let her live on the feeding tube even though she was in a vegetative state. The husband, however, stated that Teri would not want to survive in this condition and that pulling the plug is the best solution to all the pain and suffering she is being put through (2). More than a decade, the patient was fed through feeding tube and was on bed. After a furious battle in the court since 1998, Pasco-Pinellas Circuit Judge in Florida ordered the feeding tube to be removed on the 18th of March 2005 on her husband’s request (2). Terri died nearly two weeks after the removal of the feeding tube on March 31, 2005. This case shows that doctor-assisted suicide was the best way to let Terri die and finish off her sufferings once and for all. Although every doctor knew that she has no chances of getting any better but still for a decade she was kept alive on oxygen and food through feeding tube. Historic Evidences Although the doctor-assisted suicide seems to be a recent issue in the US but the ancient Rome and Greece used to practice this idea. One such story has been presented by a well known writer, Plingy the Younger from the ancient Rome (3). In this story, a man suffers from an incurable disease. The wife of this man decides that the couple should commit suicide. Therefore they jumped into a river to commit a suicide. This was done in order to end the pain of the man (3). The opposition of doctor-assisted suicide seems to mirror the events that took in the past. The property of a person committing was seized by the rulers in the 16th Century (4). The ancient pagans used to maltreat the body of a person who died by suicide (4). We should rethink or ourselves as living in the 21st Century now and the rules should also be made likewise. Doctor-assisted suicide should be allowed in extreme cases where the patient has no chances of recovering from the disease (4). Derek Humphry According to Derek’s claim, doctor-assisted suicide is the ultimate civil liberty (5). He asks the question if we do not have the liberty of choosing death then what liberty do we have. His wife suffered from Thrombosis in which the bones start to crack and a person loses control of herself (5). Derek helped her wife in her craving of death as she was in a lot of suffering. Jean, her wife, was with Derek since 22 years but still he took the decision in favor of a doctor-assisted suicide. This was because he realized that what a person goes through when none of her bones are left solid in her body and the person is lying on the bed since 2 years (5). Canadian Poll for Legalizing Doctor-Assisted Suicide A poll conducted in 2010 revealed that approximately two-thirds of the Canadian population supports the legalization of doctor-assisted suicide (6). This shows that the people are aware of the problems that are caused in the society due to the ban on doctor-assisted suicide in the country. Even if the public considers doctor-assisted suicide to be unethical, the advantages of doctor-assisted suicide outnumber the ethical concerns. The pain and the suffering that the patient bears are in no way less important than the ethical concerns that surround the theorists. The public thinks that the medical sources that are used in keeping an almost dead patient alive should be diverted to another young patient who has better chances of recovery and chances of serving the society. It does not make sense in feeding and giving medical treatments to a person who has been on bed since many years and has shown no chances of recovery. Attitudes of the Americans There have been numerous surveys on the topic of doctor-assisted suicides in America. Almost one-thirds of the American public seems to support the voluntary suicide with the help of a physician (7). Almost 30% of the public supports the notion of voluntary euthanasia no matter what the circumstances of the patient are. These patients, who are terminally ill, but not in pain, desire these interventions for early death because they view their life as meaningless. Another reason for supporting doctor-assisted suicide for terminally ill patients was that they did not want to become a burden for the family. 36% of the population voted (7) for this reason for supporting doctor-assisted suicides. This shows that the total of 66% of the total American population supports doctor-assisted suicides as a means to die for terminally ill patients (7). Only one-third of the population seems to be opposing the notion of doctor-assisted suicides even if the patients are terminally ill. While many lawyers, philosophers and ethicists have debated over the issue that euthanasia is different from doctor-assisted suicide, the American public does not make a clear distinction of the two. Both the issues have been supported by the American population in the same manner. More than 90% of the public views the removal of life supporting devices as ethical and a mean to end life of a terminally ill (7). Doctor-Assisted Suicide: a Mercy or Homicide? 3299 cancer doctors were surveyed by the American Society of Clinical Oncology regarding the controversial issue of doctor-assisted suicide and their experiences (8). Of these doctors surveyed, 25% of them supported the idea of assisting terminally ill patients with suicides (8). 11% of the doctors surveyed had taken part in doctor-assisted suicide during their careers (8). Most of these doctors seemed to have training in end-of-life care as the supporting rates of doctor-assisted suicide have decreased from 45% to 25% recently. These doctors have not yet got a chance to use their own thinking whether doctor-assisted suicide is a mercy or it’s a means to a homicide. Conclusion It is prominent that doctor-assisted suicide needs to be legalized in order to satisfy the public and the demand of the doctors. The case of Terri Schiavo demonstrated a perfect example of doctor-assisted suicide where the patient was on bed since a decade. This was better for the patient as well as the family. Historic evidences of opposing doctor-assisted suicides were presented which shows us that our governments are similar to the rulers in the past that used to maltreat those involved in doctor-assisted suicide. Some believes of Derek were also shared which convinced us that when a person is terminally ill, he/she does not want to live any more. In order to eliminate the pain that the person is going through, the best decision is to go for doctor-assisted suicide. Then data from a Canadian survey and American survey were shared. The surveys showed that both the nations’ two-thirds population is in favor of doctor-assisted suicide. Lastly, doctors’ views were also included in form of survey results that showed that 25% doctors think that a person should have a liberty of choosing death in case of being terminally ill. Legalizing the doctor-assisted suicide will reduce the fear in the society and hospitals and also reduce the painful experiences of the patients which continue for years. Hence it is shown that doctor-assisted suicide should be legalized for the terminally ill. Works Cited 1. Michael Manning. Euthanasia: killing or caring. 1998, Paulist Press, pg 45-56. ISBN 0809138042. 2. CNN, Law Center – Terri Schiavo has died, http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/03/31/schiavo/index.html 3. Dowbiggin, I, A Concise History of Euthanasia: Life, death God, and Medicine, 2007, Roman and Littlefield 4. Fernando Rodriguez. “A Historical Analysis of Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide in the US”, Department of Social Work California State University. (2009). 5. Santa Clara University, Legalizing Euthanasia: Medical Perspectives on Death and Dying, http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v4n2/euthanasia.html 6. Patrick B. Craine, Canadian Poll Finds Two-Thirds Support Legalization of Euthanasia, http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/feb/10022308.html 7. Ezekiel J. Emanuel, Euthanasia and Physican-Assisted Suicide, http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/162/2/142 8. MedicineNet.com, Euthanasia & Physician-Assisted Suicide… What are the doctors thinking?, http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=14978 Read More