The Right to Die

The Right to Die

  • Submitted By: Lioness58
  • Date Submitted: 02/11/2009 12:22 PM
  • Category: Science
  • Words: 889
  • Page: 4
  • Views: 1215

Ronit Schwartz

Right to Die: A persuasive essay.

Assisted Suicide defined as the planned, proposed, either wished-for end or termination of life by a lethal substance directly or indirectly assisted by another human being. Assisted suicide is also referred to as aid-in-dying. Aid-in-dying is the practice of providing a competent patient with some lethal medication that will put them to peaceful and quick death. Assisted Suicide, whether by a Physician or not is an issue that has instigated many an intense debate through the years, from Dr. Jack Kevorkian to the Supreme Courts ruling on Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act. .Although an emotional and controversial issue; the issue needs to be considered. If a person has the right to choose, how they live they should be able to choose how they die?

Proponents of assisted suicide use compassion, as their foundation believing if one is terminally ill that the right to end one is suffering should be dignified and quick. Those opposed to euthanasia believe it the right to die can compare to murder. They value all stages of life. They fear that legalizing assisted suicide will unfairly target the impoverished and uneducated. In reviewing the federal and state laws on Physician-assisted suicide, all 50 states and the District of Columbia differ greatly on this issue (www.EuthanasiaPROCON.org)

It should be the right of a competent patient to avoid excruciating pain, while allowing the family to prepare the cross over in a timely and dignified manner. Death is compassionate to living with unbearable pain and suffering.

Although, Physician-Assisted Suicide has been around since the 17th century, as humanity enters the 21st century, some Americans still view PAS as a rebellion against God’s wills and outrages against the sanctity of human life. However, moral consensus has held firm due to breakthroughs in diagnostics and treatments. The debate in the United States ranges widely in regard to the...

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