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Nancy Bonilla
Prof. Makarosyan
English 114B
5 May 2016
Euthanasia: Physician Assisted Suicide
Whose choice is it anyway? Euthanasia is the act or practice of killing or permitting the
death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy.
Although some may say Euthanasia is against religious beliefs and is inhumane others may
disagree and say it is a person's decision to decide over their own body and it is their born right.
Assisted suicide is a contentious topic in today's society, in which many terminally ill patients
cannot get their last dying wish granted because of laws outlawing this act and many suffer until
their last breath. Anyone who is or is not a patient should have the authority to decide how and
when their lives should end because, one of our basic rights as a human is the right to happiness,
life and liberty. Therefore, Euthanasia should be made legal.
In Paul Beland's article, "Implications for Carers of Terminally Ill Patients Dying at
Home"Beland discusses how many patients who have diseases that are not possibly curable feel
most relieved when they have a right to their own body; even though they did not have a say on
whether their body was infected with the disease or not. He asserts, "The way that people die is
particularly important to who they were and their long-lasting memory. This memory is not
limited to the moment of death, but encompasses the entire end-of-life phase."(835). In other
words it is important for each of these patients to have their dignity up until their very last breath.
Many might object and say how this topic is against their moral beliefs. But, if they were in the

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patients shoes would they say and think the same? Some might say that instead of going against
it they will be for assisted suicide, if one day they found themselves in a similar situation.
Faith healing is practiced by many religions ,including Christianity, in which they deny
any medical attention because their morals and principles say that praying will heal all. Some
few, who suffer from the disease may even deny recognition of attaining the illness. Not only do
they deny medical attention for themselves but also for their family members that are
minors.There have been a few cases in which their have been children who have been neglected
medical attention for illnesses that could be cured if only they see a doctor. But, instead they die
because of their parents morals and this can be seen as negligence and homicide however the
case may be, this is legal. So if parents are allowed to neglect children of medical attention why
is it such a controversy for someone who has lived their life and is old enough and mature
enough to understand the consequences of their actions prevented from doing so.
No one should be mandated to live involuntary, through pain and suffering. Under the
constitution we're guaranteed our basic human rights which are happiness, rights of life and
liberty. If one obtains happiness by being set free of all the pain and suffering they are
experiencing or have yet to experience, then who are we to neglect them from this right. A
trained medical professional who is willing to help a person who is significantly ill should not be
punished for their actions but rather applauded for their contribution in helping the patient escape
from their suffering.
Many of these patients not only have to face the idea of having a painful death but as
days go by they live through intolerable, excruciating circumstances on a day to day basis. This
excruciating torment only leads to a poor way of life. Licensed medical professionals should not
be punished for wanting to help their patients escape this torment, such as Dr. Jack Kevorkian

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who was sentenced to twenty five years imprisonment in 1996 because he assisted in patient
suicides. He should have not been imprisoned because there are far worse crime- related
incidents in which the person is found not guilty. He should have been applauded because he
helped someone escape the reality of going through this suffering on a day to day basis. One
should not be subjected to live a life in which they experience such circumstance just to wake up
one day deceased.
Some argue the reason this social injustice is not legalize is because of money. Money
runs many things and many people. Of course if these patients were allowed to accept assisted
suicide that would cost a decrease in the earnings of the medical institution. So, by denying them
the right to have this as a choice the patient and their family members are obligated to pay tons
of money on medical expenses and treatments that allow the patient to have the least bit of
discomfort. Not only is this affecting the patients but also the family members who are going to
feel the impact once their loved one is passed away. Once their gone, the family struggles with a
bill they can not afford and this can lead to bankruptcy. Most terminally ill patients want their
death to be peaceful and with much commemoration as possible. Ronald Dworkin, author of
Lifes Dominion, says that many people . . . want to save their relatives the expense of keeping
them pointlessly alive . . .(193). But, by getting themselves into debt adds stress and anxiety to
the terminally ill patient because they believe that they are at fault that so many complications
arise from this situation. This would be avoidable if terminally ill patients had the option to
choose assisted suicide and avoid their family from having to deal with financial problems.
Although there are some implications that today our medical technology has achieved
remarkable accomplishments in prolonging the lives of humans. That may not be the case for all,
yes there are many gadgets like respirators who can help someone who has had an accident that

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you can recover from live, but for those who do not have this option this just means prolonging
someone's pain, agony, and suffering. Although some of this new technology can prolong the
terminally ill's life it only brings more pain while trying to live more than expected rather than
just allowing someone to die in peace without having to under go more pain than they are
actually experiencing.
Not allowing someone to make their own decisions for themselves leads to them thinking
that they are so inadequate and incapable of competence. In Maxine Hong Kingston's Woman
Warrior, "A song for a Barbarian Reed Pipe" Kingston discusses how not being able to make any
decisions for herself led her to have self doubt implications in which she felt as if she was
worthless and had lost her dignity. She says "It seemed to hurt her to tell me [that Chinese people
often say the opposite] another guilt for my list to tell my mother, I thought. And suddenly I got
very confused and lonely because I was at that moment telling her my list, and in the telling, it
grew. No higher listener. No listener but myself ."(179). In other words, Kingston is afraid to
share her thoughts with her mother because she has always been told what to do ever since she
was young but now that she wants to have a voice she can't because she has lost herself identity.
This correlates with how terminally ill patients feel incompetent and how it is a lack of dignity
being told what they can and cannot do because they have always been accustomed to making
their own life choices but now that someone is telling them what to do they feel incapable of
competence.
On the other hand, people who do not agree with the idea of Euthanasia or "assisted
suicide" do not believe that it is a born right to have the decision of our own body. They believe
that it is against a doctor's Hippocratic oath to purposely end someone's life rather than try to
save someone's life. The Hippocratic oath states that they will not endure in situation in which

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they give poison when asked to do so nor, suggest a course. Little do these protestors know that
very few schools abide by this oath because many cancer patients who receive chemotherapy are
receiving a "poison" to their body in order to recuperate. Like many diseases similar to cancer
there are solutions that are considered good in the eyes of society but very few know that they
are receiving "poisonous" medicines and antidotes in order to get better.
In other countries and states like the Netherlands and Oregon, Euthanasia is considered
legal. It is done very attentively and the family has the option to be present when the patient is
given the drugs. The process is up to the patient and whether or not they want to end their life.
Besides these two places assisted suicide is not legal anywhere else. This should be seen as an
constitutional right, to be able to have the option of declining or accepting medical treatment
even if the consequences lead to death. The indicated is very similar to do not resuscitate orders
as known as DNR's, a legal form written either in the hospital or on a legal form to withhold
cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or advanced cardiac life support (ACLS), in respect of the
wishes of a patient in case their heart were to stop or they were to stop breathing. If this matter
has been legalized why can't Euthanasia also be legalized ? If these two deal with the same
concept, patients denying medical treatment in which their decision ultimately leads to death.
Not only is allowing assisted suicide beneficial to the patients but everyone who is
surrounded by them. Legalizing assisted suicide can lead to preventing the over population of
hospitals, it can also decrease the amount of stress doctors and nurses feel when they have way
more patients that faculty. By assisting someone who does not want to live anymore rather than
someone who truly does can lead to the death of patients who were not able to get the proper
care due to lack of faculty, but if they just condone the dying patient's wish of dying there is
more of a possibility of involuntary saving one's life.

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Assisted suicide should not be a debate but rather a decision that only the terminally ill
patient gets to decide because they are the only ones experiencing the side effects, symptoms and
medical treatment given to them. If a person desires to free themselves from the pain and
suffering, then they should be allowed to die in peace with their dignity while they still have it.
All while saving themselves and their family members from financial problems . To adhere to
someone's dying wish is like giving them the last chance in obtaining happiness and ending this
last chapter of life in a positive way rather than a throbbing, heart-aching way of leaving this
earth.

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Works Cited

Beland, Paul. "Implications for Carers of Terminally Ill Patients Dying at Home." Nursing
Standard (Royal College of Nursing (Great Britain) : 1987), 28.3 (2013): 40.
Dworkin, Ronald, "Lifes Dominion: An Argument About Abortion and Euthanasia" (1993).
Philip A. Hart Memorial Lecture. Paper 19.
Eliott, Jaklin, and Ian Oliver. "Choosing Between Life and Death: Patient and Family
Perceptions of the Decision Not to Resuscitate the Terminally Ill Cancer Patient."
Bioethics, 22.3 (2008): 179-189.
Kingston, Maxine Hong. "A Song for a Barbarian Reed Pipe." The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of
a Girlhood among Ghosts. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1976. 163-209. Print.
Schneider, Keith. "Dr. Jack Kevorkian Dies At 83; Backed Assisted Suicide". Nytimes.com. N.p.,
2011. Web. 28 April 2016.