FREE ESSAY ON ASSISTED SUICIDE

ASSISTED SUICIDE

Introduction
Assisted suicide (or Euthanasia) is a topic undergoing serious debate. There exist two
obvious and definite opinions regarding this controversy. The anti-euthanasia faction
consist of:
 Conservative religious groups. They are often the same organizations that oppose
access to abortion.
 Medical associations whose members are dedicated to saving and extending life,
and feel uncomfortable helping people end their lives. 
 Groups concerned with disabilities, which fear that euthanasia is the first step
towards a society that will kill disabled people against their will.
These groups bring both a religious and professional ethics perspective to the opinion
that physician assisted suicide should be prohibited by law.
The other side of the debate over euthanasia is those individuals who follow the
convictions of Dr. Jack Kevorkian and the Right to Die organization. The book
Prescription: Medicine (1993) is an interesting, yet controversial book about physician
assisted suicide. Authored by the only physician known to provide assisted suicide to
terminally ill patients, Dr. Jack Kevorkian, the book brings up some topics of heated
debate. Kevorkian discusses his Suicide Machine, reasons for assisted suicide, and some
of the cases he has supervised.
The Proponents for Euthanasia
In his book, Dr. Kevorkian explains the ancient roots of euthanasia and his invention of
the Suicide Machine. He gives examples of how doctors in the time of the Pythagorean
readily gave poison to any patient who requested it. Kevorkian tries to justify assisted
suicide by carefully stating the words of the Hippocratic Oath. He also thoughtfully
interprets both the laws and the oath in order to make it look like they agree with his
ideas.
One justification for assisted suicide that Kevorkian uses is that of a proclamation by a
medical committee that it is ethical for physicians to help terminally ill patients
commit suicide. Only, he doesn't make it very obvious that the committee is part of a
special interest group known as the Society for the Right to Die. This committee was
obviously biased because of its affiliation with the organization.
There could be some complicated problems if physicians were allowed to perform euthanasia
at anytime on anybody who wanted it. The biggest problem might be if someone is mentally
and physically incapacitated to the point where they can't make decisions on their own,
and they want to die, who is really making the decision? Are they deciding or is it their
greedy relatives that want the inheritance? Absolutely no one has the right to choose who
gets to live or who gets to die.
Advocates of voluntary euthanasia contend that if a person is meets the following
criteria then there should be legal and medical provision to enable her to be allowed to
die or assisted to die. The individual must be:
1.) suffering from a terminal illness
2.) unlikely to benefit from the discovery of a cure for that illness during what 
remains of their life expectancy 
3.) as a direct result of the illness, either suffering intolerable pain, or only has 
available a life that is unacceptably burdensome (because the illness has 
to be treated in ways which lead to her being unacceptably dependent on 
others or on technological means of life support)
4.) have an enduring, voluntary and rational wish to die (or has, prior to 
losing the competence to do so, expressed a wish to die in the event that conditions #1 -
#3 are satisfied); and
5.) unable, without assistance, to commit suicide
The major argument is that people possess the right to end their own lives if they wish
to. There is no laws or regulations outlawing it and the action harms no one other then
the individual who commits suicide. Advocates of euthanasia believe that death is
preferable for people whose quality of life has shrunk to zero, find the indignities of
being cared for as an infant unbearable, or simply want to die with dignity before they
become very sick. This group would include, but is not limited to individuals afflicted
by ALS, Huntington's Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, AIDS, Alzheimer's, etc. 
The Opponents of Euthanasia
In a recent article from the Connecticut Post (1998) a physician described the phrase
"doctor assisted suicide" as an oxymoron. The author believes that if someone assists you
with taking your life you have not really committed suicide. Whether it is a doctor or
your best friend helping you take your life, it is nothing less then murder.
As mentioned earlier in this document the three primary constituents of the
anti-euthanasia debate are religious institutions, medical professionals, and persons
with disabilities. 
There are two primary arguments offered by Christians, and those of other religions, that
caution against a person pursuing suicide, in any form:
1.) Life is a gift from God, and that each individual [is] its steward. Thus, only God
can start a life, and only God should be allowed to end one. An individual who 
commits suicide is committing sin.
2.) God does not send us any experience that we cannot handle. God supports people 
in suffering. To actively seek an end to one's life would represent a lack of trust 
in God's promise.
These beliefs are common in most religions ranging from Christianity to Islam. In some
ancient religions suicide is permitted but the method of death is in no way comfortable
or "good". Usually the suicide is very painful and is a symbol of your faith.
Unfortunately because of the secular nature of most religions their views on euthanasia
are not very practical arguments, especially with the growing percentage of Agnostics,
Atheists, Humanists, secularists, non-Christians and liberal Christians.
Medical professionals who are dedicated to preserve life argue that the oath that they
take upon becoming a physician binds them to not assist their patients in committing
suicide. In fact the American Medical Associations' policy toward euthanasia says that
Physician assisted suicide is fundamentally inconsistent with the physician's
professional role... and, it is critical that the medical profession redouble its efforts
to ensure that dying patients are provided optimal treatment for their pain and other
discomfort. The use of more aggressive comfort care measures, including greater reliance
on hospice care, can alleviate the physical and emotional suffering that dying patients
experience.... To be a practicing doctor you must follow and understand this oath. 
A recent survey performed by Dr. Diane Meier of Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New
York, NY, of 1,902 doctors showed that 6.4% of those who responded admitted that they had
helped at least one patient commit suicide. The doctors questioned specialized in aging,
infectious diseases, cancer, and diseases that affected kidneys, nerves and lungs.
Opponents of euthanasia also argue that if physician assisted suicide were legal,
insurance companies and family members who do not wish to see funds wasted on costly
medical bills would opt to have their relatives or clients commit suicide without proper
consent. This is of major concern to disabled persons who worry that if lawmakers permit
terminally ill patients to commit suicide that eventually laws will be created to allow
states to kill anyone that it deems to be worthless. Granted this statement may seem a
bit unrealistic; however, when looking back at the atrocities of history (i.e. nazi death
camps and human medical testing, etc) the question is valid as to where physician
assisted suicide will stop at.
Conclusions
My moral and religious convictions strongly oppose suicide in any form, whether it is
someone jumping from a building or physician assisted. I believe that by killing yourself
you will be condemned to Hell. However, this does not mean that I am in favor of a law
outlawing euthanasia. To do so would limit an individual's rights. It is my belief that
as an individual you have the right to do anything. This not only includes the rights to
life, liberty and happiness, but also the right to steal, murder and commit suicide.
Fortunately, if you exercise a right that is regulated by law you will be punished by a
government agency for it. Furthermore, if you commit suicide my religion tells me that
you will be punished my God. Not everyone has the same moral and ethical convictions as I
do; therefore, it would be wrong to force others to follow them. 
Whatever the outcome, laws relating to euthanasia need be determined by the federal
government and not by individual states. Otherwise, too many discrepancies and problems
will occur. For instance, there could be an influx of people seeking assisted suicide
into states that have legalized it. If the government permits euthanasia there needs to
be a specific set of guidelines to follow outlining who can choose euthanasia and who can
administer it. There will be complications if physicians were allowed to perform
euthanasia at anytime on anybody who wanted it. The biggest problem I see is if someone
is mentally and physically incapacitated to the point where they can't make decisions on
their own, and they want to die. In this case who is really making the decision? Are they
deciding for themselves, or are greedy relatives or insurance companies making the
choice? Absolutely no one has the right to choose who gets to live or who gets to die.
Kevorkian seems to think of himself as some sort of saint for offering assisted suicide
as a professional service. I don't agree with Kevorkian that euthanasia and "obitiatry",
as he calls it, can benefit everyone. There are definite rules and regulations at to when
assisted suicide is permissible.
Bibliography
Jack Kevorkian. (September 1993). Prescription Medicine: The Goodness of Planned Death.
(268). Prometheus Books
Brad Knickerbocker. (1998). Oregon Escalates Its Heated Right-to-Die Debate. The
Christian Science Monitor [Online], 3. Available:
http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/1998/04/08/fp4s1-csm.htm [1999, April 30].
Stephen R. Katz, M.D. (1998, April 27). Doctor Assisted Suicide - a Bad Oxymoron and a
Bad Idea. Connecticut Post [Online], 2. Available:
http://pages.prodigy.com/DOCTORINFORM/suicide.htm [1999, April 30].
Bruce A Robinson. (1999, April 24). Euthanasia and Physician Assisted Suicide: All Sides
of the Issues. http://www.religioustolerance.org/euthanas.htm#doctor [1999, April 30].
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (1996). Euthanasia, Voluntary [Online]. Available:
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/euthanasia-voluntary [1999, April 28].
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http://www.euthanasia.org/religion.html [1999, April 28].
Lynne Ann DeSpelder & Albert Lee Strickland. (1998). The Last Dance: Encountering Death &
Dying (5th Edition). Mayfield Publishing Company