Assisted Suicide Argumentative Analysis

Death is a natural process that will be experienced by everyone at some point, desirably at the end of a long, well lived life. The reality is that no one knows when that time will come or how it will happen. Unfortunately, for the terminally ill, death is in the near future and it is a sobering reality. Therefore, when that time comes, people need to know that they will have options, and the assurance that death does not have to be an agonizing end. They can choose to endure the annihilating pain that comes with the disease and allow it to take its natural course or choose to put an end to it, surrounded by those who love them. For the terminally ill the decision of ending their lives with compassion should be a fundamental right, a personal

In contrast, Kevin Drum, also a California resident and son-in-law to Harry, will not have to face such devastating and cruel choice of dying prematurely because in “2016 California passed the bill in support of assisted suicide” (Drum 30). Drum, who is also suffering from “myeloma” (27) and currently facing the fight for his life, finds comfort in knowing that when the time is right he will not have to die alone. As a result, the passing of the “assisted suicide” (Drum 28) bill will allow people like Drum to be aided by a physician in ending their suffering when the pain is too unbearable. The bill comes too late for Harry but Harry’s case highlights the need for such legislation throughout the nation. Consequently, the passing of this bill provides people with options and the confidence of knowing that when things are too much to handle there will be help available. Drum affirms, “I will ask my doctor for a prescription sedative that will kill me on my own terms¬—when I want and where I want” (60). Therefore, the passing of the “physician-assisted suicide” (Drum 28) bill will provide countless others the choice of ending their suffering surrounded by those who love them while enjoying as much as possible all the time they have