Imagine being told by your doctor that you only have a few months left to live due to a deadly disease but within this time you will suffer greatly in pain. A 29 year old woman by the name of Brittany Maynard chose to take her life through assisted suicide after a long battle with brain cancer. After going through episodes of great pain and suffering with each one getting worse, her and her family decided that assisted suicide would be the best way to go. She moved to Oregon where there is a “Death with Dignity” law and she scheduled the day of her death as November 1st 2014 (Maynard 1). Maynard’s choice re-sparked the controversial debate surrounding assisted suicide. Assisted suicide is a practice where a terminally ill patient choices to take their own lives with a physician’s assistance. The patient goes through test and screenings to determine if they are cleared for the practice. The patient schedules the day and time they wish to end their lives so they have full control of everything. The physician administers a dose of medication that is painlessly lethal to the patient receiving the drug. The patient is given the prescription on the day they choose and can take it any time after and they will end their lives on their own terms. …show more content…
The family and caregivers must come to a conclusion on whether assisted suicide is the right choice. The attitude of the families and caregivers of the patients are very mixed. In one study done on 1200 nurses in the United States, 47% are in favor of legalizing assisted suicide and said they would practice it (The role of critical care nurses 1). Critical care nurses see patients in their worst times of suffering and pain. They have first-hand experience with many patients nearing the end of their lives. These nurses have feelings and do not want the patients to suffer the way they do. If they could help in easing the pain anyway they can including assisted suicide, they