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Death With Dignity In California Essay

910 Words4 Pages

Death With Dignity in California
Facing the diagnosis of a terminal illness is an incredibly personal experience for many individuals. Those who suffer from the same illness may experience it in different ways or process their emotions differently as an individual contemplating their own mortality. How a person decides to deal with their diagnosis, even wanting to end their own lives before allowing illness to take it, is a choice that inherently belongs to the individual. While there are many ethical and professional dilemmas to contemplate when considering physician-assisted suicide, the choice to live or die should ultimately come down to the patient. Physician-assisted suicide is currently a controversial topic in the state of California. …show more content…

They not only face an ethical dilemma as a moral individual, but they must also consider potential legal repercussions and consequences. Medical professionals are often dedicated to saving lives and may disagree with the endorsement of ending lives. According to Esther B. De La Torre, the author of a model essay on sympathetic euthanasia for the Academic Department of Lone Star College claims that physicians “...differ where they place the line that separates relief from dying-and killing” (Torre). For this reason, they may deny involvement in assisted …show more content…

These conditions include the patient having to get “two doctors to agree, before prescribing the drugs, that a patient has six months or less to live” (NPR). This law also requires that the patient requests a prescription “...for an aid-in-dying drug without influence from others.”(CCCC). For these reasons, the fear that people who opt for physician assisted suicide are unable to truly choose death for themselves is misplaced. People who qualify for death with dignity should not have to fear a doctor turning them down when what they are requesting is

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Freedman worries about the conceptual slippery slope associated with physician assisted suicide. Ultimately, he believes that allowing physician assisted suicide will lead to the approval of euthanasia (154). In many situations it is unclear how to deal with requested physician suicide, especially in cases where the patient has a physical disability. In such cases, it is difficult or impossible for a patient to self-administer the lethal dose of medication to end his or her own life. It therefore rules out physician assisted suicide, but denying the patient the right to end his or her own life as they choose is against the charter of rights and undermines his or her autonomy (155).

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This poll also found that 56 percent of Americans believe that physician assisted suicide is a morally acceptable act regardless of its legality, and only 37 percent believe it is morally wrong. Additionally, 62 percent of adults agree that a person has a moral right to suicide” (Ralph A Capone). Other states including Oregon, that have passed death-with-dignity laws include Vermont, California, Colorado and Washington. There is a death with dignity bill that is slated to go before the Maine Legislature in support of physician assisted suicide.

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The emotional documentary, How To Die in Oregon, chronicles the Death With Dignity Act in the state of Oregon and its impact on the lives of those suffering with terminal illnesses. The Death With Dignity Act is a law that allows individuals with terminal diseases to end their life at his or her own volition in a dignified manner. Helpless patients in volatile conditions are given a sense control when choosing Death With Dignity. Additionally, Death With Dignity allows individuals to have a sense of closure at the end of his or her life. How To Die in Oregon is intended to reveal the circumstances in which someone decides to end their own life.

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1674 Words | 7 Pages

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602 Words | 3 Pages

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