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Death With Dignity Research Paper

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If you knew that you had very little time left to live, how would you want to go? Would you rather die peacefully without pain, or in agony and excruciating pain for up to months before you finally go? In our country, the first option is only legal in a few states. Everyone should have the option to end their life on their own terms. This is why death with dignity should be legal in every state. Death with dignity is a much more merciful end to a painful alternative. "Living with a disease is a cruelty we wouldn 't tolerate for a pet" ( 'Death With Dignity ' Laws Offer Compassionate Option). If we care enough about our pets to not have them suffer, why wouldn 't we do the same for our friends and family? Living with a terminal illness is hard enough, but worrying about how you will die is unfair. When these patients are close to death, sometimes live isn 't worth living …show more content…

Some people think that this medication could be easily abused or wrongly obtained. However, there are many steps in place to prevent abuse of the lethal medicine. "The option is open only to people 18 years or older who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness that will lead to death within six months" ( 'Death with dignity ' laws offer compassionate option). Patients under 18 are not able to request this medication. Since the illness must lead to death within six months, the medication will not end a life much earlier than it would normally be. Patients also must be mentally competent about what they are doing. "Two doctors must confirm the diagnosis and determine that patients are capable of making their own health decisions" ( 'Death with Dignity ' Laws Offer Compassionate Option). Death with dignity should be legal in every state. It is merciful and should be the choice of no one other than the patient. If death with dignity is legal in every state, so many people will be able to end their suffering on their own terms, but if not, terminal illness will continue to be met with a

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The Death with Dignity Act, also known as the Right-to-Die Bill, allows terminally-ill adults grant their wishes to hasten their death in some states where it is legalized. These patients that are mentally capable of making their own decisions have the right to voluntarily request and receive a prescription medication to end their suffering sooner. Oregon, Washington, Vermont, and California are the only states that practice the Death with Dignity Act. Oregon voters approved Death with Dignity Act in 1994 and went into effect in 1997. Washington implemented the same act in 2008 followed by Vermont in 2013 which is the first state to pass through legislative process.

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Why has dignity become the defining and unifying aspect of the right to die debates? Whether “Dying with dignity” is defined as having a meaningful death or as a death without undue suffering or loss of autonomy (as proposed by the right to die movement), “dying with dignity” is now synonymous with having “a good death.” Dignity represents a taken for granted ideal of both sides of the debate, with an assumption that all human beings desire to die with dignity. Many right to die advocates argue for more relative and contingent definitions and understandings of dignity. In current terms, dignity is subjective and may depend on how the person views their mental and physical being.

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“Death with Dignity is an end of life option that allows a qualified person to legally request and obtain medications from their physician to end their life in a peaceful, humane, and dignified manner at a time and place of their choosing.” Death with Dignity is administered by the state legislation. Individuals will obtain a prescription and medications for terminating their life but this can only be done it states that have Death with Dignity laws (FAQs, n.d.). Seconal is the main drug of choice when it comes to speeding up a death of an individual who is writhing away or suffering from a terminal disease such as cancer. These individuals who decide to end their life will take Seconal and fall fast asleep with no problems.

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“Be smart, be strong, live honorably and with dignity, and just hold on” (Fray). Physician assisted suicide or better known as Death with Dignity isn’t your everyday topic or thought, but for the terminally ill it’s a constant want. The Death with Dignity isn’t something that all people or religions are in favor of and nor is the act passed in all states in the United States. Only three states in the U.S. today, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington offer their residents the option to have aid in dying as long as all the requirements are met. Death with Dignity doesn’t effect just the terminally ill person, but as well as family and friends around them creating many conflicting thoughts when opinion if Death with Dignity is truly moral and a choice

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