Matthew Donnelly Case

Terminal illnesses can strip even the most advocate life loving people, rendering them a depressed shell and unwilling to continue any further into the deep pits of despair that life has allocated to themselves. The cruel and unusual punishment to such enthusiastic people leaves them, “…permanently incapable of functioning in any dignified human fashion” (Andre, Velasquez 2). In the case of Matthew Donnelly who had, “… lost his nose, his left hand, two fingers on his right hand, and part of his jaw” to cancer, hope of relief was nowhere to be found, high nor low (1). The extreme pain had stripped every bit of joy from Donnelly who typically, “loved life” (1). Donner suffered, “lying in bed with teeth clenched from the excruciating pain,

His pleas went unanswered” (1). The laws in place against the practice of medicinal and controlled suicides prevented the tormented soul from being released from this hell, apparently the phrase “life is a sacred gift” applies, too, as said person’s only wish is relief (“Religious” 1) As Matthew lie suffering, “…Matthew’s brother Harold, unable to ignore Matthew’s repeated cry, removed a .30 caliber pistol from his dresser drawer, walked to the hospital, and shot and killed his brother. Harold was tried for murder” (1). A dear and near family member was so tormented by the pain of his loved one, that he took the gruesome task upon himself and in doing so, the consequences that accompany that action. An act of compassion resulted in accusations of hatred, and legal prosecutions, whereas if states enacted commonplace PAD for terminally ill patients such as Matthew, his final moments, for both himself and involved family members, would be a more peaceful and dignified period. No person would be left directly with the task of ending another and then, as if it was there desire, prosecuted for it. Not a single terminally ill patient wishes for an uprising and commotion to be formed around their plead, in fact most wish to end their lives by, “…medical means, nonviolently, out of respect for themselves and others” (Lagay