The Anti-Suffering Argument “When I can’t tie my bow-tie (sic), tell a funny story, walk my dog, kiss someone special,” said a man dying of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), “I’ll know that life is over. It’s time to be gone” (Cato Unbound).This is a quote from a man who was terminally ill and knew that he wanted to die on his own terms. The terms under which this man wanted to die, known as physician assisted suicide, (PAS), is a process in which, at the patient’s request, a physician provides to a mentally competent, terminally ill patient a lethal dose of prescription medication that the patient plans to use to end their own life (Physician Aid-In-Dying). It is often termed as a medically-sanctioned suicide or Death with Dignity. PAS …show more content…
It is an emotionally painful process to see our pets pass, but we know we’ve done the humane thing. One of the advantages that we have when our pets are sick is the ability to discuss the process with the veterinarian. What is his opinion about how we should proceed? Is my pet suffering? To me, it begs the question: how can we behave more humanely with our pets than we do with our loved ones? The term suicide implies a mental impairment which requires medical intervention and prevention. In 1990, suicide was determined to be a felony, as it fell under the laws of homicide. Therefore, doctors were prohibited from assisting in the deaths of terminally ill patients, lest they be subjected to criminal charges. In 1996, Oregon passed the Death with Dignity Act, which was the first of its kind, in part to remove the stigma associated with the term suicide and allow a physician to assist in the death of a terminally ill …show more content…
Her disease was not treatable and she was given two months to live. Hospice immediately stepped in for her pain management and my siblings and I took care of her every day. She was disappointed that she was dying at the age of 61 but otherwise she was in good spirits. As the weeks passed, though, and the pain increased, she started to feel the impact of her impending death. At the first sign of pain, she was given medication to alleviate it, but the side effects were horrible. She was constipated, incontinent, and often delusional. Within a few weeks, the medications that kept the pain at bay turned her into a zombie. The last night that I took care of her, while the others slept, as I administered her liquid morphine, she asked me to give her some extra. She said “Please make this stop, Michele. You know what to do.” In some ways, I wish I had been able to give her an overdose of morphine and end her suffering, but I couldn’t do it, nor could I call the doctor to request that he do it. Thankfully, she passed away the next