Summary: In 1997, the state of Oregon passed the Death with Dignity Act permitting medically assisted suicide for those with terminal illness. But this does not include degenerative illnesses like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's which aren’t considered fatal. Many Americans have begun pushing for the law to be widened to include some degenerative diseases and ensure living wills that may result in death are honored. For example, one person said in her living will to not feed her if she lost the ability to feed herself, but she was still spoon fed until her death. Oregon’s current law requires patients be diagnosed with a terminal illness with 6 or less months to live, and must ingest the drug themselves. But surprisingly, many right to die organizations have opposed expanding the laws in states where medically assisted suicide is already legal as they fear that such a push might give critics ammunition and ruin their efforts in other states.
Analysis: I generally am for medically assisted suicide and agree with Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act. It allows people to avoid a painful death when they are able to consciously make a decision and are already going to die. But it is difficult to decide if medically assisted suicide should be allowed when illnesses are degenerative like Alzheimer's and Parkinson as it may impair judgement. I think that if the victims write a living will requesting to let them die, the will should be honored. But it is definitely more complicated once the disease has been diagnosed and its symptoms start to appear.
Questions:
- Should medically assisted suicide only be allowed for people with terminal illness?
- Should people have the right to medically assisted suicide with non-terminal illnesses?
- Do you think living wills that may result in the person's death should be honored?
7 comments:
I think that if a person writes something in their will requesting what happens if they do develop a degenerative disease, then it should be honored. If a dead person's will was not honored in any other aspect (say inheritance goes to someone they didn't want it to), then there would be public outrage. The only difference with this will request is over a politicized issue.
I think medically assisted suicide should only be allowed for people with terminal illness with certain restrictions such as how much time you have left to live and other physical limitations such as loss of autonomy. I am not sure if people should have the right to medically assisted suicide with non-terminal illnesses because it's hard to draw the line between euthanasia and actual suicide. Honoring living wills should be situational because again it's difficult to tell or differentiate between someone who has chosen to end their life in the right mind and someone who is depressed and using euthanasia to commit suicide.
I think that it is ridiculous how the government continuously tries to regulate the moral choices of citizens. If someone decided to end their life because of a terminal illness it is their choice and the government should have no say in it. It doesn't affect anybody else so why should the government be involved at all? The government seems to constantly try to make choices for citizens as if the government thinks that they are the parents of the citizens and can make personal choices for the people. Issues like this are issues that the government should not even be a part of because nobody is being affected negatively due to people ending their lives. The government is not the mommy and daddy of the people and they should stop acting like it.
I think that medical-assisted suicide should not be exclusive to people with terminal illness. If a person chooses to die, it is their choice. I think that living wills should be honored just as regular wills are honored. However, I do think there is a fine line between a person with a degenerative disease writing a living will and the same person requesting medically-assisted suicide. If their judgement is impaired, as Timmy said, wouldn't their judgement be impaired the same way when they are writing a living will? I dunno, but I agree with John in that this is not the government's place to intervene.
If someone decides that they want to die, they do not need to justify it. As long as the person consents, and it does not violate anyone else's rights it is an acceptable action. It is the patient's life, so they are the ones ultimately in control of what happens. Also, the likelihood that someone who wants to live accidentally says they want to die due to a disorder like Alzheimer's is rather slim. For the physician assisted suicide aspect, I don't think that physicians should be required to offer suicide assistance, but as long as the patient properly consents, there is nothing wrong with a doctor helping someone die.
I agree with the comments above, and people with terminal illnesses can choose to die if that is what they want. I personally would not want to live in pain from a sickness I can not control. I think that at the end of the day people will commit suicide if that is what they really want with or without the governments consent.
I believe that medically assisted suicide should be permitted for those with diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, as they are known to be debilitating, incurable, and associated with a diminished quality of life. To a certain extent, I also believe that living wills that request physician-assisted suicide should be respected, as individual choices should be honored. However, I do acknowledge the possibility of these requests being made with impaired judgement, whether as a result of degenerative diseases or mental health problems, such that the person would hypothetically regret the decision to pursue physician-assisted suicide afterwards. I’m unsure how this distinction could be made and/or enforced, though Oregon’s law should definitely be expanded to include incurable diseases at the very least.
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