Physician Assisted Suicide @ MindSay 
Give me death or give me death
Consider this: Your dear friend has grown very old and is in the final stages of life. He suffers from diabetes and severe arthritis, he's gone completely blind and has lost most of his hearing, and he has so many tumors in his digestive system that he can no longer eat anything without vomiting most of it back up. You hate to let go because he's been there for you over the course of many years, yet you can't stand to see him suffer through so much pain. You are thinking only of him and his well-being when you decide to put him out of his misery, and you do the only thing you know to do: you have him killed by lethal injection. Should you go to jail for assisting in a death? What if this best friend was named Fido, had four legs and a tail, and communicated only by barking or growling?
Consider this situation: A healthy man lies on a gurney. He is surrounded by people who are there specifically to see him. A member of the medical staff on hand gives him an injection, and he quietly goes to sleep. A few minutes later he is dead as a result of the drug that was injected. What if that man was your husband, or your father, or your son? Would you sue the medical staff for malpractice? What if that man was the mastermind of a mass murder, or a terrorist act? Would you celebrate his death?
Lastly, think of this: A woman lies in a hospital bed, where she's been for fifteen years. She is blind, can't speak or walk or eat, or even respond to outside stimuli, but she can breathe on her own. A decision has been made to remove any life support she receives and allow her to die. Since her body still breathes without assistance, "life support" means her feeding tube. Over the next two weeks she continues to live, without food, without water, without medication. Her body is slowly starving and dehydrating, and her loved ones have to watch helplessly. They are told that she can feel no pain but since the woman cannot communicate, they have no way of knowing for sure.
What I can say without a doubt is that if I were to refuse to give my pet food and water, I could be arrested for animal cruelty. If prisoners on death row were refused nourishment and hydration, the captors would be reprimanded, possibly even convicted themselves, for using cruel and unusual punishment. But if a person wishes to not be kept alive in the event that they are unable to care for themselves any longer, the only option is to be starved and dehydrated until their body ceases to function. How is this humane?
Physician assisted suicide is a controversial topic, and is only legal in one state (Oregon). Dr. Jack Kevorkian is still serving time in prison for his role in the voluntary deaths of over 100 people. Some will argue that doctors should be prolonging life, not cutting it short. But what about quality of life? Is it right for doctors to keep a person alive if they are no longer truly living, such as in the case of the woman who was in a persistent vegetative state for fifteen years? And when it comes to the right to die, is it ethical to deprive someone of food and water as a means of death? Why is that method more ethical than a lethal injection?
If a person of sound mind confers with his or her attorney, has proper legal papers drawn up, signed, notarized, and distributed amongst family members, friends, and medical staff, they can legally be allowed to die naturally and refuse the use of life sustaining systems in the event that their body cannot function on its own. Why then, can a person not request to die quickly by lethal injection, given those same criteria? Under the proper circumstances - a terminal disease that is incurable or past the point of viable treatment, or a critical injury from which one cannot recover - it should be allowed. We aren't talking about angsty teenagers who wish death upon themselves after a dramatic break-up with their beau or rift with their best friend. We're not talking about those who suffer from a mental disorder that may affect their decision-making abilities and will to live. We're talking about healthy-minded adults who simply want to live each day to the fullest and have some control over the quality of their lives in their final hours.
If you're still unsure, here's a quick quiz:
Which way would you prefer to die?
a) Starve to death
b) Dehydration
c) From an incurable disease or injury that inflicts days, even months or years of suffering before slowly ceasing to function
d) Quietly in my sleep
We're kind enough to give pets and convicted murderers that last option. Why not common citizens?
Consider this situation: A healthy man lies on a gurney. He is surrounded by people who are there specifically to see him. A member of the medical staff on hand gives him an injection, and he quietly goes to sleep. A few minutes later he is dead as a result of the drug that was injected. What if that man was your husband, or your father, or your son? Would you sue the medical staff for malpractice? What if that man was the mastermind of a mass murder, or a terrorist act? Would you celebrate his death?
Lastly, think of this: A woman lies in a hospital bed, where she's been for fifteen years. She is blind, can't speak or walk or eat, or even respond to outside stimuli, but she can breathe on her own. A decision has been made to remove any life support she receives and allow her to die. Since her body still breathes without assistance, "life support" means her feeding tube. Over the next two weeks she continues to live, without food, without water, without medication. Her body is slowly starving and dehydrating, and her loved ones have to watch helplessly. They are told that she can feel no pain but since the woman cannot communicate, they have no way of knowing for sure.
What I can say without a doubt is that if I were to refuse to give my pet food and water, I could be arrested for animal cruelty. If prisoners on death row were refused nourishment and hydration, the captors would be reprimanded, possibly even convicted themselves, for using cruel and unusual punishment. But if a person wishes to not be kept alive in the event that they are unable to care for themselves any longer, the only option is to be starved and dehydrated until their body ceases to function. How is this humane?
Physician assisted suicide is a controversial topic, and is only legal in one state (Oregon). Dr. Jack Kevorkian is still serving time in prison for his role in the voluntary deaths of over 100 people. Some will argue that doctors should be prolonging life, not cutting it short. But what about quality of life? Is it right for doctors to keep a person alive if they are no longer truly living, such as in the case of the woman who was in a persistent vegetative state for fifteen years? And when it comes to the right to die, is it ethical to deprive someone of food and water as a means of death? Why is that method more ethical than a lethal injection?
If a person of sound mind confers with his or her attorney, has proper legal papers drawn up, signed, notarized, and distributed amongst family members, friends, and medical staff, they can legally be allowed to die naturally and refuse the use of life sustaining systems in the event that their body cannot function on its own. Why then, can a person not request to die quickly by lethal injection, given those same criteria? Under the proper circumstances - a terminal disease that is incurable or past the point of viable treatment, or a critical injury from which one cannot recover - it should be allowed. We aren't talking about angsty teenagers who wish death upon themselves after a dramatic break-up with their beau or rift with their best friend. We're not talking about those who suffer from a mental disorder that may affect their decision-making abilities and will to live. We're talking about healthy-minded adults who simply want to live each day to the fullest and have some control over the quality of their lives in their final hours.
If you're still unsure, here's a quick quiz:
Which way would you prefer to die?
a) Starve to death
b) Dehydration
c) From an incurable disease or injury that inflicts days, even months or years of suffering before slowly ceasing to function
d) Quietly in my sleep
We're kind enough to give pets and convicted murderers that last option. Why not common citizens?
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