Research Final
Research Final
Research Final
English 1201
24 April 2019
Imagine, you were diagnosed with a life-threatening disease, you were told your
organs will shut down overtime. You have been to what seems like a thousand different
doctors and they all say the same thing, there is nothing they can do for you. You are
now admitted to the hospital, where you will stay for weeks, months, or even years,
watching your life waste away with nothing you can do. Think about your family, having
to watch you get weaker and weaker day after day. You all are constantly thinking
“When will this nightmare end?” It seems like you have been given a death sentence
with your body being the jail cell and nobody can bail you out. The only way for this to
end is for your life to be over. You wish you could just end your life now but the “Death
with Dignity Law” is not legal. For thousands of people across the world, this is their
with no cure. Many of those people will research physician-assisted suicide, although it
is only legal in eight states, such as California, Colorado, and the District of Columbia.
Each state varies on the method they use to aid a patient in their death. Over the years
the number of people in Oregon who choose to use the “death with dignity act” has
continually risen. In 1998 there were ten people who used this act, although in 2013,
seventy-one people acted on the death with dignity law. (“Physician-assisted suicide
Fast Facts”).
If physician assisted suicide should become legalized it would allow for terminally
ill patients to take their quality of life back and allow them to have a say in when and
how they die. “Physician assisted suicide, or the death with dignity laws, is the patient’s
voluntary termination of one's own life by administration of a lethal substance with the
help from a certified physician,” (Shiel, 1). If this controversial suicide was currently
legal, it would benefit the terminally ill patient in many ways. The patient would no
longer be in constant pain and would die knowing it was their choice, and on their own
time. The death with dignity law would also help the patient’s family. Once the patient
passes away their health care and medical bills falls onto the surviving family members.
With the death with dignity law, health costs would be reduced. The family’s pain will
also be reduced. Death with dignity laws could also benefit other patients. Although
there are many cons to the death with dignity law, such as violating the physicians
Hippocratic Oath and their role as a physician. Although, there are ways to avoid the
The “Death with Dignity Law” could greatly benefit the patient. Most terminally ill
patients are in a constant, prolonged pain for weeks, months, or even years leading up
to their death. How is it right for us to force someone to constantly be in pain? Also, the
death with dignity law helps patients to be able to die knowing that they died on their
own time and not at the hands of a disease that chose when it was time for the patient
to pass away. Without physician-assisted suicide, the patient could possibly end their
life on their own terms, but in a much more horrifying and traumatic way.
Legalization of the “Death with Dignity Law” could also help take away the
burden put onto the patient’s family. Most times, when terminally ill patients pass away,
their medical bills fall onto their family members. Typically, these medical bills are costly
due to months or years of medical care. The Medicare program has paid out over fifty-
five billion dollars to cover the hospital and doctor bills of terminally ill patients for their
last two months of life. Also, the medicine we have today unnecessarily prolongs the
patient’s life. (Meyer "The cost of keeping the terminally ill alive" 2011). Although, if
physician-assisted suicide was legal the cost of the medical bills could be greatly
reduced due to the patient spending less time needing medical assistants. The reduced
medical bills would then reduce the financial burden put upon the patient’s families.
The “Death with Dignity Law” could possibly help other patients also. Patients
with a terminal illness do not have a cure for their disease although they still require hep
from doctors and nurses. If physician-assisted suicide were legal and a patient chose to
act on it, the doctors and nurses that were caring for the terminally ill patient could then
focus more on a patient that has a chance at recovering from their disease. Also, if a
terminally ill patient chose to act on the Death with Dignity Law, their organs could be
Although, there are many good reasons to believe that it should be legalized to
allow for physician-assisted suicide, there is also reasons to consider that it should not
be legalized. Such as, would this be giving the doctor too much power in choosing the
finalization of a person’s life and does it go against the Hippocratic Oath that they took
upon becoming a physician. Many people also believe it goes against many religious
beliefs. Legalizing physician-assisted suicide could also open the door to the many
By making the death with dignity law illegal, it is therefore going against the
patients’ bill of rights. For any other type of disease, patients can choose what kind of
treatment they get. According to the bill of rights of patients it is a patient right to accept
or refuse treatment for their illness. (Woodard "Patients' Bill of Rights in the United
States" 2017). If people with treatable illnesses have the option to choose their
treatment plan, including whether they accept or refuse treatment, why should the rights
Physician-assisted suicide in many ways could affect physicians and their job. All
physicians take a Hippocratic Oath that is stated as follows: “I swear to fulfill, to the best
of my ability and judgment, this covenant: I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of
those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine
with those who are to follow…” (Peter Tyson "The Hippocratic Oath Today" 2001). Many
People also believe that physicians are supposed to be healers and helping a patient in
their death goes against their role as a healer. Some people also say that if doctors had
the ability to aid a patient in their death, this would possibly give them too much power.
Although, a doctor's’ job is to make people feel better, if a terminally ill patient is in
constant pain, how are the doctors then doing their job? If doctors are supposed to help
people, how are they helping the patient by watching them waste away day after day?
Also, not everyone is perfect, not even doctors. There could be a chance a
doctor has given the patient the wrong diagnosis. In a case like this the patient could
choose to act on the Death with Dignity Law not knowing they have a curable disease. It
is also possible that doctors, the patient, and their family could be prompted to give up
on recovery too early. In these extreme cases, the patients could have a chance at
recovery, but they never got the chance to find out due to them acting on the Death with
Dignity Law. Although, the possibility of a doctor giving the wrong diagnosis in very rare.
If the death with dignity law were legalized it is very unlikely a patient would act on the
death with dignity law due to being given a wrong diagnosis. Another way to avoid this
would be requiring a second opinion on the patients disease before they are approved
religions believe that physician assisted suicide is an invasion into God's territory of life
and death. ("Christian Views of Euthanasia" 2016). Christians believe that if you commit
suicide you will go straight to hell. Although, religious beliefs should not affect whether
physician assisted suicide is legal. Written within the Bible there are a few references
where a person has purposely killed themselves. If physician assisted suicide were to
become legal, those with conflicting religious beliefs would never be forced to even
There also could be many challenges that come along with the legalization of
physician assisted suicide. One being non-critical patients getting aid in dying. There is
always a chance that a person who is not terminally ill could ask a Physician to aid them
in their death. If the doctor accepts, they would essentially be helping a healthy patient
commit suicide. Except, the law would be written to prevent this from happening. As
stated above, if patients were required to get a second opinion on their disease it would
prevent those who are not terminally ill from being able to end their life with help from
perhaps even benefit others. It would not only lift the burden off the patient and their
family, but it could also help save other patients. The organs of terminally ill patients
could be donated to other patients who could be saved by receiving organ transplants.
The patient’s family would no longer be forced to see their family member in such pain
and the patient would no longer have to bear the. Physician assisted suicide should be
agree to or see the reason for. Consider your life – do you want to have the opportunity
to have a quality of life or do you want to waste away one cell at a time over weeks,
months, or even years. This is a decision that you must make for your quality of life.
No one knows your pain, your suffering, your wish to have the right to die in dignity.
Works Cited
www.religionfacts.com/christianity/euthanasia.
“Physician-Assisted Suicide Fast Facts.” CNN, Cable News Network, 3 Jan. 2019,
www.cnn.com/2014/11/26/us/physician-assisted-suicide-fast-facts/index.html.
“Take Action - Advocate for Death with Dignity in Your State.” Death With Dignity, 19 Mar.
2019, www.deathwithdignity.org/take-action/
Hippocrates. “The Hippocratic Oath Today.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 27 Mar. 2001,
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/hippocratic-oath-today/
Meyer, Richard. “The Cost of Keeping the Terminally Ill Alive.” KevinMD.com, KevinMD.com,
Bill-of-Rights-in-the-United-States
Warnes, Sophie. “How Many People Choose Assisted Suicide Where It Is Legal?” The
www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2014/jul/18/how-many-people-choose-assisted-
suicide-where-it-is-legal.