Assisted Suicide Should be legalized in California
There is a rise in reported cases of suicide due to terminal illnesses. Patients with terminal illnesses such as cancer consider the options of terminating their lives to put end to their sufferings. However, there are debates with regard to legalizing assisted suicide. Opponents contend that no one has the right to end another person’s life. They believe in the sanctity of life. On the other hand, some argue that assisted suicide should be given as an option to terminally ill patients because of its advantages. First, they said that it will avert the long physical pain and stress the patients are going through. Second, such conditions are medically expensive. It will cause the family and the patient to suffer financial problems. From the practicality of the process and the relief it would give to patients, I believe assisted suicide should be legalized in California.
Assisted suicide in its ordinary meaning is giving the patient an option to terminate his or her own life assisted by the physician. In a more detailed meaning, TE Quill explained, the “usual” case of physician-assisted suicide involves the physician giving the patient a lethal supply of pills, which the patient may (or may not) later elect to swallow as the disease progresses (qt in Brody, 1995). If we look closely, there are essential elements to consider in the process of assisted suicide. First, the process must be done by a qualified medical practitioner. In this case, the patient is still given proper assistance. There are other qualifications in this first element depending on which state the act is done. For instance, among the five U.S states where assisted suicide is legal, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington, requires that only Doctors of Medicine or Doctor of Osteopathy licensed to practice in the specified state are allowed to do the act. It is also important that the doctor is willing to do the act. There is a protection rewarded to the doctors such as immunity from prosecution on the grounds of prescribing medicine for the termination of life. Second, the patient must be terminally ill. Terminally ill means the patient’s disease cannot be cured or adequately treated and will eventually lead to the patient’s death in a short period of time. He must have a prognosis of six months or less to live. Last, the act must be under the direction of the patient. This is important because the patient has the sole authority to decide for himself. It is, therefore, essential that the patient is capacitated to decide. The physician also has the responsibility to make sure that the patient understands the process and the consequences. He must make sure that he as acquainted the patient other options such as hospice care and other pain relieving medications.
Opponents of assisted suicide assert that the act is not constitutional and the act of terminating life alone makes the process unacceptable. However, there are circumstances which should be considered. It is true that to kill or to assist someone to terminate his life is not a good act but if the person concerned is terminally ill, is another issue.
Assisted suicide should be legalized in California for the following reasons; first, because of the main argument that every individual has the right to decide on how he want to live his life. The autonomy should be given to the terminally ill patient to decide for himself. Imagine the pain a person had to go through while under medications. Also the burden the family member has to bear witnessing the pain and sufferings of the patient. They have the right to avert their sufferings under a dignified manner. Many advocates say that there is a significant number of cases in which even the best medical technology cannot alleviate the physical pain of the terminally ill (Manning, p 40). This implies that there are really instances when terminally ill patients have no more chance of living and the best way to help him is to take his sufferings away. If the patient decides for assisted suicide, he believes that it is what’s best for him. They should be allowed to die with dignity. It is true that we have to treasure the sanctity of life. It is also true that everyone deserves a quality of life, however, the sanctity and quality of life are reduced when a person is terminally ill. A life of a terminally ill patient evolves to endless visits to hospitals, surgeries, and medications. He will eventually live a life of sympathies from friends and relatives. Moreover, even if there is hope to live, the chance is too shallow that the end of his journey is death. Assisted suicide is showing mercy and compassion
However, there are certain conditions which should be met. According to the discussion of Joseph Raz, there are three fundamental preconditions for the exercise of personal autonomy. First, the patient must have a full understanding of his options and choose between them. This means that the patient must be mentally capacitated to decide for himself since his termination of life is the main issue. Second, he must have a sufficient number of options to choose among so that choice is meaningful. Lastly, the decision must be free from coercion and manipulation (qtd in Gorsuch, 87).
These conditions are necessary in order to discern whether a patient is befitting to undergo assisted suicide. It is not enough that he is terminally ill but he must be able to discern and decide on what to do with his life. What is notable is that the patient must not be coerced or manipulated by his family and his doctors. It must not be a case where he was not given another option or he was left with assisted suicide as the only option.
Second reason, it is only proper to provide a dignified death for terminally ill patients. A patient with only less than six months to live is more likely bed ridden, slow mobility, depressed, and declining vision. His deteriorating health has to be witnessed by his families and friends and this would not help him improve his state. Sympathy is the least a terminally ill patient would want to receive from his close family and friends. If we leave a patient in this kind of state, the last memory of their loved ones would be her sorry state. A person who lived a happy, content, and dignified life deserves a dignified way of dying. This is how assisted suicide would help a terminally ill patient.
Moreover, terminally ill patients are so depressed they would think of ways on how to end their sufferings as well as to help lessen his family’s burdens. In a study, it was found out that both depression and hopelessness provided independent contributions to predicting desire for hastened death (Breitbart, 2000). Among patients who were neither depressed nor hopeless, none had a high desire for hastened death. In order to avoid cases of suicide in a disturbing manner, it is but proper to give him the option of assisted suicide. This will avoid undignified manner of death. Therefore, assisted suicide should be legalized.
Third, assisted suicide will have greater benefits socially and economically rather than waiting for the patient to die. The benefits include death with dignity, patient averts pain and sufferings, and he has the option to choose the manner of his death as well as the time of his death. The disadvantages, on the other hand, are focused more on the ethical and moral aspect of the act.
In addition, the family of the patient has to suffer witnessing the deteriorating state of their loved one. This would help them ease the pain and depression. Aside from the stress and depression, they will also suffer from medical expenses. Depending on the condition of their patient, they had to look for a sophisticated hospital with high-end medical apparatus and experts. This will cause the family to financial and physical torment. Legalizing assisted suicide will definitely help both the patient and family.
Lastly, legalizing assisted suicide would bring public awareness about the benefits of assisted suicide. By making the public aware of the benefits, there will be common debate among the proponents and opponents of assisted suicide. On the part of the physicians, they will not have to suffer any guilt or pressure of terminating the life of their patients because of the common understanding about the act. Also, legalizing it would help the physicians to study and handle assisted suicide in a manner acceptable to the patient, the family, and the public. There will be a wider understanding about the view on death with dignity.
There are criticisms against assisted suicide. Opponents argue that assisted suicide undermines the Hippocratic principles that have governed medicine for thousands of years which state that one “will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it nor […] make a suggestion to this effect” (Wong, 2013). This is true, however; physicians also have the responsibility to relieve the suffering of his patients. In addition, a physician more than anyone else understands the pain and sufferings his patient is going through it is but proper for him to help in any way he can. Legalizing assisted suicide will expand his ability to help his patients as well as the patient’s family.
Terminally ill patients have to suffer physical and psychological issues including the thought of being a burden to his family. While some are willing to let time take its course some are willing to end their life painless. This is where assisted suicide plays its role. Physicians should be allowed to help their patients to terminate their life in a manner chosen the patient himself without being criticized by the public. Although there are ethical reasons opposing assisted suicide, there are also ethical reasons to legalize it such as dignified death, economical reason, cost-benefit analysis, and liberty interest. Legalizing assisted suicide in California will extend the ability of the physician to provide relief from sufferings, bring awareness to the public about the benefits of assisted suicide, and also give the patient the right to choose between life and death, a respect for patient autonomy.
Works Cited
Breitbart, William et.al. “Depression, Hopelessness, and Desire for Hastened Death in Terminally Ill Patients With Cancer”.December 13, 2000. Retrieved on November 25, 2016 from <http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/193350?resultclick=1>
Brody, Howard. “Physician-Assisted Suicide: Family Issues”. Volume 01, Issue 1, 1995, pp. 19-28
Gorsuch Neil. “The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia” New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2006
Manning, Manny. “Euthanasia and Physician-assisted Suicide: Killing Or Caring?”.New Jersey: Paulist Press, 1998
Wong, Danny. “The Arguments and Criticisms Surrounding PAS”. March 18, 2013. Darthmouth Undergraduate Journal of Science. Retrieved on November 27, 2016 from <http://dujs.dartmouth.edu/2013/03/physician-assisted-suicide-the-arguments-and-criticisms-surrounding-pas/#.WDrXVPl942w>