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Brittany J. Guerrero

English 2010

11 December 2014
Position Paper
Assisted Suicide-The Right to Die

The right to die is the choice of any individual to commit suicide or to undergo
voluntary euthanasia. Possession of this right is often understood to mean that a person
with a terminal illness should be allowed to commit suicide or assisted suicide or to
decline life-prolonging treatment, where a disease would otherwise prolong their
suffering to an identical result. (Wikipedia)
Typically, the practice of assisted suicide is done with the help of a physician who
prescribes the patient with the means to carry out their suicide. Usually this is done with a
high dose of medication, but can also be done by the physician withholding treatment that
would be necessary for the patient to survive.
Another term that is associated with assisted suicide is right to die or
Euthanasia a term derived from a Greek word meaning "happy or fortunate in death".
Those who advocate the practice of assisted suicide use this name. This term makes the
practice seem more ethical because it replaces the negative words assisted suicide.
This title, and other more positive versions are titles that assisted suicide has been given

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in current five states that have legalized the practice, which are: Oregon, Washington,
Vermont, New Mexico and Montana. In the other 45 states, it remains illegal.
Although this topic is somewhat new to our culture, it is a practice that has been
around for quite some time. In ancient cultures, people born with mental illness and
disabilities or those of old age were often killed or left to die so they would not have to
suffer through the pain of living with problems that lower a persons quality of life.
The reason that assisted suicide is so controversial is because in this day and age,
we have deemed that life has a purpose and meaning and there is no justified reason to
kill anyone or to take your own life. One the other hand, some people feel that it is their
own body and their own life, and they may do with it what they want. The idea that a
doctor can somehow determine that someones quality of life is low and that the person
deserves to die is a decision that they arent necessarily qualified to make.
There is a theory from Assisted suicide overview. By: Lee Stingl, M. Alexander,
called the slippery slope theory. This theory is to say that if a doctor permits one of
their patients to choose this route, then eventually they will allow more and more to do
the same, even if they are not as ill or considered terminal. This theory also states that
eventually people may be forced to take their life because they are pressured to do so by
doctors or family members who might think that they know whats best or who have
power over those with disabilities who are unable to make the choice for themselves. At
what point would we distinguish that a person indeed deserves to die because of their
illness? Would a person need to fit specific guidelines or criteria before they would be

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considered sick enough to choose to die on their own terms? Who is qualified to make
such criteria?
Those who advocate assisted suicide see this issue as a personal freedom. They
say that being able to have the choice to die shows dignity because a person with a
terminal illness should not have to suffer the pains of their disease and should be entitled
to a quick and painless death. They say that assisted suicide should only be an option
when death is inevitable.
There are currently five states in the United States that have legalized doctorassisted suicide. Those states are Oregon, Washington, New Mexico, Montana and
Vermont. The Oregon Death with Dignity act, set requirements before a person may
commit suicide with a doctor's assistance. The patient must be of sound mind when they
request a prescription for a lethal dose of medication. Two doctors must confirm a
diagnosis of terminal illness with no more than six months to live. Two witnesses, one
non-doctor unrelated to the patient, must confirm the patient's request, and the patient
must make a second request after 15 days.
While researching cases for this paper, a woman named Brittany Maynard chose
to publicize her choice to end her life with the help of a doctor. Brittany was diagnosed
with a stage 4 malignant brain tumor. She was originally told she would have 10 years to
live, but within a few months of treatment and surgeries, the doctors determined that she
would most likely only make it another 6 months. After hearing about the progression of
her illness and what this tumor would cause to her body, Brittany decided that she would
rather make the choice to die, rather than be a victim of death from her illness. As her

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symptoms worsened, she set a date that she would take the pills prescribed to her and die.
On November 1, 2014, Brittany chose to end her life with the prescribed medication.
At first when began my research, I had no idea where I stood on this subject. Part
of me wanted to think that in certain circumstances, that maybe it was all right to choose
to end your life; then I heard her story, I was in awe. I couldnt believe that a woman, at
the young age of 29, and just newly married, would decide to end her life. I was so hurt
by her story, that she would want to leave her family and friends behind so willingly,
while there are others out there fighting for their lives and families clinging on to the final
moments with their loved ones. I couldnt believe how many people were calling her
brave and saying they were proud of her for making this decision. I was again, hurt,
because I have seen my mother suffer from cancer. I was only 12 years old when my
mom was diagnosed, so I do not remember much, but I remember her being extremely
sick, and I remember days when she thought she might not make it another day. I also
saw her win her fight with cancer, and she come out stronger and chose to live out her
life, even though most days she was in pain, but still living, just so she could raise my
siblings and I; that to me is brave. I cant imagine what my life would have been like
without her. Im glad that the option for assisted suicide was not around for her, not that I
think that she would necessarily have chosen it, but because I cant imagine why a person
would want to leave behind a family.
For many reasons, I have decided that I do not wish for the other 45 states to
legalize assisted suicide. I do see where it could be something that may benefit someone
who is in an extreme amount of pain or suffering, but I also think that the cons to assisted
suicide out weight the pros. I dont think that any person is qualified, no matter how

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many years of schooling and practicing medicine, to determine the quality of another
persons life. I think that making a criteria to determine if a person has the right to die
would be extremely difficult, and would vary from one person to another. Determining
such criteria is not something that can be concrete, because not one person can say that
one person is suffering more than another. Lastly, I think that legalizing it would push a
lot of boundaries. I think that if we legalized it for people with terminal illnesses, what
would stop us from going one step past that and making euthanasia legal? What would
stop us from going back to ancient practices of allowing those with disabilities to die at
birth? At what point would we decide that its gone too far?

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Works Cited

"Assisted Suicide in the United States." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Oct. 2014.
Web. 05 Nov. 2014.
Stingl, Lee, and M. Alexander. "Assisted Suicide Overview." Salem Press Encyclopedia.
2013. Web. 22 Sept. 2014
Mitchell, John B. "Understanding Assisted Suicide: Nine Issues to Consider." Ann Arbor:
University of Michigan Press, 2007. Web. 22 Sept. 2014.
Mitchels, Barbara, and Andrew Reeves. "The Right to Die: Law and Ethics. Therapy
Today (2009): 18-23. Print.
Griffith, Richard. "Should Assisted Dying Be Lawful?" British Journal of Community
Nursing (2014): 1-5. EBSCOE. Web. 22 Sept. 2014.
Gibson, Robin. "THE CASE FOR EUTHANASIA AND PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED
SUICIDE." ISAA Review: Journal of the Independent Scholars Association of
Australia (2012): 55-66. EBSCOE. Web. 22 Sept. 2014.
"Right to Die." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 11 Apr. 2014. Web. 05 Nov. 2014.

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