Kyle Gibson

Mrs. Pettay

ENG 112

29 March 2017

Euthanasia: Right or Wrong?

In 2014, Brittany Maynard, young and newly married 29-year-old, was diagnosed with

Stage 4 Glioblastoma (a malignant brain tumor). Because her cancer was so severe, she was

given a maximum of six months left to live, but she didnt let it stop her. Maynard had, from that

point forward, made it her life goal to capitalize on the days she had left, and advocated for the

right for a consenting death. Maynard lived a fulfilling life until her final day, spent with her

family in a small yellow house in Portland, Oregon, was painlessly ended by lethal injection

(Maynard). Maynards story reminds both sides on the heated discussion of Euthanasia that it is

ultimately up to the patient to decide what is best for them. So, is it possible for these two

entirely polarized arguments, on the discussion of a humans ability to choose between life or

death, to find common ground? Furthermore, will these decisions have implications that stretch

beyond legality and into human rights?

Others argue that the legality of physician assisted suicide defiles an array of basic human

rights. Some even claim that Euthanasia is no different than killing another person, and

physicians use it as a cop out instead of doing their job, which is to keep that person alive.

Although there could be instances of such laziness, the purpose behind Euthanasia isnt to harm,

but to heal. Though there are doubts about its exact purpose, but there is a clear divide between

the two positions on this topic. Surprisingly, though, both sides are fighting for the rights of the

patient, rather than the physician. Since this common ground may not be enough, one has to
recognize the earnest opinion of the opposition. Many fight the legalization of Euthanasia to

protect the rights of U.S. citizens and those all around the world, to deter the rising number of

committed suicides, and to provide incentive to do more extensive medical research ("Euthanasia

- ProCon.org").

Although every aspect of Euthanasia is not fundamentally sound, there are numerous

counts of positive effects that can be found from it. In fact, there are many protections for the

patient and the physician alike in states or countries that have legalized Euthanasia. Specifically

in the Netherlands, where Euthanasia has been legalized as of 2001, physicians must follow a

strict line of requirements that avoid the possibility of an unwanted death. Firstly, the physician

is required to knowingly adhere to the patient's explicit requests of assisted suicide after all other

possibilities have been discussed, especially in cases of long-term suffering. Secondly, the acting

physician must consult at least one other doctor whom had/has seen the patient and they write a

report on the procedure to follow. Thirdly, the act of assisted suicide must be done through the

guidelines which are scientific, moral, and painless (Rurup).

All things considered, there is a common push for patients rights. Especially in a time of

extreme vulnerability and pain, the last thing a terminally-ill patient needs is to be taken

advantage of. There have been countless cases of prolonged deaths for the victims of diseases

such as cancer, ALS, or Alzheimer's disease, and in this topic of debate we sometimes forget who

were actually advocating for. A comprehensive medium to solute this issue would be for

advocates and critics alike to search for alternate means for patient palliative, or end-of-life, care.

For both sides to come together as a collective to provide the best means of patient care would be

a huge step in the medical community, thus stronger unifying the polarized arguments that haunt

us today. The stagnation of these debates leaves the medical community in a free-for-all which
leaves a minority of the states in a vulnerable position to be attacked by the rest. For example,

an open ballot vote in each state that has dealt with legalizing this issue has ultimately been

chastised and blamed as murderers and greedy doctors, although this is not the case most of the

time.

If done in a civilized and selfless manner, the fight against life-ending diseases could be

made easier if those in favor of, and not in favor of, Euthanasia come together and work for a

common goal. The medical world has shown us that there are very few things that have been

able to trump humans ability to counter with medicine. Cancer, ALS, and other aggressive

diseases have proven their ability to be unstoppable in the years that they have been a problem.

With that being said, it is up to medicine to come up with a solution to protect against these

diseases, and that all could be made easier if we put aside our differences and fight for a bigger

solution.

Works Cited

Euthanasia - ProCon.org. Should Euthanasia or Physician-Assisted Suicide Be Legal?, 3 Sept.

2017, euthanasia.procon.org/. Accessed 22 Mar. 2017.

Maynard, Brittany. My Right to Death with Dignity at 29. CNN, Cable News Network, 2 Nov.

2014, www.cnn.com/2014/10/07/opinion/maynard-assisted-suicide-cancer-

dignity/ Accessed 29 Mar. 2017.

Rurup, Mette L. The Reporting Rate of Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide: A Study of .

the Trends.Medical Care, vol. 46, no. 12, 1 Dec. 2008, pp. 11981202. JSTOR,

www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/23053773?ref=search-gateway:

87d8d0d959abc44c37041f7064365012. Accessed 28 Mar. 2017.