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Rachel Olson

Mr. Whitely

English 10

22 May 2015

The Problems With Assisted Suicide

Assisted suicide, also known as euthanasia, is when doctors give lethal drugs to patients

who wish to die. In some countries, the rules towards this are very strict whereas in others they

are so loose that the country might as well have a cliff that people can jump off of when they feel

sad. In the United States, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, and Vermont are the only states that

allow Assisted Suicide while many other states are considering this as an option. If assisted

suicide is legalized in more states, it could have horrible effects on everyone, such as the family

of those who die from assisted suicide. Assisted suicide in other countries, has expanded to a

dangerous level. Furthermore, many places considering assisted suicide should consider the

dangerous possibilities that could form in the future. Assisted suicide is also morally wrong and

many religions are against it, as well as human nature. Also, many people could have a mental

illness behind their decision to end their precious life early. The legalization of assisted suicide

would be devastating in view of possible misuse, the moral wrongness of it, and why a person

might want the option of assisted suicide.

If assisted suicide is legalized in the United States, the rules will deviate over time as they

have in the Netherlands. When the Netherlands first allowed assisted suicide, the rules were

rigid, but over time the Netherlands have started to assist people in death at a dangerous level.

An article in the Citizen Special by Margaret Somerville, states this fact, A middle aged
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depressed women, who was not terminally ill, was given euthanasia by her treating psychiatrist.

A court ruled this was justified (A.15). The Netherlands did not allow assisted suicide so

loosely when they first legalized assisted suicide, but now they even allow depressed people to

end their lives early. Therefore, there are many treatments for depression such as drugs or

therapy. There is no reason a depressed person needs to end their life early, especially not with a

doctor's permission. No human life, even that of someone suffering depression, is expendable.

There are many other conundrums involved with assisted suicide in the Netherlands. In

another article, that was in the Los Angeles Times states, More than 4,800 people were

euthanized in 2013, more than 40 of them for psychiatric illness, according to the Dutch

euthanasia Review Committees(Byock A.19). This shows how immense of a fiasco assisted

suicide can be after it is legalized. Those who agree with assisted suicide, try to make it sound

like a pleasant thing to their listeners, friends, and readers in many situations. However, evidence

from the Netherlands such as the assisted suicide because of a psychiatric conditions, show the

danger of assisted suicide.

Many people argue that assisted suicide will not increase the amount of death. An article

by Andrea C. Nakaya states

For example, in a 2007 report in the journal of Medical ethics, researchers

analyzed data from Oregon and the Netherlands, looking at 10 different

vulnerable groups of people including the elderly, the uninsured, and those with a

low education level. All the groups except AIDS patients, they found no evidence

that people died more often as a result of physician assisted suicide.

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This research that was done shows that assisted suicide should be legalized because it will not

increase death for the vulnerable groups that there are such as the elderly. The research shows

the reasons that assisted suicide is harmless. However, the article fails to mention how the

number of deaths by euthanasia has risen in other countries. A Sunday Telegraph in London, it

states that since the Netherlands first legalized assisted suicide, which was in 2002, the number

of deaths has doubled and doctors now make house calls to help patients die (Life 25).

Another country that has fallen into the assisted suicide trap is Belgium. Belgium was the

second country to legalize assisted suicide and decided to do so in 2002. In the Sunday

Telegraph, it states, This year in Belgium, its parliament passed a bill allowing euthanasia for

terminally ill children, with no age limit(Life 25). Just like the Netherlands, Belgium has fallen

into what many would call a slippery slope. Children are too young to make a mammoth decision

like ending their life, their brains are not yet fully developed which could affect their

understanding on the decision they are making.

Belgium, also has a dangerous amount of death from assisted suicide happening each

year. In the National Post, it states that the death in Belgium by assisted suicide was 2% of

deaths in 2013 and the people allowed to take part in assisted suicide is expanding (Belgiums

A.1). Although 2% appears to be a small ratio of deaths, is a mammoth amount of people. This

shows that assisted suicide has risen to a dangerous amount in Belgium.

In the Netherlands, as well as Belgium, there have been situations when the doctors have

not done the appropriate actions when dealing with assisted suicide. An article in the New York

Times, states, Four people, including Dr. Lawrence Egbert, medical director for group were

charged with violating the assisted-suicide law, racketeering and tampering with
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evidence(Severson A.19). Doctors in charge or involved with assisted suicide, should be trusted

doctors since they are dealing with the end of ones life. These doctors and possibly many more

dealing with assisted suicide, can not be trusted. Also, incompetent doctors being the people that

are for assisted suicide, show how many faults lie behind the sand of assisted suicide. Many

patients that receive assisted suicide did not even give their consent to this action. There are

more than 500 deaths a year from euthanasia (and possibly many more) where the adult was not

competent or whose consent was not obtained (Somerville A.15). Margaret Somerville, wrote

this in a Citizen Special to show how immense a fiasco assisted suicide can become. The doctors

supporting assisted suicide not only tamper with evidence but they also go behind the backs of

their patients.

Assisted suicide not only leads to a disaster, but it is also morally wrong. Margaret

Somerville, in a Citizen Special, stated,research shows that humans have a basic instinct against

killing other humans, which might be a source of the widely shared moral intuition that its

wrong to do so (Somerville A.15). This research shows that humans, most often, dont want to

kill each other unless they have some sort of mental illness. It is not right to end one's life early.

Also, many physicians don't even want to partake in assisted suicide. In a survey of 5,000 CMA

members last year, 45 percent said they supported legalizing assisted death, while 27 percent of

doctors said they'd be willing to provide that to patients (Ballingall A.1). This survey indicates

that over 50% of doctors do not want assisted suicide legalized. It also shows that almost half of

those that want it legalized wouldnt be okay with administering it. When even the people that

would be in charge of assisted suicide find it wrong, why then is assisted suicide even a

question?
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One doctor, Dr. Margaret Cottle, is devastated that she and her fellow doctors will be able

to help a person die (Ballingall A.1). Doctors have always been there to better life and keep

people healthy so that they will live comfortably. There is Hospice to help those who have

reached what appears as there last stretch of life, die peacefully. Nursing Homes are in place so

that the elderly wont have to die alone or live alone and so that their life span can possibly be

increased by a year of so. Then, there are hospitals which are in place to also keep people

healthy, safe, and alive. Americans as well as many other countries, want to keep people alive.

We have national suicide lines that are open 24/7 to keep people alive, if America wants to help

people end their lives early, why then are there suicide lines in place? Suicide lines are there to

keep people alive because that is the focus of many. When someone has a terminal illness or

feels like ending their life, many are devastated because almost everyone in that persons life

wants to keep people healthy and alive.

Assisted suicide should be completely illegal in the United States because of the real

reason it is wanted. Many, say that assisted suicide should be legalized because of the pain that

many patients live with. However many of those people that could have pain dont want assisted

suicide because of pain but because of other issues. In the the Los Angeles Times, Ira Byock

wrote an article and shared this research: In the 1900s, proponents in oregon campaigned to

legalize physician-assisted suicide in cases of unrelievable physical suffering for the terminally

ill. Oregon Health Authority research, however, shows that 75% of those who took that option

didn't site pain as a concern (A.19). Many of these people that want assisted suicide dont even

want it for the same reason that people think it should be an option.
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Even those who suffer from some of the worst pain and heartache an illness can bring

dont really want assisted suicide. An oncologist, Kathleen Foley, helps cancer patients that deal

with excruciating pain. She has seen that most cancer patients dont want to die but rather want

to get rid of pain so that they can keep on living (McHugh A.13). Even those that want assisted

suicide dont actually want assisted suicide but rather want to minimize their pain so that they

can live as long as possible.

Another enormous reason that assisted suicide should be illegal in the United States, is

the possibly hidden mental illnesses that many may have. In an article in the Wall Street Journal,

Paul McHugh stated ,Suicide is mentioned only by those patients with serious but treatable

depressive illness, or by those who are overwhelmed by confusion about matters such as their

burden on loved ones and their therapeutic options (McHugh A.13). Many of the people that

want to take advantage of assisted suicide have a mental illness causing the want to end their life.

Although they might have what some would call a good reason to die, they might only want to

die because of depression. On a website, someone said Depressive illness distorts a persons

thinking so that they cant think clearly or rationally (Mental). Those who are depressed,

probably dont want to continue living anyways so making the decision of ending their life, even

if they are terminally ill, might not be the best option for them and their families.

In the same article above, by Paul McHugh, he states that the law doesnt require a

psychiatric assessment before allowing a person to receive assisted suicide (McHugh A. 13).

Since the law doesnt require a psychiatric assessment, there is no saying that a person that gets

assisted suicide is mentally healthy. Also, an article from the Hastings Center Report, stated

Questions of whether the person was terminally ill, was in untreatable mental or physical pain,
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or had an irredeemable poor quality of life are not explicitly among the factors to be taken into

account in deciding on prosecution (Assisted 3). This again shows how many if not all of those

who chose assisted suicide, have a psychiatric condition.

Because rules will change, it is morally wrong, and why people want it, assisted suicide

should be illegal in the United States. First, in the Netherlands and Belgium, the amount of

deaths by assisted suicide have risen to a dangerous level and the rules have deviated. Second,

human instinct is against killing other humans so even the law of nature is against the basic idea

of assisted suicide. Finally, many people want assisted suicide only because they are depressed

or have some other type of mental illness behind it all. Assisted suicide in the United States, will

only hurt the country and hurt the medical profession.

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Works Cited

"Assisted Suicide in the U.K.: From Crime to Right?." Hastings Center Report (Vol. 40, No. 3).

May/Jun 2010: 0_3. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 15 May 2015.

Ballingall, Alex. "Assisted Suicide Ruling Divides Doctors." Toronto Star. 08 Feb. 2015: A.1. SIRS

Issues Researcher. Web. 15 May 2015.

"Belgium's Slippery Slope." National Post. 25 Nov. 2013: p. A.1. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 15

May 2015.

Byock, Ira. "Think Twice About 'Death with Dignity'." Los Angeles Times. 01 Feb. 2015: A.19. SIRS

Issues Researcher. Web. 15 May 2015.

"Life Is Too Precious for Lawmakers to Assist Its Ending." Sunday Telegraph. 13 Jul. 2014: p. 25.

SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 15 May 2015.

McHugh, Paul. "'Death With Dignity' Claims Another Victim." Wall Street Journal. 25 May 2013: p.

A.13. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 15 May 2015.

Mental Illness and Euthanasia. The Life Resources Charitable Trust. 2011. 4/27/2015.

Nakaya, Andrea C. "Current Issues: Biomedical Ethics." Current Issues: Biomedical Ethics. 01 Jan.

2012: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 15 May 2015.

Pacholczyk, Tadeusz. "Please Step Back From the Assisted-Suicide Ledge." Wall Street Journal. 08

Oct. 2012: p. A.17. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 15 May 2015.

Severson, Kim. "Georgia Court Rejects Law Aimed at Assisted Suicide." New York Times. 07 Feb.

2012: A.19. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 15 May 2015.

Somerville, Margaret. "The Role of Death." Ottawa Citizen (Ottawa, Canada). 14 May 2009: A15.

SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 15 May 2015.