Legalize Physician Assisted Suicide

You may have heard the term 'right-to-die' as a reason that physician assisted suicide should be legal. But what is 'right-to-die'?

 

Right to die is the philosophy of 'autonomy' (right to self-determination) being applied to matters of death. In short, it is the idea that people living in American have the right to do things, if they are of mentally fit and their actions do not interfere or harm others. This right is either commonly found to be natural right or granted by the Constitution of the United States of America.

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However, it is important to look at Supreme Court ruling about the belief that there is a 'right to die' found in the Constitution. In 1997 the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution did NOT offer any protections for the 'right to die'. It is important to understand what this ruling did and did not do.

• Did allow individual states to decide on whether they want to legalize it

• Did not indicate that physician assisted suicide is something that should not or cannot be protected, merely that in the constitution there is no fundamental protection for the patients to elect to die outside of refusing or stopping medical treatment

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Are you comfortable with surrendering your right to make decisions in YOUR life?

 

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In the scholarly article “Voluntary Active Euthanasia.” written by the philosopher Dan Brock. He argues that individuals of sound mind should be allowed the right to self-determination, and that said right applies up to ending one's own life if they want to do so. No individual of sound mind should be prevented from deciding their own will in matters that concern their own well-being, to include matters such as ending their own life.

 

An individual is not property, and should not be held to the desires of others who may think they know, what is always best for another individual. What are we, but slaves if not permitted to do something as basic and fundamental a right as being able to think for oneself and choose their path?

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Double Standard

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Interestingly, the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution does allow the right to die, but only in 2 scenarios. The 14th amendment guarantees protection to those who wish to die by refusing or stopping treatment. There is little ethical difference between denying someone's desire to stop or not start a life saving treatment and refusing someone's desire to die when they have a terminal illness.

 

In the case of a person on a life support Dan Brock article notes, “It is increasingly widely accepted that a physician is ethically justified in stopping life support in a case like that of [a] ALS patient.” If it is becoming more and more acceptable for a doctor to effectively kill a patient by taking away life support, what difference is there between that and allowing a patient to undergo physician asssited suicide?

 

In both cases the result is the same, death. It is cruel to protect and allow some patients to exercise their right to self-determination in matters of ending of their life. If you find one okay, then you should find that PAS should be legalized and protected as well.