Peer Influences

Assisted Suicide
Janice Dean
PHI 200: Mind and Machine
Instructor: Andrew Stave
April 16, 2012

Assisted Suicide Assisted suicide and responding to difficult tragic issues are personal. According to Mosser, (2010), “a person is 99% certain to die within a certain time, but before that death naturally occurs, the patient is kept alive only to suffer. Doesn't it make more sense to allow that person to avoid that suffering, and voluntarily choose a somewhat earlier painless death? What purpose is served, in other words, by keeping a person alive only to experience constant, agonizing pain” (p. 2.3)? Descriptions of personal issues and not laws are formed from personal experiences, feelings and emotions. The question is "What is the response to assisted suicide? After reading about Wolfs’ father's death, confronted with the problems that occurred at the end of his life, and challenges Wolf had to consider, such as her views on assisted suicide, and I understand the difficult choices made and the reasons. It was family. To start it is a firm belief that assisted suicide should be legal. No one condones shooting or killing another person or, his or her family, and this is not considered suicide, and it is murder. I do not believe a loved one should have to suffer needlessly, especially if it is his or her decision. Supporting a person’s decision to end his or her life; relieving that person of a painful existence, or other related issues is complicated but assisted suicide should be a choice. People, who have incurable diseases and live painfully, should be allowed to commit suicide. This statement is bold, and many questions are not answered about how to proceed on the issue of assisted suicide. However, I do believe that “Life” is a valuable gift and should not be taken lightly. How would I react if I were in Susan Wolf position? Wolf, (2008), stated that after her initial response of “No,” she knew right away that she needed to re-think “no” (p. 1). I do not believe “no,” was her initial response; she was afraid, she had to weigh out her options, what were the laws on assisted suicide; the list of questions are many. My reaction probably would be the same. The first consideration would be, “Pain and suffering, and if ending one’s life would affect future lives. I was faced with this dilemma years ago for a friend. Her mother asked me to help my friend understand that she was in a large amount of pain and wanted to die; my friend and I discussed her mother’s wishes, and after listening to what I had to say; she agreed to an extent. How could I make my friend understand, when I had a hard time understanding. I did a large amount of soul searching after the shock wore off, and I did convince my friend, that this was what her mother wanted. I never knew what she did or did not do but her mother died the next evening. Assisted suicide or suicide in general is something I do condone, and if asked by a loved one, I probably would assist. As contentious as this statement may be, I do agree with and believe in assisted suicide. Meaning that I do not believe that people have the right to do as they wish with another person, despite personal beliefs, the feeling is that people have an inalienable right to do as they wish concerning his or her life. After all, at the end of the day that person is the one who is suffering the most. Family and friends suffer also from loss, whether assisted or, not. I guess I am saying “a loss is a loss” no matter how it arrives. Susan Wolf stated "I would not want to bear the burden of having accelerated of causing his death by euthanasia or assisted suicide; this is hard enough" (Wolf, 2008, p. 2). I disagree, I personally believe that bearing the burden of not helping my friend understand what her mother wanted her to do, was not too much, it was a relief. Why would I feel this way because, I would not, in any way, want to be the cause of unwanted suffering for anyone. I have spent a large amount of time around death and dying enough to know what families emotional grief are; it is nothing compared to what the person is suffering. It hurts beyond belief to watch a loved one suffer needlessly, especially when the end of his or her life is so obvious. I can understand, empathize, and sympathize with Wolf; I just cannot agree with her on her dilemma. I understand that there are many questions left unanswered, as always. This topic has debates, and the reason I understand the stance, Wolf, (2008) takes, I do agree with it. Offering a dying person the respect to make his or her choice with dignity and on his or her terms appears to be the right choice. There is never going to be an easy way for family and friends to end a life; however, there should be enough respect and love for them to appreciate the person’s wish not to live. People do not have the right, really, to inflict personal outlooks and beliefs onto others, especially when a person is dying. Just follow the dying person’s last wishes. Unquestionably, I agree that making a decision like this, would be difficult. Nowhere is it written that “life and decisions are easy.” Family and friends may offer support, love during the process; regardless of how a person chooses to die. The primarily fact regarding how people view assisted suicide, and euthanasia, are for example, like discussing the Bible. It is my personal belief that the only thing that should matter when this decision is made is what an individual believes. The topic is controversial but so is the truth. I have placed myself in Wolf's position, responded to her tragic and difficult issues, and augured for, and why I believed that my responses are good reasons. In addition, I have indicated and provided an example about the extent I agreed with Wolf, and where I disagreed with her.

Reference
Mosser, K. (2010), a Concise Introduction to Philosophy, San Diego, Bridgepoint Education, Inc., Retrieved from, https://content.ashford.edu Rupkey, D., (2011), Assisted Suicide Pros and Cons; retrieved from http://voices.yahoo.com/assisted-suicide-pros-cons-7803900.html?cat=5
Wolf, Susan. (2008), Confronting Physician-Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia: My Father's Death; Hastings Center Report; 38(5), 23-26, Retrieved from EBSCO Host Database.