Pro Assisted Suicide Arguments Against Euthanasia
Mary Funderburk
Professor Davies
English 101
1 December 2015
Assisted suicide in terminally ill patients
“To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.” Nelson Mandela. What are human rights? The right to life, the right to our bodies? Do we have a right to control how we die? Assisted suicide or euthanasia is medically receiving help to end one's life and it is legal in five states. Despite being a highly debated issue there has yet to be a consensus on the ethics of performing euthanasia. While those in favor of euthanasia say that people have the right to end their suffering on their own terms and the legalization will permit much needed regulations to protect the patient from abuse; those against assisted suicide argue that the practice contradicts …show more content…
One of the most powerful arguments pro-assisted suicide is that terminally ill patients should have control over how they go especially if they are in pain. “The right of a competent, terminally ill person to avoid excruciating pain and embrace a timely and dignified death bears the sanction of history and is implicit in the concept of ordered liberty.” (ProCon.) They argue that if a patient is of sound mind and possess the means to do so, they should be allowed to end their lives on their own terms. In the documentary The Trouble with Dying, filmmakers follow the stories of two women with debilitating diseases, multiple sclerosis and ovarian cancer, who are pro-euthanasia. The woman with multiple sclerosis, a painful terminal disease that atrophies muscles, says “It’s my life. It should be my death.” She also feels that when she becomes a
Professor Davies
English 101
1 December 2015
Assisted suicide in terminally ill patients
“To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.” Nelson Mandela. What are human rights? The right to life, the right to our bodies? Do we have a right to control how we die? Assisted suicide or euthanasia is medically receiving help to end one's life and it is legal in five states. Despite being a highly debated issue there has yet to be a consensus on the ethics of performing euthanasia. While those in favor of euthanasia say that people have the right to end their suffering on their own terms and the legalization will permit much needed regulations to protect the patient from abuse; those against assisted suicide argue that the practice contradicts …show more content…
One of the most powerful arguments pro-assisted suicide is that terminally ill patients should have control over how they go especially if they are in pain. “The right of a competent, terminally ill person to avoid excruciating pain and embrace a timely and dignified death bears the sanction of history and is implicit in the concept of ordered liberty.” (ProCon.) They argue that if a patient is of sound mind and possess the means to do so, they should be allowed to end their lives on their own terms. In the documentary The Trouble with Dying, filmmakers follow the stories of two women with debilitating diseases, multiple sclerosis and ovarian cancer, who are pro-euthanasia. The woman with multiple sclerosis, a painful terminal disease that atrophies muscles, says “It’s my life. It should be my death.” She also feels that when she becomes a