Suicide is a taboo in our culture. With a suicide happening once every 12.3 minutes in America, you begin to understand why people treat the term as if it's toxic (CDC). Suicide tears apart families and communities by spontaneously removing loved ones from someone's life, seemingly without any purpose or reason behind it. Suicide is seen as one of the most selfish things someone can do to their family and those who care for them, but in some cases suicide may do more good than harm. Have you ever imagined what it's like to live with a diagnosis that could end your life at any moment? Would suicide still be as frowned upon if it ended your uncertainty and suffering? The majority of terminally ill patients live their lives being defined and engulfed by their horrible diagnostic, slowly wasting away until they're an empty shell of who they once were. Physician-assisted suicide (PAS) is the act of a doctor knowingly and intentionally giving a terminally ill patient the drugs needed to take their own life (All).  The patient is fully aware of the choice they're about to make and once they take the drugs they pass peacefully, usually falling into a deep sleep before their heart stops. It may seem unimaginable to allow a family member or close friend to take their own life, but it's better to let them pass on their own accord rather than letting them suffer until their disease kills them. Only nine out of our fifty states allow assisted suicide, in my opinion that number is forty-one too low (procon). There are a numerous amount of benefits to assisted suicide from reducing suffering to providing closure to the families of the patient. I think all fifty states should allow terminally ill residents the option of assisted suicide in order to avoid their misery and allow them to pass peacefully on their own time.

The word euthanasia is derived from the Greek words Eu, meaning good and Thanatosis, which means death. The term euthanasia was first used by a Roman historian when describing the death of Augustus Caesar(Life). He wrote: "[Augustus was] blessed with an easy death and such a one as he had always longed for ... he prayed that he and his might have a like euthanasia ... " (Life). Suetonius, the historian mentioned above, used the word in terms of his peaceful passing, but now it's adopted the definition of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering (Life). Historians have found sufficient evidence supporting that they practiced abortions, euthanasia, and occasionally preformed a mercy killing to honor their God's (Euthanasia).  

Euthanasia didn't sit well with everyone in the past.  The Hippocratic Oath was the first public objection to assisted suicide that was documented in history. It was written between the 5th and 3rd centuries BC by Hippocrates -- who was known as the father of medicine -- or one of his students. In the oath it states the following: "I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect," (JHU). Before physicians could begin their practice, they were required to swear to uphold certain standards for their work. This included swearing to never perform an assisted suicide to someone who asked. In 1948 a more modern form of the Hippocratic Oath appeared in the form of the Declaration of Geneva. In 1991, forty-seven medical schools in the United States adopted or developed their own form of the modernized oath. Now, nearly all medical schools require a similar verbal promise as a requirement for graduating (PBS).  Because most schools developed their own form of the oath, they were able to change it to suit their beliefs as a hospital. This being said, not all of the revised versions included the "anti-euthanasia" clause. In a 1993 survey of 150 American and Canadian medical schools, only fourteen percent of their modernized oaths prohibited euthanasia (PBS).

There are two types of euthanasia  --  passive and active. Passive suicide is when you refuse essential nourishment long enough that it eventually ends your life. This includes deciding not to take medicine, and refusing to eat or drink for a long period of time. There was a very famous case involving a woman, Terri Schiavo, who was in a vegetative state and under her husbands care. She could breathe on her own but her doctors believed she was unable to create thought or emotion.  Her family wanted to keep her alive and continue providing care for her, but her husband felt that she was not truly living and that her life was no longer of value. Against her families' wishes, her husband ordered the removal of her feeding tube. Terri's parents appealed against their son-in-law's decision and had her feeding tube reinserted two days later. It was then taken out and reinserted two more times, resulting in her death from starvation (The New York Times). As you could imagine, her family (and the rest of the nation) was both furious and heartbroken that the government would originally side with her husband and allow the removal of her feeding tube. Terri's law was created during the case to allow the government to intervene and order her feeding tube reinserted. Governor during the incident, Jeb Bush called Terri's law an "act of compassion" (SP Times).  The second type of suicide is active suicide. This is the more popular type involving taking steps to ensure one's death. Physician assisted suicide is seen as active suicide because a patient is knowingly ingesting a drug to end their life.

November 8th, 1994 was a monumental day for the people of Oregon. State officials voted to pass the "Death With Dignity" act. This act allows terminally ill patients residing in Oregon to end their lives through the voluntary self-administration of lethal medications, which are administered by a physician for that purpose (Oregon). In order for someone to be seen as "fit" to make the decision on ending his or her life, there are certain requirements that need to be fulfilled. A prospective patient must be 18 or older and a resident of the state. They also have to have a life expectancy prediction of six months or less, which has to be unanimously agreed upon by two separate licensed physicians. The patient has to be suffering from a terminal illness, but have a sound enough mind to communicate his or her own healthcare decisions (Pro Con). One downfall to this requirement is that patients with Alzheimer's and dementia usually can't speak for themselves because they are no longer fully coherent, so they aren't allowed to undergo the process. Failure to meet any of the required protocol, the patient must be referred for a psychological examination. Montana, Vermont, California and Washington all proceeded with passing laws allowing assisted suicide for terminally ill residents. 

Once these states legalized assisted suicide, terminally ill people from all over the country moved to these states to legally end their lives. In one case, a 29-year-old woman with terminal brain cancer moved to Oregon to die peacefully. She insisted that, "[she] will die upstairs in [her] bedroom ... and pass peacefully with some music that [she likes] in the background," (Reuters). In the states where assisted suicide isn't legal, patients can die unexpectedly in a cold hospital bed. They may not be with their family members, and they could be in agony waiting for their suffering to be over. People who are in support of assisted suicide see it as a way to die on their own accord. They get to choose when and where they pass, as well as who's there alongside them. They don't have to suffer or wonder when their disease is going to kill them, they can "die with dignity" in the comfort of their own homes.

Assisted Suicide carries some surprising statistics with it. Even though not all fifty states have passed legislature allowing assisted suicide, many people in America have given their input on the topic through polls and interviews. In a 2006 Gallup poll asking if a physician should be allowed to painlessly take a terminally ill patient's life, sixty nine percent of voters answered yes (Health Research Funding). This shows that even though it is not legalized, many people would be in support of assisted suicide if the law were to pass. In the Netherlands in 1990, nine percent of deaths were as a result of assisted suicide (Health Research Funding). The Netherlands also has about 10,000 citizens who carry a "Do No Euthanize Me" card on themselves at all times in case they were in an accident or taken to a hospital for some reason (Health Research Funding). In 1998 Jack Kevorkian, also known as Dr. Death, taped an assisted suicide and submitted it to CBS's show 60 minutes, who then aired it on television (CNN). As a result of his work being aired, Kevorkian was convicted of second degree murder and delivery of a controlled substance and serves eight years in prison. 

Although I believe that assisted suicide is a good idea and should be adopted across the nation, there are some worries that many people have about the process. One worry is that people will start abusing the right. They think that people will begin to fake illnesses like depression in order to end their life. I do think this might happen, but because of all of the tests and doctors you have to go through in order to be approved for this process, I doubt that people who aren't terminally ill will be able to beat the system and get around numerous medical personnel.  Another concern people have is for the elderly. They fear that nurses will begin to use assisted suicide as a way to clear out nursing homes and hospitals (Euthanasia Debate). When looking at other countries where euthanasia is legal, it was determined that there is no the effect on the elderly population and their death rates. Unless an old person has a terminal illness, they will not be approved to undergo the medical process. Another concern is that if it were legal, the met standards could eventually broaden and allow almost anyone to decide they no longer want to live. In the Netherlands, where euthanasia is legal, the law has changed from allowing only the terminally ill, to allowing anyone who is "suffering hopelessly and unbearably" (Virtual Hospice). 

Physicians also have concerns about the legalization of assisted suicide, rightfully so, because they are dealing with having the responsibility of ending someone's life. It is believes that allowing doctors to prescribe drugs in order to end a life will change the doctor-patient relationship and create a lack of trust in physicians (Virtual Hospice). Euthanasia is only allowed if it is believed that the patient has six months or less to live. Another concern is that what if it is recommended to someone who rejects it, and then they outlive their previous life expectancy. There could be a lawsuit filed towards the doctor if the patient believes that he or she was pressing assisted suicide too hard. There are several other worries and concerns of both patients and health care providers, as there are with any morally questionable topic. But I know that if assisted suicide were legalized, there would be specific rules and regulations that would be required and strongly enforced to ensure mishaps are avoided. 

After doing in-depth research on my topic, I think that legalizing assisted suicide in all fifty states would benefit Americans by reducing their suffering and providing their families with a peaceful resolution. I believe that allowing people to suffer and wither away as a result of a disease is inhumane and ethically unjust. The national legalization of euthanasia would provide terminally ill Americans with another option besides letting their disease consume them. They will be able to take control of whatever amount of life they have left and provide themselves with the most peaceful passing possible. The Greeks, Romans, and other countries have practiced euthanasia without issues so America has some catching up to do. If we fail to provide people with this practice, they will continue to move across the country in order to fulfill their desires. The evidence proves that this process is safe and effective and America will only benefit from its legalization.

