When my grandfather was told that his cancer had spread, was growing quickly, and would most likely kill him within 6 months my entire family was scared. He was 62 when he got this diagnosis and other than the cancer was relatively healthy and active. At the time I was scared, but never fully grasped the situation in its entirety. Now that I'm 19 and hoping to become an oncology nurse, I have begun to ask my parents questions about his treatment and the decisions he made. Little did I know shortly after his diagnosis he had looked into physicians assisted suicide. He lived in Vermont, one of the 5 states that legally allows physicians assisted suicide; so the choice was available to him.  He chose to fight, and I will forever be grateful for the two extra years I got to spend with him post diagnosis; but the point is he got to make a choice. Personally medicine has always fascinated me. What interests me most are the shortcomings that comes along with them and what people do when medicine fails them.  It makes me think about what makes a person a prime candidate for physicians assisted suicide and how it's unfair that it's not a standardized practice across the United States. This choice should be readily available to everyone. Without having to inconvenience them and their loved ones by moving to a place where physicians assisted suicide is an option.

There are terminally ill people across the country that have decided to go through with physicians assisted suicide, like Brittany Maynard. An activist for Death With Dignity, which is a more eloquent term for physicians assisted suicide, Brittany was very vocal about her choice to end her life on her own terms which helped awareness of physicians assisted suicide gain momentum. However, living in California, at the time of her diagnosis the option was not available to her unless she moved. So that's exactly what she and her husband did; they packed up and established residency in Oregon, which is a complicated process. Brittany wrote a piece for CNN before her death titled "My Right to Death With Dignity at 29" where she explained her thought process behind her choice. Once Brittany had obtained her prescription that would ultimately end her life it was on her own terms. She died in her bedroom surrounded by family and friends while she was still able to recognize them. Her incredible advocacy for her right gives her a strong set of credibility and experience to write about.

Seemingly everyone has an opinion of physicians assisted suicide. A New York doctor Juahar Sandeep was once asked by a patient for an assisted suicide as he describes in his article "When Assisted Suicide is Not the Answer" for CNN. He was forced to say no due to laws in New York. This caused him to reflect on the validity of the ability for someone to receive physicians assisted suicide. His position on the issue is somewhere in the middle. He feels that in very few cases physicians assisted suicide is a feasible option. He also feels that depression from a person's diagnosis could push them to this position and therefore calls for more extensive psychiatric counseling. As a cardiologist he doesn't necessarily see many terminally ill cancer patients; however, he does deal with patients going into heart failure. Overall he feels that hospice care should be the answer for a majority of terminally ill patients. While not dealing with physicians assisted suicide first-hand he is a credible source because this is a largely debated topic in the medical field. There could be partial bias due to the fact that doctors always hope to save lives rather than end them.

The laws for physicians assisted suicide range greatly across the world. Some countries, like the United States, allow it in some locations but it is illegal in others. Other countries, like Switzerland, have a more open policy described in an article of the British Medical Journal. Swiss law on this matter is quite unique. There is no law making physicians assisted suicide legal but there is no law against it either. A statute says that euthanizing a person must be unselfish. Therefore, if a patient requests it and the doctor follows though they are then protected from being prosecuted as a murderer. In official Swiss records there is no difference between suicide and physicians assisted suicide. The article was written over 10 years ago but is relevant because it shows another type of law present surrounding this situation. The author, Samina Hurst, a post-doctoral fellow presented her information very thoroughly. There is little chance for bias in this article because it is simply stating facts rather than opinion.

This matter is arguable because there are many opinions on physicians assisted suicide. Some feel it should be legalized nationwide, some feel like it shouldn't be offered anywhere, and some feel that it should be an option but with a longer process and limited access. Seeing the different sides and opinions is interesting and having a source that was going through the process with first-hand experience is very unique. In my personal opinion, physicians assisted suicide should be available to all terminally ill patients, but I do agree with the fact that there needs to be a process before it is approved and put into motion. 

