Imagine being told you have a terminal disease, and there aren’t any treatment options to reverse this diagnosis. Would you rather wait until you die naturally or pass away before you suffer? Physician-assisted suicide should be an option for the individual, and not the government. Physician’s take an oath to protect their patients wishes and regards when caring for them. Physician-assisted suicide is currently legal in 5 states and involves a healthcare professional aiding a terminally ill patient with the supplies and/or knowledge to commit suicide.Physician-assisted suicide is only initiated by the patient, and then the healthcare professional will have to review the case and decide to help or not to help. Euthanasia is commonly confused with physician-assisted suicide, but they are different on many aspects. Euthanasia is when a healthcare professional makes the decision to put a terminally ill patient out of their misery from putting them to rest, in other words giving them lethal drugs so they die. The main difference between physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia is who and when delivers the medication to make the patient unresponsive. Physician-assisted suicide takes place when the individual takes the medication to end their life, and the time or day is chosen at their wish. Euthanasia is administered from a healthcare professional and generally it is chosen by them when they end the patient’s life. Whether an individual chooses to end their life regarding health issues, or mental issues is completely their choice.

            I found a lot of information from one of my references regarding the laws and limitations on physician-assisted suicide. Physician assisted suicide is legal, illegal, and partially legal in different parts of the United States.  According to the Journal of Public Law 5 states including; California, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington have legalized physician-assisted suicide within their legislation. Oregon was the first state to legalize physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill patients in the year of 1994 which is regulated under the Death with Dignity law which was passed in 1997. Washington was the next state to follow with the Death with Dignity act and theirs went into effect in 2009. In 2013, Vermont signs and the law is passed through the state and physician-assisted suicide is legal. California and Colorado were the last states to legalize physician-assisted suicide within their states. California legalized physician-assisted suicide in 2015 and Colorado legalized physician-assisted suicide in 2016. Montana has stated they are legalized in regard to physician-assisted suicide if the patient is competent and terminally ill with a life expectancy. Alabama, Massachusetts, and West Virginia prohibit physician-assisted suicide in regard to the Common Law. There are four states that are uncertain or have made no effort towards this controversial topic in making it legal, those states include; Nevada, North Carolina, Utah, and Wyoming. There are 37 states in the United States that have laws prohibiting physician-assisted suicide and instead, will be tried with homicide depending on the severity of the case. There have been countless suicides using various other unsafe methods within the 37 states who prohibit physician-assisted suicide within the terminally ill patients.

            There are so many aspects to consider when dealing with an incompetent or unresponsive adult that is unable to make their own decisions. What would this individual want if he/she saw them in this state of mind, what are their financial affairs in life, do they have an advanced directive, did they express anything before being put in this state of mind? Imagine being on your final days of life, at home where you are most happy, surrounded by individuals that make you the happiest you have ever been. It seems like you have been waiting three years to die, but it’s only been a long, hard, exhausting three months. Last week, you said goodbye to your immediate family and spent time with all children and grandchildren and this week, you can barely get out of bed. You know the time is coming because every day your body works harder to get through the day. You have a home health nurse and a home health aide that stays at your residence 24 hours a day, 7 days a week because you have been on hospice, which is also known as palliative care, since you were diagnosed with the terminal illness three months ago. The doctor has prescribed you morphine that the nurse gives you every 4 hours so you are just breathing at this point in your life. The nurse’s aide is repositioning you every 2 hours and checking your oxygen to make sure you are being adequately taken care of. Is this how you imagined spending your last days of your life? Some individuals would rather have this option available to them so they wouldn’t have to spend their last couple days in agony and pain. Another thing to consider is what do you want to be remembered as when you leave this world? According to an article I had read, which is listed in the references section, this article is titled “physician-assisted suicide from a patient’s perspective”. This article effectively states how this individual has a terminal illness but is living a good life and was faced with the decision of life or death and they chose to live. They understand the individuals who are in the same position as them, and believe that physician-assisted suicide should be legalized for those that are dealing with the same limitations as they are. This individual also states how they can’t do one thing the same that they use to before being diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) but they have a supporting family and are debt-free whereas, that is not the same scenario for every individual in the same position. I believe this article is worth reading when thinking about if physician-assisted suicide should be legalized nationwide or not because it comes from a bias standpoint.

How would you feel if your primary care provider told you that you had a terminal illness and a life expectancy? If you lived in a state, listed above that had the physician assisted suicide option, would you, do it? Many individuals don’t understand what it is like living with a terminal illness, and living on the edge of death, but living day to day as a struggle, isn’t living. Physician-assisted suicide could be so beneficial for the individual that is suffering from the terminal illness, and their loved ones. Physician-assisted suicide should be an option for the individual, not a decision that is made from the government.

References:

Emanuel, E. J., Onwuteaka-Philipsen, B. D., Urwin, J. W., & Cohen, J. (2016). Attitudes and practices of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide in the United States, Canada, and Europe. JAMA: Journal of The American Medical Association, 316(1), 79-90. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.8499, Accessed September 6, 2017

Lewis, B. (2017). A Deliberate Departure: Making Physician-Assisted Suicide Comfortable for Vulnerable Patients. Arkansas Law Review (1968-Present), 70(1), 1-55, Accessed September 6, 2017

Myers, R. S. (2017). The Constitutionality of Laws Banning Physician Assisted Suicide. BYU Journal of Public Law, 31(2), 395-408, Accessed September 6, 2017

Sutherland, J. (2016). Physician-assisted suicide from a patient's perspective. Canadian Family Physician Medecin De Famille Canadien, 62(2), 115, Accessed September 6, 2017

Yao, T. (2016). “Can We Limit a Right to Physician-Assisted Suicide?” National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly, 16(3), 385-392. Accessed September 6, 2017

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