The right to live or die lies in the hands of an individual. However, the debate on physician-assisted suicide continues to gather different opinions from supporters and opposers. California is one of the legal states in America that supports assisted suicide, though there are religious groups and human rights activists who oppose the act. The journey to its legalization had its up and downs, seen many doctors suffer from practicing the procedure while others being grateful about it. With time, California continued to gather support towards the approval of assisted suicide and people celebrated once it became law in 2015. The paper provides a detailed history of the cases and changes of assisted suicide and the current situation.
Previously, euthanasia was a common practice, whereby physicians had the consent of patients and their families to take lives using certain drugs. Most of the patients wanted to end their lives because of a critical ailment such as cancer or had the death penalty sentence (C. Editor par 2). Those in support of it said that it was better than facing the hangman and less traumatizing. The practice gained popularity in America but became corrupt along the way. Physicians ran rogue assisted suicides by subscribing certain drugs to their patients as a way of ending their lives. Religious groups expressed their discomfort to the act and wished people would accept the situation bestowed upon them by God. Human rights activists opposed its legalization as it would prompt more people to take up the option to free themselves from the harsh times (C. Editor par 4). They feared physicians would begin rogue services for their patients and claim that they were trying to help them regain their lives.
One of the major cases that shock the country was Karen Ann Quinlan in 1976. At the age of 21, Quinlan slipped into coma after she collapsed while partying with her friends (Staff par 2). Apparently, on the 15th April 1975, Quinlan took too much alcohol while galloping down prescription drugs yet she had not taken a meal a few days prior. The mixture took a toll on her and sickness befell her. The doctors tried their best to save her though her brain was in a severe state. Her condition lead to her loss of breathing strength and could only eat through a tube. Her family could not bear to see her suffering to stay alive yet they could not engage in assisted suicide. They were staunch Catholics and such practices were not right, despite the pressure from euthanasia advocates (Staff par 3). As time progressed, her health deteriorated with time and the doctors were quite reluctant in helping her out. Her father was her guardian and he saw the stress his daughter was going through and asked the doctors to shut down her ventilator. However, the doctors feared the prosecution’s charge of homicide if they underwent with the procedure. It took the intervention of the court to allow the doctors to remove the machine. To the surprise of many, Quinlan continued to breathe for nine years before pneumonia took her life (Staff par 6).
In 1980, Derek Humphrey founded the Hemlock Society in Santa Monica. The Society advocated for the legalization of assisted suicide (Humphrey par 3). They began community outreaches and campaigns for it and briefed people about ‘how to die’. With time, the society gained ground across America, and it did not take long before it reached 50,000 members. Apparently, other countries like Canada and Germany began the right to dies societies in the same year. Germany has the highest number of deaths from euthanasia especially during the World War II, where the Nazis had containers containing remains of children at Spiegelgrund Hospital in Viena (Humphry par 4). At the time, it was an immoral act exhibited by the Nazis and people objected towards its legalization, but it did not stop the act from continuing.
In 1981, the Hemlock Society published Let Me Die Before I Wake, their first how-to guide book (Chronology of Assisted Dying par 6). It received different reactions from the society because it featured do-it-yourself guides, which would prompt people to take their lives. In 1983, a patient Elizabeth Bouvia sued the California hospital because the practitioners did not allow her to die through self-starvation (Leonard par 7). Bouvia suffered from cerebral palsy and felt she could not continue with medication. Apart from that, there was a lot she was going through which made her not feel as if she is not part of her family. However, she did not succeed in the court, but that did not deter her from filing an appeal. Such cases prompted the California state to draw out the laws for future references.
California is the birthplace for Americans against Human Suffering, an association that fought for the rights to die (C. Editor par 8). Their campaign was fundamental towards the California Death with Dignity Act in 1992. The act was put on a state ballot, Proposition 161, where voters would pick their sides towards the authorization of a faster death termination by physicians (Richardson par 8). However, the Proposition 161 did not pass though it was quite a small margin of eight percent. California became a promising state for anyone seeking to die before time. Most of the laws and acts began in the state, and there was an increase of death-related cases. Before the act became law in 1992, the California State Bar Conference held talks over the Resolution #3-4-87, a clause which seeks to legalize physician-aided death (Richardson par 7). Eventually, the clause was made a law, making the act legal but with rules and regulations.
In 1994, the Death with Dignity association founded its first education center in California. It started a nonprofit organization, providing its services nationally and promotes a humane, responsive and comprehensive case system for the terminally ill patients. The center was an instrumental institution towards ensuring the patients received proper care during the process. The same year saw the approval of a physician-assisted suicide by the California Bar. The Conference of Delegates allowed physicians to prescribe medication to competent and terminally ill adults as a way of hastening their deaths.
Lloyd Levine, an Assemblyman, and Patty Berg, an Assemblywoman tabled the California Compassionate Choices Act, commonly referred to as the California Assembly Bill 651 in 2005 (McGreevy par 9). The act was to undergo legislative sessions that lasted two years. The legislators announced their approval of the bill in 31 August 2006. Other states began passing similar bills, gaining support and objections across the country. Most of the cases recorded seek to end the lives of people mainly on life support machines. Their families felt the need to seek such services as their people were suffering more instead of healing. However, the cases were taking years before its finalization such as Terri Schiavo case, which lasted more than seven years (B. Editor par 11).
Governor Jerry Brown approved the End of Life Act in 2015, which approved the use of lethal doses to end the lives of terminally ill patients (Booker par 1). California became a part of the four other states, Montana, Washington, Vermont, and Oregon, to approve doctor-assisted deaths. However, the bill had its legal instructions, which seek to guide the practice and ensure proper administration and authorization. In conclusion, the assisted suicides sound inhuman to a common citizen, especially when discussed in state or national debates. Being alive is a gift, and not a choice and many would wish to have it for the rest of their lives. However, it helps those that want to escape the troubles of life by leaving the world in an honorable way.
Works Cited
Booker, Brakkton. California Governor Signs Physician Assisted Suicide Bill Into Law. 25 October 2015. Web. 25 April 2016. < http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/10/05/446115171/california-governor-signs-physician-assisted-suicide-bill-into-law >
Chronology of Assisted Dying. 2016. Web. 25 April 2016. < https://www.deathwithdignity.org/assisted-dying-chronology/ >
Editor, BBC. Timeline: Terri Schiavo Case. 31 March 2005. Web. 25 April 2016. < <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4358877.stm >
Editor, CNN.com. Physician-Assisted Suicide Fast Facts. 12 April 2016. Web. 25 April 2016. <http://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/26/us/physician-assisted-suicide-fast-facts/>
Humphrey, Derek. Chronology of Euthanasia and Right-to-Die During the 20th Century and into the Millenium. 27 February 2005. Web. 25 April 2016. < http://www.finalexit.org/chronology_right-to-die_events.html >
Leonard, Kimberly. Californians Can Choose to Die – With the Help of Taxpayers. 21 March 2016. Web. 25 April 2016. < http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-03-21/in-california-government-to-pick-up-the-tab-for-death-with-dignity >
McGreevy, Patrick. California Coroners Have Issues With New Assisted Death Law. 7 October 2015. Web. 25 April 2016. < http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-california-coroners-have-issues-with-new-assisted-suicide-law-20151006-story.html >
Richardson, Valerie. California Becomes Fifth State To Allow Physician-Assisted Suicide. 5 October 2015. Web. 25 April 2016. < http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/oct/5/california-fifth-state-to-allow-physician-assisted/?page=all >
Staff, NCLL. How the "Right to Die" Came to America. 2016. Web. 25 April 2016. < http://www.ncll.org/liberty-centers/center-for-life-defense/cld-articles/57-how-the-right-to-die-came-to-america >
