On November 1, 2014 29-year-old Brittany Maynard committed suicide to spare herself a long drawn-out death from a stage 4 malignant brain tumor. Unlike many other Americans who commit suicide, Maynard announced her decision online weeks prior to her death and brought the issue of euthanasia into national headlines. Maynard’s family and physicians will not face charges because Maynard happened to live in Oregon, one of only five states that allows doctor-assisted euthanasia. The other states are Montana, Washington, Vermont and New Mexico. Maynard, originally from California, had to move herself and her family to Oregon in order to legally end her life (Durando 2014). The right to die with the aid of a physician should be a right not only for all American citizens but for everyone in the world, no matter what country he or she lives in. Family, friends or anyone else helping with or present at the patient’s death should not be prosecuted in any way or go through the years of legal proceedings that happened to the Shaivo family when they requested that a brain-dead member of their family have her feeding tube removed.
The main opposition to physician-assisted suicide is religious. Suicide for any reason is not allowed in the world’s major religions – Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Suicide is treated as a selfish act and a sign of low moral character. The argument is that the moment of a person’s death is a power reserved for God and not for a human being. Even if a person is suffering, that person is to suffer and stay alive rather than commit suicide. Some Christian denominations specifically teach that when a person commits suicide, they have committed and unforgiveable sin and will go directly to hell (Houndmann 582). The Catholic Church considers suffering a “mystery” – meaning that only God understands the purpose and mankind is not to interfere with God’s plans (Pope John Paul II, 1982). However, there is no testable, scientific proof that God or human souls exists (Stenger 106). There is, however, proof that suffering exists. Times have changed and so has the attitudes of people towards death and worry about what happens to a soul after death. Advances in medical care have produced elements such as anesthesia and painkillers. This helps reduce suffering from surgeries, some diagnostic procedures and many types of ailments or injuries that cause pain. The use of anesthesia and painkillers are considered acceptable. Since euthanasia would reduce suffering for people who could not be treated by modern medicine, more Americans approve of euthanasia. A 2011 Harris/ BBC World News America poll asked a random 2,340 adult Americans questions about their views on euthanasia. A majority of 70% voted in favor of physician assisted suicide in the case of terminally ill patients who wanted to end their own lives. 67% approved of doctors discussing euthanasia options with terminally ill patients (Harris, 2011.)
Another argument against euthanasia is the “slippery-slope” argument, often known today as a fallacy and not a true argument (Vleet 35). By allowing one form of euthanasia, people could soon “slide down” ethically and abuse the law to commit murder. For example, the benefactors of rich people’s wills will get their elderly family members to be killed by doctors in order to inherit lots of money. Anther fear of misuse is that perhaps deformed babies will be euthanized because the parents do not want the child. (Lewis 197). Physician-assisted suicide has been legal in the Netherlands since 2001. If the slippery-slope argument holds, then there should be a rise in non-voluntary suicide in the Netherlands. However, there is not (Lewis 205).
One fear that anti-euthanasia advocates have is that people who are not suffering from terminal illness commit suicide is physician-assisted suicide becomes legal. This has happened. For example, in 2011 when Sir Edward Downes learned that his beloved wife Joan had terminal cancer, they decided to terminate their lives together. They travelled to Switzerland were suicide is legal. Sir Edward was not terminally ill, although he was blind and was 85. The Downes’ children argue that their parents literally could not live without each other. Since they did not want their father to suffer unnecessarily they did not oppose of his suicide (Weaver). More and more people are taking the view that death is a personal choice and not a choice for lawyers or the clergy. Bestselling author Sir Terry Pratchett announced his intention of traveling to Switzerland for physician-assisted suicide when his incurable Alzheimer’s symptoms are too much to cope. He worked with the BBC in 2011 to make the award-winning documentary Choosing to Die which shows exactly what happens during an assisted suicide – including showing one man die. Pratchett has written about watching the terrible lingering death of his father and has firmly decided that it is not going to happen to him. (Pratchett, 2014). Fortunately for the world’s readers, Pratchett is still alive and writing.
Fans of comedian and actor Robin Williams were saddened at his sudden suicide by hanging on 11 August 2014. However, Williams had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and reportedly was suffering from early symptoms. Williams’ autopsy revealed that he also suffered from Lewy Body Dementia which can cause vivid hallucinations (Neporent). According to doctor and writer David W. Page, hanging is considered a painful way to die (Page 85). With physician-assisted suicide, Williams could have been spared any pain from hanging and could choose to die in the company of friends and loved ones. His family and personal assistant would have time to come to terms with Williams’ death instead of suddenly finding the hanged body. Physician-assisted suicide would not only be theoretically easier for the person doing the dying but also for all of the loved ones left behind. A planned time of death allows all loved ones to say goodbye to the one about to die. Loved ones can get used to the idea of death without having to yet face a corpse. Euthanasia avoids the shock and chaos of a sudden death by suicide such as Williams’ case. Although a planned suicide does not completely avoid the pain of grief, it may in some instances help lessen the overall grief felt by the individual sufferer.
Currently, the decision to allow physician-assisted suicide is a legal one and not a personal or medical choice. This suggests that lawyers and politicians know what is best to reduce the suffering of each individual rather than doctors and the patients themselves. Ultimately, the choice of death is up to the suffering person who faces death. Even then, survivors of a suicide could still be prosecuted under current laws for failing to stop a suicide. Medical personnel could be prosecuted for removing a feeding tube or otherwise stopping life-support to a brain-dead or vegetative patient. The most well-known case of keeping someone alive for fear of legal prosecution is that of Terry Schaivo. She was in a coma for 15 years and had no chance of ever emerging from it. Her family could not afford the massive costs ($80,000 per year) of keeping Schaivo on life-support (Weisman & Connolly A13). After years of wrangling and appeals through courts, even to the Supreme Court, Schaivo’s caretakers were allowed to terminate life support. It is unknown whether Schaivo suffered but her surviving family members claimed to have suffered while being dragged through America’s legal circus.
The right to die is a basic human right. The time to die is a personal decision and not the decision of law courts. No matter what religions may teach, suffering serves no known positive purpose. Not everyone who wants to commit suicide should have access to physician-assisted suicide. Those diagnosed with terminal, incurable diseases should have the right to end their lives without having to suffer from excruciating pain. People facing a positive diagnosis of inevitably deteriorating illnesses like Alzheimer’s disease should have the right to commit suicide while the patient is still compos mentis. The alternative is to let people suffer for weeks, months or even years. Not only does the individual suffer, but the family and friends of the stricken patient also suffers. Those American states and European countries which has legalized physician-assisted suicide have not plunged into anarchy where greedy relatives try to knock off Grandma. Upon graduation, doctors are required to recite the Hippocratic Oath. The Hippocratic Oath states that first one must not do harm. Leaving someone to live in painful circumstances is certainly a greater harm than letting them die – especially if the patient is asking to die.
In conclusion, euthanasia would not apply to people with only psychological conditions such as bipolar disorder or endogenous recurring depression that gives people a false sense of hopelessness. Physician-assisted suicide would only apply to people suffering from painful and untreatable ailments such as Stage IV cancer. If America wishes to be known as a civilized and compassionate nation, then legalizing physician-assisted suicides for the terminally ill is one way to prove it. Americans should not have to worry about legal prosecution when trying to alleviate suffering for their patients, their friends and family members. Forcing those that suffer from terribly painful illnesses like cancer benefits neither the patient nor society. Although some may argue that there could be cures for diseases like cancer discovered at any time, the hope is slight. Suffering is now and needs to be confronted with now. Those that suffer cannot wait for empty hopes of cures that could never arrive by the time they die naturally. To do so would be to suffer for nothing.
Works Cited
Durando, Jessica. “Brittany Maynard, right-to-die-advocate, ends her life.” USA Today. 3 Nov., 2014. Accessed 24 Nov., 2014. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nationnow/2014/11/02/brittany maynard/18390069/
Houndmann, S. Michael (Ed.) Got Questions? Bloomington: WestBow Press, 2014. Print.
“Large majorities support doctor-assisted suicide for terminally ill patients in great pain.” Harris Interactive. 25 January 2011. Accessed 24 November 2014 http://www.harrisinteractive.com/NewsRoom/HarrisPolls/tabid/447/mid/1508/articleId/ 77/ctl/ReadCustom%20Default/Default.aspx
Lewis, Penney. "The Empirical Slippery Slope from Voluntary to Non‐Voluntary Euthanasia." The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics 35.1 (2007): 197-210.
Neporent, Julia. “Robin Williams’ death report finds Lewy Body Dementia.” ABC News.. 12 November, 2014. Accessed 24 November, 2014. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/robin williams-driven-suicide-lewy-body-dementia/story?id=26860752
Page, David W. Body Trauma: A Writer’s Guide to Wounds and Injuries. Lake Forest: Behler Publications, 2006. Print.
Pope John Paul II. Salvifici Dolores: On the Christian Meaning of Human Suffering. Philadelphia: Pauline Books & Media. 11 Feb 1984. Print.
Pratchett, Terry. A Slip of the Keyboard: Collected Nonfiction. New York: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2014. Print.
Stenger, Victor J. God: The Failed Hypothesis. Amhurst: Prometheus Books: 2010. Print.
Terry Pratchett: Choosing to Die. Narr. Terry Pratchett. Director and producer Charlie Russell. BBC. 13 June, 2011.
Van Jacob, E. Vleet. Informal Logical Fallacies: A Brief Guide. University Press of America, 2012.
Weaver, Matthew. “British conductor dies with wife at suicide clinic.” The Guardian. 14 July 2009. Accessed 24 November 2014 http://www.theguardian.com/society/2009/jul/14/assisted-suicide-conductor-edward downes
Weisman, Jonathan and Connolly, Cecily. “Schaivo case puts face on rising medical costs.” Washington Post. 23 March 2005. P A13.
