Assisted Suicide Speech

• Imagine laying in a hospital hooked up to countless machines. Doctors and nurses are coming in constantly to check up on you while your trying to get what little sleep you can through the pain, fatigue all while your body is slowly wasting away.  On top of that you’re suffering from side effects from countless drugs, constipation, delirium, 
• you can barely breath and you have no appetite because your constantly nauseated or throwing up. The doctors have given you no chance of survival; and death is imminent, it’s just a matter of when? You’ve said your goodbyes; you’ve come to terms with dying and are ready to meet your maker. Now if you had the chance to choose how your life ended would you take advantage of it?

• Physician assisted suicide should be a legal option for terminally ill patients 
• This is a humane way for the terminally ill to end their lives with dignity and without the shame and suffering
• Right now 3 states allow this, and the rest of America should follow

• Must be wondering, What is Physician assisted Suicide?
• defined by medicinenet.com physician assisted suicide is “the voluntary termination of one’s own life by the administration of a lethal substance”
• Basically the doctor provides the means, which is usually acts like a very strong sedative, and the patient is the one that performs the act of ending their life
• this is different from euthanasia where the physician is the one who provides and administers the drug 

• Currently 3 states
• Oregon, first state to pass a bill allowing doctors to help terminally ill patients end their lives with the 1997 death with dignity act.
• Washington followed in 2008, and Montana followed in 2009  

• Washington and Montana have rules in order to qualify
• the patient is an adult, must be at least 18
• they have to be competent, which means that physicians, psychiatrists or the court, say that the patient can make informed decisions on their own health care
• Third, the patient must have a confirmed terminal illness
• Fourth, they must voluntarily express that they would like medication to end their life
• Fifth, must make a written request for medication that will help end their life so to be tracked by the state government
• Finally, they must be a citizen

• All of these requirements must be met in order to qualify; they do not meet qualifications solely on age and disability

• People have the right to die with dignity and in a humane way

Many physician point out it is ethical

They believe that sick people who will be dying soon because of medical conditions should not be subjected to prolonged pain and physician-assisted suicide is the ethical way to do it.

• 2. Patients have the right to the kind of treatment they want
• 3. PAS takes away the guilt of a dying patient of being a burden to the family

feel that they emotionally, physically and financially drain members of the family because of their being sick

• 4. Some people just lose their will to live and should be supported on this matter.

• If all a doctor is doing is prescribing medication to a terminally ill patient, after they have met the proper requirements and have been given the necessary information to make an informed decision on ending their lives or not. Shouldn’t they be allowed to do so through those guaranteed rights the Constitution gives us?

• The doctor is not the one who is committing a murder, for they are not the ones administering the drugs to the patient. The patient is the ones who takes them of their own free will, they have decided to end their life with dignity instead of agonizing pain.