Death with Dignity

Death with Dignity

Courtney Osborne

CJS211- Ethics in Criminal Justice

February 23, 2015

Dr. Theresa Fox

Death with Dignity

       Many of us are familiar with the name Dr. Kevorkian, known for aiding in the death of approximately 130 terminally ill patients in 1990. He was convicted of second-degree murder and served eight years in prison. The case of Dr. Kevorkian sparked the long-standing debate of whether physician-assisted suicide (PAS), also referred to as euthanasia (Schneider, 2011), is considered ethical and should be legalized in all states. In this paper, I will share the accounts of two terminally ill patients who opted, and fought for, the right to die with dignity. I will also explain the claims of those who are for and against this option, along with decisions and outcomes of cases involving the right-to-die issue.
       In recent news, the issue of an individual's right to make decisions regarding medical treatment, has resurfaced. In 2014, the story of Brittany Maynard received national attention when she announced her decision to end her life. Brittany, a 29-year-old newlywed, living in California, was diagnosed with stage IV glioblastoma multi-forme brain cancer and was given six months to live. After researching the treatment and side effects of her disease, Brittany and her husband decided to move to Oregon in order to access legal medications to assist in her death. On November 1, 2014, Brittany Maynard passed away after taking the lethal prescription. She posted this farewell message on her Facebook page, "Goodbye to all my dear friends and family that I love. Today is the day I have chosen to pass away with dignity in the face of my terminal illness, this terrible brain cancer that has taken so much from me... but would have taken so much more." (Ertelt, 2015)
       As with any debate, there are two sides to this argument. Assisted suicide is an issue of individual rights vs. over-reaching government regulations. Those who support PAS, claim that it is the right of a person to make decisions regarding medical treatment, this includes the choice of how and when a terminally ill patient chooses to end their suffering. Advocates also point out the cost of Hospice and the emotional pain that family members have to endure while watching their loved one suffer. Patients who do not have this option available to them may decide to end their suffering in ways that could cause harm to others. The current legal procedure for ending the life of a terminally ill patient is just to stop administering life-sustaining drugs, leaving the patient to suffer a slow, agonizing death. Those who support PAS claim that it is far more humane than the legal alternative.
       

        Many of the issues that are raised in opposition of PAS are religiously based. These issues include; the belief that assisted suicide goes against God's will and takes away the hope for any chance of a miracle cure or recovery. It has also been said that this act may encourage some to use it as a means to avoid certain obligations. The more favorable argument against PAS is the claim that it goes against the Hippocratic Oath of the physician to "do no harm".
       In 1997, Oregon passed a "right-to-die" Act, which allows a person who has been diagnosed with a terminal illness, still of sound mind, the choice to end their suffering and die with dignity. To date, Washington, Montana, and Vermont have passed "death with dignity" acts, with 14 other states soon to follow suit (Rice, 2015). In the first week of February of this year, a judgment was made in the case of Carter vs. Canada. The court unanimously decided to void the criminal code that states, "insofar as they prohibit a physician from assisting such a consenting patient in ending his or her life." (Kay, 2015). This judgment followed the litigation with Gloria Taylor (1948-2012) in 2009. Gloria was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's, a fatal degenerative muscle disease with an average survival rate of 4 years. Gloria also wanted the choice to die with dignity before she lost functionality and slowly suffocated due to her condition. In 2012, Gloria succumbed to an infection and passed away peacefully, with her loved ones by her side, just as she wanted (Kay, 2015).