Physician+Assisted+Suicide


 * Inalienable Right: Physician Assisted Suicide **

John Locke wrote Two Treatises of Government in between 1689-90, in which he talks about humankind’s state of nature; that we are born equal and free, but require government to protect our natural rights of life, liberty, and property.

This theory was taken by Thomas Jefferson and incorporated into the Declaration of Independence, a document which detailed reasons why the thirteen colonies were at war with Britain.

Both Locke and Jefferson believed that it is a government's duty to protect its citizens' natural rights at all cost.

An individual’s right to life also refers to their right to end their life however they chose. The government’s job is to protect citizens’ inalienable rights above all else, therefore, they do not have the right to interfere with physician assisted suicide.




 * 2014: Brittany Maynard **

 29 year old woman from the San Francisco Bay Area, California began a fund to get Physician Assisted Suicide legalized nationwide. She suffered from stage 4 glioblastoma, a brain tumor. She released a video detailing her struggles and reasoning for her decision to move to Portland, Oregon and participate in physician assisted suicide. In an interview with PEOPLE Magazine, she gave the following statement: “There is not a cell in my body that is suicidal or that wants to die. I want to live. I wish there was a cure for my disease but there's not. My glioblastoma is going to kill me, and that's out of my control. I've discussed with many experts how I would die from it, and it's a terrible, terrible way to die. Being able to choose to go with dignity is less terrifying…. Right now it's a choice that's only available to some Americans, which is really unethical.” Since her passing, her home state of California has passed the End of Life Option Act, making physician assisted suicide legal. media type="youtube" key="yPfe3rCcUeQ" width="560" height="315"

 A study done by Chapple, Ziebland, McPherson, and Herxheimer, entitled “What people close to death say about euthanasia and assisted suicide: a qualitative study,” found that out of eighteen people interviewed, the majority thought the law should allow physician assisted suicide. A woman, called LD25, suffering from chronic obstructive lung disease expressed a desire for committing suicide without a change in UK law. She wanted to be in control of her death, constantly expressing her right to choose how to die “I myself want to be in control as long as I can…” She also stated that when she does take her own life, she will be alone, without any family members present since they would be prosecuted under UK law for assisting someone with suicide. The study mentions one argument against physician assisted suicide is that good treatment and medicine for terminally ill patients controls symptoms such as pain and depression, many patients mention uncontrollable pain like patient LD09, who was also researching suicide methods: “Sometimes I am in that much pain that all I want to do is put myself on my bed and go to sleep but I can't sleep because the pain keeps me awake (…) I feel sad and angry that at the dawn of the 21st century (…) they can't give me something that will keep me awake (…) and kill the pain at the same time.”

 The study also mentions without better laws for physician assisted suicide, it will be done illegally. Such was the case for Dr. Jack Kevorkian in 1998 according to Daniel Schorn of CBS News. Kevorkian spent eight years in prison under murder charges for distributing an overdose to Tom Youk, a terminally ill man, who pleaded with Kevorkian to do it. 

A study entitled “Discussing Physician-Assisted Dying: Physicians’ Experiences in the United States and the Netherlands” by Jennifer R. Voorhees et al. focuses on understanding how physicians experience and discuss euthanasia. In Oregon and the Netherlands physicians were reported to be more comfortable and more knowledgeable in discussing euthanasia than did physicians in the Northeastern part of the United States, where it is illegal. These physicians did not have all the answers to patients’ questions. The study found that in areas where physician assisted suicide was legal, the conversations between physicians and patients strengthened their relationship, and the physicians were able to give better advice on euthanasia. In other instances, when physicians notice the patient is not mentally competent to make the decision, the physicians did not allow the patient to take the medication. Physicians’ emotions ranged from positive to negative to conflicting emotions between the two. One physician from the Northeast US stated feeling defeated when their patient brought up the question of euthanasia, as if they were suddenly incapable of helping their patient. There has been a growing awareness relating to living will and advance healthcare directives for terminally ill patients. Different studies show that most terminally ill patients, especially in developed countries die with these directives in place. Directives such as living will and DNR are used to help maintain the autonomy of the patient in regard to making decisions during end-of-life care. <span style="display: block; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">

=Related Topics=

Works Cited:
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Chapple, A., S. Ziebland, A. McPherson, and A. Herxheimer. " What People Close toDeath Say about Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide: A Qualitative Study." <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Journal of Medical Ethics. BMJ Group, Dec. 2006. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Egan, Nicole W. "Terminally Ill 29-Year-Old Woman: Why I'm Choosing to Die on My Own Terms." PEOPLE.com. 06 Oct. 2014. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Locke, John, and Peter Laslett. "Chapter 2." Two Treatises of Government. 1689. 4. Web. 4 Apr. 2016

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Maynard, Brittany. "The Brittany Maynard Fund." The Brittany Fund. Compassion & Choices, 2014. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Schorn, Daniel. "Kevorkian Will Not Assist In Any Suicides." CBSNews.com. 01 June 2007. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Vorhees, Jennifer R., MD, Judith A.c Rietjens, PhD, Agnes Van Der Heide, PhD, and Margaret A. Drickamer, MD. "Medscape Log In." Medscape Log In. 2014. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.