¶ … person has the right to live their lives with dignity and freedom, a person also has the right to die with the same dignity and freedom. A person who has been diagnosed with a terminal illness, for which there is no cure and which causes certain pain, should not be forced to suffer. Likewise, a person should be allowed to choose whether or not to keep their body on life support indefinitely, even if they are in a persistent vegetative state from which no meaningful recovery. The collective issues known loosely as "right to die" comprise various types of physician-assisted suicide, in which a medical doctor can help a terminally ill patient to end their suffering. Right to die legislation, like that recently passed in the state of California, helps not only the patients but also their families ensure all Americans have access to the quality of life they deserve.
Promoting similar right to die legislation reflects the fundamental constitutional values of the United States, including due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment (Waimberg). Unfortunately, right to die issues also seem to conflict with another fundamental American value, that the state does have an overarching duty to protect and...
The Supreme Court had consistently argued that the right to die conflicts with the state's obligation to preserve life ("Right to Die;" Waimberg). Other arguments against right to die legislation point to fears that the policy might be abused in some way, such as by overly zealous doctors or nurses. The opposite is more likely to happen, though, for in a profit-driven healthcare system, doctors and healthcare administrators have a vested interest in preserving, not ending lives. Parker claims that the medical field is built on a fundamental ethic of healing, and that ending life is contrary to the purpose of the profession. Yet the extension of life at all costs does not seem like an appropriate application of modern medicine, which should devote itself toward the improvement of human life. Extending life does not enhance life's quality -- improving the way people feel, eliminating the root causes of disease. Dying is not, as some would suggest, the worst-case scenario.
The essence of right to die legislation is the elevation of quality of life over quantity. Americans deserve the ability to choose whether or not they want to terminate their suffering. Right to die does not…
References
Brown, Jennifer. "Right-to-Die Initiative Headed for Colorado's November Ballot." The Denver Post. July 5, 2016. Retrieved online: http://www.denverpost.com/2016/07/05/right-to-die-colorado-ballot/
Parker, Kathleen. "Is 'right to die' Becoming a Form of Health Care?" The Denver Post, 13 June 2016. Retrieved online: http://www.denverpost.com/2016/06/13/is-right-to-die-becoming-a-form-of-health-care/
"Right to Die," (n.d.). Justia. Retrieved online: http://law.justia.com/constitution/us/amendment-14/35-right-to-die.html
Waimberg, Joshua. "Does the Constitution Protect a Right to Die?" Constitution Daily. 2 Oct, 2015. Retrieved online: http://blog.constitutioncenter.org/2015/10/does-the-constitution-protect-a-right-to-die/
On this matter, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi stated, "Congressional leaders have no business substituting their judgment for that of multiple state courts that have extensively considered the issues in this intensely personal family matter." (Euthansia and Terri Schiavo b). Federal Judge James Whittemore heard the Schiavo case and ruled on March 22, 2005 that the Schindlers had not established a "substantial likelihood of success" at trial and refused
Right to Die For the last few decades, the issue of a person's right to choose the time and method of his or her own death has been one of passionate debate in the United States, with emotions running high on both sides of the controversy as the meanings of liberty and freedom of choice, the morality of taking one's own life, the ethics of people involved in such actions, and
right to die. The writer uses analytical skills to dissect and argue several right to die cases that have been presented in court in America. The writer discusses the ethics of the practice as well as presents ideas about the future "right to die" arguments and cases. There were eight sources used to complete this paper. Through the advances of medical science people are living longer than ever before. Those
Zoo Animals Human beings have kept animals in zoos for centuries, but only relatively recently have the ethical considerations of this practice been widely considered. At one extreme are those individuals and organizations that see no problem keeping animals in zoos and other attractions, in keeping with the long history of animal confinement in the service of human entertainment, and at the other extreme are those individuals and groups arguing that
Capital punishment is defined as the legal infliction of death as a punishment, or the death penalty. The United States is one of a decreasing number of countries who still practice capital punishment, using methods such as lethal injection, electrocution, gas chamber, hanging, and firing squad. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, the first known execution in the United States was carried out in 1608. During the Revolutionary War,
Introduction Physician-assisted suicide, or physician-assisted death, refers to “the process that allows terminally ill adults to request from their physician, receive from their pharmacist, and take a lethal dose of medication to end their life,” (Death with Dignity, n.d.). Although seemingly similar to euthanasia, physician-assisted death is different in that it tends to refer to situations where the patient does not act with autonomy. Physician-assisted death is still controversial and is
