Should Americans have the right to end their lives using euthanasia?

ALLOWING AMERICANS TO END THEIR LIVES USING EUTHANASIA
Euthanasia is defined as the act of a physician intentionally ending the life of a person at the person's request. The physician will then administer the lethal substance to the person to end their life to relieve the pain and suffering they have been undergoing. The vital thing to note is that euthanasia is carried out by the physician upon the request of the patient who has a terminal illness and they are in severe pain (Cipriani & Di Fiorino, 2019). Considering there are conditions that are terminal and there is no likelihood of the patient recovering from the condition, it would be vital to allow the patient to make the ultimate decision to end their life and receive euthanasia. The suffering the patient will be going through could be severe and physicians cannot relieve the pain as pain medications are not effective on the patient either due to overuse of the medication or due to their condition. Therefore, Americans must be allowed to end their lives using euthanasia in cases where the person has a terminal condition and they are in severe pain.
Cancer is one of the conditions that can become terminal if it is not discovered early. The patient could also be in severe pain depending on the type of cancer they might e suffering from. According to Fontalis, Prousali, and Kulkarni (2018) patients who have these terminal conditions that cannot be treated using the current medical technology and medications that cannot relieve their pain should not be left to suffer. The pain one goes through could be heartbreaking to watch for the family members and even caregivers. Therefore, we should legalize the use of euthanasia for Americans and allow those who have painful terminal conditions to seek euthanasia. Considering that euthanasia is voluntary, it means not all patients will want to get euthanasia. There will be some who will be fighting to save their lives and they will prefer the physicians do everything they can to cure or manage their condition. With the option to end their suffering in special cases the likelihood of family members having to see their loved ones suffering in pain is reduced and they will have better memories of their loved ones. However, without euthanasia, family members are forced to endure the pain and suffering of their loved one who is terminally ill and also in severe pain. This results in the family members having a painful memory of their loved ones after they pass away.
With the option of euthanasia, terminally ill patients can request euthanasia, which will ensure they do not have to go through a long dying process. The ultimate decision will be left for the patient to make and the physician would be honoring the decision made by the patient. People should be allowed to decide how they want to die. Without this, a person might end up suffering and they ultimately know they will die due to the condition. Why not end the person's suffering early? There is no need to let a person go through a long dying process filled with pain and unending suffering, yet there is no medical breakthrough that will save his life or restore his life. If there is no possibility of a person getting a cure for their illness they should not be allowed to live for long periods in pain when they have expressly indicated they wish to die (Young, 1996).
In conclusion, Americans should have the right to end their life using euthanasia. The factors needed for one to be considered for euthanasia should be terminal illness and severe pain or suffering. Using these factors, we can be certain people will not abuse this right by choosing to end their lives since they are tired of living yet they are healthy and do not have any terminal illness. Patients who are of sound mind, have been diagnosed with a terminal disease, are in severe pain due to the condition, and wish to be given euthanasia should be allowed or permitted. This will ensure the patient dies with dignity and they do not have to suffer from the terminal condition.
References
Cipriani, G., & Di Fiorino, M. (2019). Euthanasia and other end of life in patients suffering from dementia. Legal Medicine, 40, 54-59.
Fontalis, A., Prousali, E., & Kulkarni, K. (2018). Euthanasia and assisted dying: what is the current position and what are the key arguments informing the debate? Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 111(11), 407-413.
Young, R. (1996). Voluntary euthanasia. In Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford, CA: Stanford University.