Is Suffering the Pain Worth It?

Many terminal patients want the right to assisted suicide because it is a means to endure their end without any unnecessary suffering and cost, physician-assisted suicide is always a huge topic that concerns people all over the world. The term physician-assisted suicide may refer to any circumstance in which a person intentionally provides someone with the means to end his or her life. Physician-assisted suicide is different from euthanasia, it is the act of “assisting” patients with their death by prescribed the lethal drug in order to end their suffering and euthanasia is the act of “requesting” for a lethal injection to end the patients’ life. The patients must meet certain requirements to be eligible for physician-assisted suicide and must take certain steps to complete the process. To be eligible for assisted suicide, the patients must be cognizant enough to make their own decisions regarding their care, have established residency in the state that is legalized, and have received a diagnosis that they will die within the next six months. In the United States, the legality of assisted suicide is determined at the state level, some states such as: California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Montana, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington are allowed physician-assisted suicide. Physician-assisted suicide should be legalized because this option might be the only way to die in peace, doctors should also respect the patients' will, doctors should let the patients decide how they want to die; most importantly, patients should have their own right to pursue their own death.

In today’s world, there are too many diseases that are just so debilitating that, physician-assisted suicide seems like the absolute best and only way. Although technology is improving faster and faster, medical technology has still failed to save a loved one. There are many terminal illnesses that cannot be treated; such as cancer is the most common terminal illness, others like ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), congestive heart failure, dementia, multiple sclerosis, liver disease, neural disease, and more that could not be treated with modern knowledge. The term of terminal illness is means when the physician or their medical team diagnose the patients’ disease cannot be fully treated. The patient may have a single disease or several conditions such as unrelenting pain, nausea, shortness of breath, lack of energy, or loss of autonomy and many more. Depending on their conditions and treatment, the patient may live with a terminal illness for days, weeks, months or even years (Zitter). From my experiences, my grandmother dies with breast cancer, and my friend dies with testicular cancer. It was really hard every time I went to visited them, they were attached with the oxygen mask and they were so weak that people can see from their appearance. Although they tried to survive from the cancer, yet the cancer still took away their life. I know for sure if my friend has an option for physician-assisted suicide, he would have taken that options to die without suffering more and more pain. For that reason, physician-assisted suicide might be the best way for the patients to die in their own peace and their own way instead of dying in the way that the doctors describe to the patient how and when they will die. Patients do not need to attach with any medical devices, they can just go home and do the things they want and just die whenever they are ready. According to Betty Rollin, an advisory committee of Compassion and Choices, “after people receive the lethal medication that would help them to die, something odd happened; many of them didn't take the medication” (quoted in “Seeking a Peaceful End”). This happened because as the patients get the lethal medication that can make them relieve, it was enough for them to know they could control their own death, they can die in the way they want, in the place they want, in the time they want, and most importantly they can die in dignity. Therefore, when a terminal illness invades into the patients’ life, there really do not have many choices to choose.

On the other hand, to process the physician-assisted suicide must been through by the physician, thus the physician should give the respect of the patients will. In Treating the Pain by Ending a Life, Dr. Marc Siegel has stated that “All effective physician has two fundamental roles. The first is to prolong life. The second is to ease suffering” (Siegel 821). He clearly reveals the roles of a physician in this quote. All physicians should try their best to save the patients; however, when the terminal illnesses involve, the physicians should try to help the patients to relieve their pain. To comfort the patients’ pain is not just by giving them morphine or other pain-killers, there should be more options to provide to the patients. Dr. Marc Siegel also mentions that it is not unusual for physicians to use those drugs to relieve suffering and thereby accelerate death in terminal cases while Morphine and other narcotics suppress breathing and lower blood pressure (Siegel 821). In the way of comforting patients’ pain, why would not the doctors help the patients if the patients are seeking a peaceful end of suffering? In the article “Seeking a Peaceful End of Suffering”, the writers from all around the United States that are related to medical field replied to Sarah Lyall's article, I am About to Kill My Mother, by agreeing legalized physician-assisted suicide bases on their own experiences and opinions. Even more, Huttmann said, “until there is legislation making a criminal act to code a patient who has requested the right to die, we will all of us risk the same fate as Mac. For whatever reason, we developed the means to prolong life, and now we are forced to use it” (Huttmann 817). She said that the physician role is to prolong life, but because physician-assisted suicide was not an option at that environment; thus they were forced to “save” the patients with making them weaker and weaker day by day. For that reason, if someone who suffer in such pain and would want to end their life, the physician should provide them with the medication they need to ease their pain at once.

Every human ought to the Right to Equality, Freedom from Discrimination, Right to Life, Liberty, Personal Security, Freedom from Slavery, Freedom from Torture and Degrading Treatment, and other more; however, these rights should also include the Right to Die. In A Crime of Compassion, the author was being accused of “murderer” because she has seen enough pain from the patient and the patient’s family. After fifty-two times of resuscitated her patient, Mac, he told her that he does not want any more pain. “‘Pain …no more… Barbra…do something… God, let me go.’ The desperation in his eyes and voices riddled me with guilts. ‘I’ll stop,’ I told him as I injected the pain medication” (Huttmann 817). So, she decided to not rescue the patient and letting him die without any more pain. For those patients who suffer from terminal illness, some might want to live longer because they have something to do or they want to spend more time with their family; however, some might just want to die in their own will because they do not want to suffer any more pain. Besides, in the United States, Federal government still executed the prisoners by lethal injection, and yet the government does not give patients to die in their own wills? There are so many inconsistencies that the states kill people by execution and yet did not allow patients to take their own lives. Every patient should be able to hold their own right to die in their hand. They have suffered enough by their disease, they should have the right and the choice to end their own lives whenever they are ready. Therefore, all patient should have the opportunity or right to reach out in a civilized professional way to say, “I want to leave in the suffering.”

Still, there are people who against legalized physician-assisted suicide because of religious reasons. In the book, Physician-Assisted Suicide Shows No Mercy, “Religious groups in general express concern for patients who may be in vulnerable positions because of their illness or their lack of social and economic resources” (McCarthy 502). Which it is true to all the patients that they might think about what they cannot do with carrying the illness with them every single day. Think about if the patient has lost of autonomy, would the patient rather want his family to be with him and knowing that he will die in the next 6 months or just let them move on and enjoy their life? Also, McCarthy claims, “my argument against physician-assisted suicide is that it represents the cruelest form of abandonment of our suffering brothers and sisters. Moreover, it is an unnecessary response to the problem of pain and the control of one's medical care” (McCarthy 504). He argues that physician-assisted suicide will abandon “brothers and sisters.” In the United States, most people are religion due to the culture, this kind of regions have already indeed rooted in the government because of the people; but it seems like government forgot that not everyone is regions and not everyone wants to die. Although most people do not want to see a loved one die, it is harder to see one suffering before the end of their life. Physician-assisted suicide might be an unnecessary response, but it is also a necessary relieve for the patient. There is no one that should suffer in such pain and keep costing them everything knowing that they will be dying in the next few months. Therefore, why cannot the government put religion aside and respect the patient will and provide them with more options to choose how they want their life to end?

Furthermore, some people will even say assisting someone in dying is wrong due to moral reason. Everyone agrees that all human life is valuable, no one should take it away no matter what. According to Jeremiah J. McCarthy said, “Physician-assisted suicide was different in that the intended purpose was not pain management but the death of the patient” (McCarthy 502). He said that physician-assisted suicide is not just relieving from the pain, it is just death, nothing else. No one should ever agree with this. Physician-assisted suicide is more than death, it involves sacrifices and determination. The patients will have to leave their own life for this and kill themselves when they are “ready.” Those patients just want to die in dignity and without suffering any pain. They even have to leave their loved and all other things behind. However, keeping the patients in the hospital might trouble their family with financial cost due to the medical bills by treatment and medication. Kenneth Prager, a professor of medicine and director of medical ethics at Columbia University Medical Center, composed, “our $3.4 trillion national medical bill continues to rise, the economic advantages of killing rather than treating our dying citizens will be a seductive addendum to other arguments in favor of physician-assisted suicide” (Prager). He clearly demonstrates that the United States medical bill still keep rising by treating dying citizens. Not every family can afford a big amount of medical bills or insurance; not to mention that some patients do not even want any more suffer from the disease. These kinds of situations will keep the patients even more painfully, physically and mentally. Moreover, according to Ronald W. Pies, a professor of psychiatry affiliated with the State University of New York, “I believe that the term ‘medical aid in dying’ allows physicians to avoid the harsh truth that they are helping patients kill themselves. This is also the view of the very influential American College of Physicians” (Pies). All these beliefs or accusations are true, but how about the patients’ will? If the patients want to die, could the physician tell them not to even if they cannot treat him or her? By all mean, physician-assisted suicide does sound immoral, because “suicide” will carry a negative connection for many. This term may suggest that these patients simply just want to give up their life, they cannot cope and do not want to live. In fact, they just want to avoid unnecessary suffering and die with dignity.

There are people said that physician-assisted suicide should be legalized based on patients’ will, respects of patients’ decision, and they can have their right to die; and yet, there are people who against it based on religion and morality. Judith Schwarz stated that “In 2017, the American Nurses Association published a statement in support of the ethical right of suffering people with decision-making capacity to fast as a means to hasten death” (Schwarz). Almost all of the nurses do support with legalized physician-assisted suicide because they have seen much more pain within the patients, they know what had the patients suffered, and they know what the best for the patients is so they published the statement to support physician-assisted suicide. Moreover, according to Betty Rollin, “Most Americans are in favor of legislation that would allow people like Ms. Lyall's mother and my mother to escape from a life that, for them, has become something terrible and unwanted. And yet the laws -- state by state -- are cruelly slow to change” (quoted in “Seeking a Peaceful End”). There are more and more people that are for legalizing physician-assisted suicide. The physician-assisted suicide should be legalized because it would benefit human by having more options to die when getting a disease that could not be treated. Who knows that if someday that someone who is closed would get a tremendous disease or maybe the loved one or even family member? No one should suffer more and more pain and die without any opportunity to pursue their own their own “right to die.”

Works Cited

Burke, Monica. "Physician-Assisted Suicide in Hawaii Is an Attack on All of Us." Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2019. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/DQAWWB270376005/OVIC?u=cclc_rio&sid=OVIC&xid=21b59360. Accessed 24 Jan. 2019. Originally published as "Physician-Assisted Suicide in Hawaii Is an Attack on All of Us," The Daily Signal, 16 Apr. 2018.

Huttmenn, Barbara. "A Crime of Compassion." Anker, Susan. Real Essays with Readings. 2012. 815-817.

Pies, Ronald W. "How does assisting with suicide affect physicians?" Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2019. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/PGDBIC430708327/OVIC?u=cclc_rio&sid=OVIC&xid=ded1eadb. Accessed 24 Jan. 2019. Originally published as "How does assisting with suicide affect physicians?" The Conversation, 7 Jan. 2018.

Sigel, Marc. "Treating the Pain by Ending a Life." Anker, Susan. Real Essay ith Readings. 2012. 820-821.

Zitter, Jessica Nutik. "Should I Help My Patients Die?" New York Times, 6 Aug. 2017, p. 1(L). Opposing Viewpoints in Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A499943302/OVIC?u=cclc_rio&sid=OVIC&xid=27fd1c14. Accessed 18 Jan. 2019.

"Seeking a Peaceful End of Suffering." New York Times, 9 Sept. 2018, p. 8(L). Opposing Viewpoints in Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A553491771/OVIC?u=cclc_rio&sid=OVIC&xid=f98822be. Accessed 18 Jan. 2019.

"Physician-Assisted Suicide Shows No Mercy." American Decades Primary Sources, edited by Cynthia Rose, vol. 10: 1990-1999, Gale, 2004, pp. 501-504. Gale Virtual Reference Library, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3490201986/GVRL?u=cclc_rio&sid=GVRL&xid=dd07bdd9. Accessed 18 Jan. 2019.