Physician Assisted Suicide Autonomy

The Right to Physician Assisted Suicide "The right to choose to die when in advanced terminal or hopeless illness is the ultimate civil liberty." This is a quote by Derek Humphry, whom assisted his cancer stricken wife, Jean, in her suicide. The reasoning for the desperate act was to relieve her of her pain and indignity of inoperable bone cancer that became too much for her. There are other ill patients that want the same relief as Jean, but society is denying them their right of personal autonomy. Physician assisted suicide (PAS) would give these patients an end to the suffering they are desperately seeking. By using it rather than traditional suicide would give these patients a more dignified death surrounded by their loved ones and can potentially help others with their illnesses. It is one of today’s most debatable topics, and is illegal in most countries. PAS is such a difficult concept to accept, just as any concept surrounding death is, but in the right circumstances it is beneficial. Physician assisted suicide needs to be a legal option for every ill, suffering patient, after all other medical …show more content…
Personal autonomy is a right that people can self-govern themselves. The fact that no one other than the ill patient can determine if death would be better than their own personal suffering means that they alone should be able to make that decision. A survey was taken by terminally ill patients from the beginning to end of their illnesses. It was revealed that only four percent wanted to end their life at the beginning stage, but at the point of being bed ridden the percentage rose to thirty-seven. () It is evident that some patient’s suffering is too much to tolerate. These results prove the individual patient should make the decision to request PAS, and not the state. Taking away patients’ rights to personal autonomy is unfair when you are not experiencing what they