Throughout the history of American medicine, a terminally-ill patient has faced the only choice of being kept alive until their time comes because of devastating illnesses such as cancers, brain tumors, or autoimmune diseases. However, new medical advances have presented a new choice for these patients: assisted suicide. Assisted suicide can also be referred to as euthanasia, the occurrence of a patient requesting a lethal medicine to end their life. The practice of assisted suicide is not currently widespread. In fact, the use of assisted suicide is only available in five states: California, Montana, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington (ProCon.org). Without assisted suicide, the other states are causing dilemmas with patients who deserve this
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Whether or not a patient wants to end their life before it occurs naturally, a patient does not have this option. The right to die is only allowed in five of fifty states. According to an article, over seventy percent of Americans are in favor of the law, but the Catholic Church, disability-rights organizations, and doctors prevent the law from being passed. The church has prevented these laws from being passed because it goes against the ideals within their religion, as it is a sin to kill oneself. However, one patient who was fighting for the right to die describes it differently. Brittany Maynard was a brain cancer patient without a lot of hope for her future. She knew that her future was going to be filled with excruciating pain and decided euthanasia was the right choice for her. She did not describe herself as killing herself. Rather, she describes it as, “I am not killing myself, cancer is killing me” (Washington Post). Maynard’s philosophy was that she no longer wanted her family to suffer from the detriments of her brain cancer. In the end, Brittany Maynard saved her family a great value of money and the welfare of not having to watch her suffer any
Whether or not a patient wants to end their life before it occurs naturally, a patient does not have this option. The right to die is only allowed in five of fifty states. According to an article, over seventy percent of Americans are in favor of the law, but the Catholic Church, disability-rights organizations, and doctors prevent the law from being passed. The church has prevented these laws from being passed because it goes against the ideals within their religion, as it is a sin to kill oneself. However, one patient who was fighting for the right to die describes it differently. Brittany Maynard was a brain cancer patient without a lot of hope for her future. She knew that her future was going to be filled with excruciating pain and decided euthanasia was the right choice for her. She did not describe herself as killing herself. Rather, she describes it as, “I am not killing myself, cancer is killing me” (Washington Post). Maynard’s philosophy was that she no longer wanted her family to suffer from the detriments of her brain cancer. In the end, Brittany Maynard saved her family a great value of money and the welfare of not having to watch her suffer any