Pathos In Doctor Assisted Suicide

Doctor assisted suicide is a huge controversy around the world. Only five countries and five states explicitly allow for doctor assisted suicide to go completely unpunished. Doctor assisted suicide is suicide by the patient with medication or information provided by a doctor who has knowledge of the patient’s intent. This is different from euthanasia because the doctor is not actually performing the act, just providing the means and knowledge to do so. There are many arguments for and against doctor assisted suicide that use rhetorical appeals to further their argument. Many of these rhetorical appeals are ethos and especially pathos. The following paragraphs will analyse the use of ethos and pathos by Death with Dignity and Not Dead Yet. Death with dignity is an organization that helps terminally ill patients end their lives without government interference. They promote Death with Dignity laws all around the country, provide information, education, and support, …show more content…
They both use mainly pathos to further their argument and both have a lack of logos to back up their arguments. The issue is very emotional, which is why both sites focus mainly on pathos and much less on ethos and logos. The organizations use very compelling arguments that make people see both sides. On one hand, Death with Dignity uses patient stories to create sympathy and on the other, Not Dead Yet uses images of troubled patients that are happy with their lives. This use of rhetorical appeals by these two organizations can help with the analysis of other organizations or arguments that have to do with the issue of doctor assisted suicide. These websites can help with the comparing and contrasting of other websites’ strengths and weaknesses when it comes to the use of ethos, pathos, and logos and how they further or inhibit the argument trying to be