Should Euthanasia Be A New Option For Terminally Ill Patients? The loss of a loved one is a detrimental situation that everyone must go through at some point in life. However, when a person faces this point in life, whether it be their own death, or a loved ones, it is ideal that it be as simple and uncomplicated as possible. For terminally ill patients, hospice is a common form of late-stage care. “Hospice is specialized type of care for those facing a life-limiting illness, their families and their caregivers. Hospice care addresses the patient 's physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs. Hospice care also helps the patient 's family caregivers”(What is Hospice, 2014). Now however, a rather uncommon option is presented more often
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However, it is not always the best course of action. Hospice does not make the pain go away. Hospice simply allows the patient to lay and rest, while a caretaker assists them in daily tasks, such as eating, drinking, bathing, going to the bathroom, and several other activities. On a smaller scale, it would be like a mother taking care of a child with the flu. The mother can prepare food, administer medication, and help her child relax, but the ill child will still remain miserable. So if there is a patient suffering from chronic pain, and any action strains or pains him, and he cannot live his life without pain, hospice does not make the pain go away. This is why euthanasia and assisted suicide laws, under regulated and monitored circumstances should be legalized in the United States. Some may say killing is inhumane, but is it any more humane if a human is forced to suffer for possibly years until …show more content…
My late grandmother, who passed away from cancer in 2013, was ill for around two years. During those years, her physical and mental state began to fade. One who was at one time a capable and functional human, often found herself bedridden and medicated. In the late months of life, pain increased throughout her body. She was prescribed morphine to help deal with the pain. As she lived in Michigan, there was not a euthanasia option. After several days under medication, she had stated that the medication was doing its job too well. The painkiller was making it so she was drugged to the point where she was unconscious most, if not all day long. She then opted to not take the medicine, saying, “I’d rather suffer through the pain, and be able to live the end of my life with my family, than be asleep the whole day”. Along with the medicine, hospice was another treatment she turned down. She believed that the sooner she accepted death, the sooner it would come. After battling her cancer for nearly two years, large factor in her battle was the keeping of her mental state. Those who are forced into making a decision such as hospice care, may feel like they have no option but to accept and wait for death, while they suffer. This is why assisted suicide would make a valuable option in end-of-life medical treatment. Cancer can affect not only the physical, but the mental part
However, it is not always the best course of action. Hospice does not make the pain go away. Hospice simply allows the patient to lay and rest, while a caretaker assists them in daily tasks, such as eating, drinking, bathing, going to the bathroom, and several other activities. On a smaller scale, it would be like a mother taking care of a child with the flu. The mother can prepare food, administer medication, and help her child relax, but the ill child will still remain miserable. So if there is a patient suffering from chronic pain, and any action strains or pains him, and he cannot live his life without pain, hospice does not make the pain go away. This is why euthanasia and assisted suicide laws, under regulated and monitored circumstances should be legalized in the United States. Some may say killing is inhumane, but is it any more humane if a human is forced to suffer for possibly years until …show more content…
My late grandmother, who passed away from cancer in 2013, was ill for around two years. During those years, her physical and mental state began to fade. One who was at one time a capable and functional human, often found herself bedridden and medicated. In the late months of life, pain increased throughout her body. She was prescribed morphine to help deal with the pain. As she lived in Michigan, there was not a euthanasia option. After several days under medication, she had stated that the medication was doing its job too well. The painkiller was making it so she was drugged to the point where she was unconscious most, if not all day long. She then opted to not take the medicine, saying, “I’d rather suffer through the pain, and be able to live the end of my life with my family, than be asleep the whole day”. Along with the medicine, hospice was another treatment she turned down. She believed that the sooner she accepted death, the sooner it would come. After battling her cancer for nearly two years, large factor in her battle was the keeping of her mental state. Those who are forced into making a decision such as hospice care, may feel like they have no option but to accept and wait for death, while they suffer. This is why assisted suicide would make a valuable option in end-of-life medical treatment. Cancer can affect not only the physical, but the mental part