Go Softly Into That Good Night
On April 15, 1975, Karen Ann Quinlan was hospitalized after ingesting Diazepam [usually prescribed for anxiety], dextropropoxyphene [a mild painkiller], and alcohol. At the time of being hospitalized, she weighed a “mere 115 pounds (52 kg),” (Harris 22). This was Thirty pounds under what someone her height and age should weigh. The night of the incident, she had attended a friends party at a local bar. It was recorded in police reports that she had, “digested Valium and had been drinking Gin and Tonic, before feeling light headed.” She went home to be put to bed by the friend she was living with at the time. When said friend checked on her 15 minutes later, she was not breathing. An ambulance was called and mouth-mouth resuscitation was given, she did not regain consciousness. “She was then taken to Saint Clarie 's, a Catholic hospital, and was placed on a respirator” (Rebman 15). Her parents, Julia and Joseph Quinlan, had to fight for nine years in order to be granted the right of putting their daughter to rest. During the time, they spent tens of thousands of dollars on lawsuits, filing them against the Catholic hospital over their …show more content…
However, the legalization of Euthanasia will not affect the generalized public, it will only affect the terminally ill patients who want relief from the pain they have been burdened with. While there are religious oppositions to the legalization, the people must come together as one and acknowledge the fact that not everyone is of the same or even any religion. The history of Euthanasia has not always been a smooth path, it has been painful, but it needs to stop now. Families having to pay tens of thousands of dollars in order to be granted the piece that they need, is unacceptable. Which is why the legalization of euthanasia in the United States needs to be
On April 15, 1975, Karen Ann Quinlan was hospitalized after ingesting Diazepam [usually prescribed for anxiety], dextropropoxyphene [a mild painkiller], and alcohol. At the time of being hospitalized, she weighed a “mere 115 pounds (52 kg),” (Harris 22). This was Thirty pounds under what someone her height and age should weigh. The night of the incident, she had attended a friends party at a local bar. It was recorded in police reports that she had, “digested Valium and had been drinking Gin and Tonic, before feeling light headed.” She went home to be put to bed by the friend she was living with at the time. When said friend checked on her 15 minutes later, she was not breathing. An ambulance was called and mouth-mouth resuscitation was given, she did not regain consciousness. “She was then taken to Saint Clarie 's, a Catholic hospital, and was placed on a respirator” (Rebman 15). Her parents, Julia and Joseph Quinlan, had to fight for nine years in order to be granted the right of putting their daughter to rest. During the time, they spent tens of thousands of dollars on lawsuits, filing them against the Catholic hospital over their …show more content…
However, the legalization of Euthanasia will not affect the generalized public, it will only affect the terminally ill patients who want relief from the pain they have been burdened with. While there are religious oppositions to the legalization, the people must come together as one and acknowledge the fact that not everyone is of the same or even any religion. The history of Euthanasia has not always been a smooth path, it has been painful, but it needs to stop now. Families having to pay tens of thousands of dollars in order to be granted the piece that they need, is unacceptable. Which is why the legalization of euthanasia in the United States needs to be