Physician-Assisted Suicide Controversy Analysis

The Death with Dignity Act has recently caused a controversy in the United States. The act was first legalized in Oregon in 1993. Over the years it has been legalized in four other states. Brittany Maynard sparked the controversy in 2014 when she expressed her right to end her life with physician-assisted suicide. The Death with Dignity Act provides terminally ill patients the right to choose to end their own life with drugs prescribed by a physician. The controversy is not over but has been making strides in the direction of more states legalizing the Death with Dignity Act. The first Death with Dignity Act was passed in Oregon in 1993 with a 51% to 49% approved vote (“History-Death with Dignity”). Ever since the act was passed, people have …show more content…
because “of the physician’s direct intentional role in ending a patient’s life” (Physician-Assisted Dying). With this rebellion being in the 21st century, viewpoints like the one mentioned above is being fought using social media outlets as well as with court cases. One example of fighting the rebellion with social media is advocate Brittany Maynard. Brittany was diagnosed with Stage 4 Glioblastoma Multiforme and was given 6 months to live. She made a video about her decision to end her life with Physician-Assisted Suicide. Her video went viral and “she quickly became a spokeswoman for right-to-die advocacy groups and spoke in favor of the laws” (Brittany Maynard). Along with advocate Brittany Maynard, the Death with Dignity National Center has been fighting court cases and trying to convince legislatures to adopt the act. “From 2001 to 2006 we defended Oregon’s law against U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft who attempted to block it by authorizing federal drug agents to prosecute doctors who prescribed life-ending medication to help terminally ill patients die... the U.S. Supreme Court voted 6 to 3 in favor of Death with Dignity”(History-Death with Dignity). The court cases and legislature talks did not always go the way the National Center wanted but they have not stopped …show more content…
“The Death with Dignity movement has progressed more in 2016 than any other year since 1994”(Death with Dignity Movement Making Strides in 2016). The Death with Dignity act has been legalized in five states including Oregon, Washington, Montana, Vermont, and California. Along with five states being legalized, “A growing number of national organizations representing healthcare professionals have endorsed or taken a neutral position on medical aid in dying as an end-of-life care option for mentally capable, terminally ill adults”(D.C. Council Approves Death with Dignity Act). The progress for the Death with Dignity act continues and everyday the Death with Dignity National Center continues to meet its