Argumentative Essay: Assisted Suicide

On November 1st 2014, Brittany Maynard laid in bed surrounded by loved ones. She had chosen this day to drink the fatal dose of medication she was prescribed. She no longer wanted to suffer from head and neck pains, surgeries, seizures, and stroke like symptoms she endured from her terminal brain cancer. She had to leave her home state and make a whole new life in Oregon months prior. She states,” I had to find new physicians, establish residency in Portland, search for a new home, obtain a new driver 's license, change my voter registration and enlist people to take care of our animals, and my husband, Dan, had to take a leave of absence from his job.” (5,12). Assisted Suicide also known as The Death with Dignity Act allows terminally ill patients to end their lives through the voluntary self-administration of lethal mediations, prescribed by a physician (2, 119). Assisted suicide is how Brittany Maynard chose to end her life of pain and suffering. I believe that Physician Assistance suicide should be a …show more content…
Taylor Purvis from Yale University states, “Americans should enjoy a right guaranteed in the European Declaration of Human Rights – the right not to be forced to suffer” (1, 268). This act is not enabled in our own state of Wisconsin. This means if you were ever diagnosed with a terminal illness you would have to move to Oregon, Washington, California, Vermont, or Montana to die peacefully. Christopher Coopes states, “From 2007-2011, an average of 30,200 residents were diagnosed with invasive cancers each year and more than 11,000 residents died of these diseases annually” (3, 37). This is just cancer alone, not all terminal illness in Wisconsin. These people sit in hospital beds and suffer through pain for months or even years. These people should be able to die peacefully on their own