With the current cost of prescription medication for assisted death, occasionally this would be an unaffordable option even if it was legal. Medications to help with dying are considered non-therapeutic, and insurance does not cover the costs. Therefore, the cost of the prescription is an out of pocket expense. Recent drug inflation prices the medications from being several hundred dollars in 2010, to now almost three thousand dollars in 2016. (Shankaran, 2016) Sadly, incurable illness forces people to evaluate their finances; the end of life decision should be an honored final choice. Financial constraints must not prevent people from a peaceful death, and legislations should require insurance or state assistance to be available for this prescribed medical treatment under a licensed physician the same way they assist with paying for ending life with …show more content…
The major constraint is the Catholic Church and their relentless drive to prevent the Death with Dignity Act from being approved in any states. While there is a strong movement afoot in the United States to allow “Death with Dignity,” there are some powerful organizations which oppose medically assisted death. Most notably, the Catholic Church has a robust and definite pro-life stance. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has created a statement the topic entitled “To Live Each Day with Dignity, A Statement on Physician-Assisted Suicide.” The Catholic Church refers to the term “death with dignity” which describes a self-inflicted death, with prescribed medication, as a drug overdose for the “purpose of suicide.” The church statements cite that there is an “Illusion of Freedom” (N.a., 2014). First, the church standpoint of the is that people who frequently take their life suffer from psychological issues. Secondly, the suicides that occur are from lack of the availability of good support systems. Third, the view on rights and freedom is opposite than the movers of the “Death with Dignity,” that suicide devalues life and eliminates choices, therefore, disrespecting the rights of others. Terminally ill people are dying, they are not incompetent, and they are acutely aware that their only options are death and they would like to choose when. As