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Significance for this audience: There are so many terminal illnesses in the world, that there is a significant chance that you will at some point know someone, if you do not already, who is terminally ill (American Cancer Society). 556,500 American were expected to die of cancer in 2003. Oregon is the only state that is not standing by and watching individuals suffer. It is the only state in the US where the option of assisted suicide is legal.
C. Thesis: It is necessary that all terminally ill patients or individuals in chronic severe pain have the option of a peaceful and quick death to minimize suffering.
D. Preview: I will address the arguments opposed to euthanasia. First, I will discuss why the slippery slope argument is a fallacy, why proper pain management is not good enough for those who are in constant severe pain, why legalizing euthanasia will not undermine important health care and medical services, and the reasons why the legitimization of euthanasia by omission is not enough.
Transition: Laws legalizing euthanasia will not create a slippery slope, but keep it under control so it is properly regulated for those involved.)
I. Legalizing assisted suicide will not lead to legalizing involuntary euthanasia.
A. Those opposed to euthanasia fear that it will lead to killing innocent patients who cannot reject the procedure (Euthanasia, Alan Keyes …show more content…
Proper pain management will not alleviate all patients from suffering
A. Those who oppose euthanasia argue that proper pain management is enough to make the legalization of euthanasia unnecessary.
B. I argue that this is a narrow definition of suffering that only focuses on the physical pains leading up to death and not the emotional or mental pains.
C. Suffering is not always a matter of pain, but insecurity over when a terminally ill patient will die.
The Hospice Foundation notes that the best pain cure will not always lessen pain.
2. Quadriplegic poet Ramon Sampedro, who committed suicide with the help of friends in 1998, wrote in his will, “life is a right, not an obligation” (Seattle Times)
D. Pain management operates with a narrow definition of suffering that focuses solely on the patient’s physical state. When we look at the patient’s mental state and personal preferences, we cannot simply suggest that pain management is sufficient.
(Transition: Services such as hospice are extremely useful and it is logical to think that legalizing euthanasia will undermine important health care and medical services such as hospice.)
III. Legalizing euthanasia will not undermine important health care and medical
C. Thesis: It is necessary that all terminally ill patients or individuals in chronic severe pain have the option of a peaceful and quick death to minimize suffering.
D. Preview: I will address the arguments opposed to euthanasia. First, I will discuss why the slippery slope argument is a fallacy, why proper pain management is not good enough for those who are in constant severe pain, why legalizing euthanasia will not undermine important health care and medical services, and the reasons why the legitimization of euthanasia by omission is not enough.
Transition: Laws legalizing euthanasia will not create a slippery slope, but keep it under control so it is properly regulated for those involved.)
I. Legalizing assisted suicide will not lead to legalizing involuntary euthanasia.
A. Those opposed to euthanasia fear that it will lead to killing innocent patients who cannot reject the procedure (Euthanasia, Alan Keyes …show more content…
Proper pain management will not alleviate all patients from suffering
A. Those who oppose euthanasia argue that proper pain management is enough to make the legalization of euthanasia unnecessary.
B. I argue that this is a narrow definition of suffering that only focuses on the physical pains leading up to death and not the emotional or mental pains.
C. Suffering is not always a matter of pain, but insecurity over when a terminally ill patient will die.
The Hospice Foundation notes that the best pain cure will not always lessen pain.
2. Quadriplegic poet Ramon Sampedro, who committed suicide with the help of friends in 1998, wrote in his will, “life is a right, not an obligation” (Seattle Times)
D. Pain management operates with a narrow definition of suffering that focuses solely on the patient’s physical state. When we look at the patient’s mental state and personal preferences, we cannot simply suggest that pain management is sufficient.
(Transition: Services such as hospice are extremely useful and it is logical to think that legalizing euthanasia will undermine important health care and medical services such as hospice.)
III. Legalizing euthanasia will not undermine important health care and medical