Euthanasia Mocha Latte
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Euthanasia Mocha Latte
After being diagnosed with terminal bone and lung cancer, Caleb Heppner, of Oregon, thought of the horrid final days his father went through with leukemia:
Nobody wants to go through an excruciating last few hours like my father did. Im thinking about those last hours, when instead of being around my family, being able to talk to them and then pass on very quietly, were mopping up blood and theyre trying to manage this horrible, horrible disease process that is just tortuous.
Heppner was able to put aside these thoughts, when he learned that physician assisted suicide was a legal option, in Oregon.
There is also the situation that people unfortunate enough to not reside in Oregon face. Bill, a fictional cancer patient, has just been informed that his condition is terminal. At the age of 65, Bills pain is too great to handle. He constantly worries about the burden he is placing on his family and friends. After considering his options, he decides he would like to quietly and painlessly end his life. He goes to his physician, who informs him that there is no legal way for him to assist him in suicide. Bill is now left to end or live his life himself.
Euthanasia, meaning good death in Greek, is the practice of terminating the life of a person or animal, in a painless or minimally painful way (Euthanasia) (Euthanasia)4. Euthanasia, or as it has been more recently referred to as Physician-assisted suicide, should be a legal option for patients that are terminally ill. Many physicians are being prosecuted for assisted suicide, even though its in the best interest and wishes of the patient. In places such as Oregon, which protects its physicians, the Supreme Court is working to take away the right for physicians to assist in their patients suicide. Fear of painful death, current pain, and economic burdens, are all legitimate reasons why assisted suicide should be an option available to patients, such as Caleb.
How can we spend a lifetime being preached the gospel of choice, absorbing a bewildering array of alternatives at every turn – cars; clothes; hospitals; schools; groceries; novels; films – and yet ultimately be denied the most important choice of all? How come I can choose 20 ridiculous variations of latte, mocha or Americana, but not the right to say, thanks, but Ive had enough.”
− Melanie Reid, Why Euthanasia is the Moral Choice
Many patients will choose the option of assisted suicide to free them of economic oppression. Patients more than likely have family, and most want their family to be as well off as possible when they leave. By having the option to choose assisted suicide, the patient can save themselves, and their family, $20,000. Many people argue that it is morally wrong for someone to choose death, because of economic factors. In reality there should be nothing inherently wrong with letting economic motives, among others, influence the patients decision. Socially, physician assisted suicide could save the United States health care system as much as $627 million annually. Allowing euthanasia would also help alleviate hospital crowding issues. Instead of a bed being taken up to keep a patient alive longer that is going to die, it can be used to save another patient. We shouldnt be able to deny a patient this option because their decision is influenced by economic motives. Nevertheless, a patients decision should be under their