Death: A Choice
Essay title: Death: A Choice
DEATH :A CHOICE
“Death is sometimes a punishment , often a gift , to many it has been a favor.” – Seneca
Everyone is born ,and everyone dies. It is what all the humanity has in common. Yet how the person dies is unique to each person. Some people die with the help of the physician. Instead of waiting for their “REAL” death , they invite death.
They invite death means they die ,according to their wish ,with the help of physician . The physician-assisted suicide or the euthanasia is the same . In Physician- assisted suicide , a physician will prescribe a drug that helps the patient to die due to an overdose. In euthanasia the other person kills the desired person according to his/her wish.
Mostly the terminally ill people take the help of physician or euthanasia to die . When there is no desire , hope ,or comfort ,they think it is better to die because even the doctors do not have any solution. ” The most sophisticated management of pain and the discomforts of terminal illness, severe intractable physical and existential suffering persists for many patients and cannot always be eliminated or reduced to tolerable levels utilizing modern techniques”(Meier 9).Hence they prefer death.
“Other elements of human suffering, such as losses of functional capacity and independence , represent indignities that are unacceptable to some persons. Knowing that euthanasia or assisted suicide is an option can return a measure of control and independence to a dying person with his concerns”(Meier 9).Further, physicians are bound to care when cure is no longer possible , and that caring functions rests on the compassionate relief of suffering for terminally ill patients.
“The goal of medicine is to address the sufferings of the patients. As the suffering increases ,we have the duty to provide adequate pain control and to be concerned for the values of the patients in other areas that affect suffering. When pain or suffering become intractable to relief ,however ,and the patient repeatedly requests termination of life ,then the physician has a duty from both the goal of medicine and from a wider responsibility of care ,to provide relief through a lethal dose of medication” (Thomasma 122).
Among the physician assisted suicide ,Dr.Kevorkian has been helping sick people to commit suicide. He is the one to start it.He helped almost 62 people to die.”Those who came to him were suffering with variety of medical condition :Alzheimers disease ,multiple sclerosis, chronic pain , cancer ,drug addition ,and more. These are certainly disorders from which anyone might seek relief”(Mchugh 13).
“According to Kevorkian , planned death whether in form of capital punishment or suicide in the face illness ,provides scientist in with the opportunities to benefit from dying process .Dying can be controlled and prolonged by anesthesia .After person is rendered permanent unconscious , various procedures can be performed on living human body. The organs can be removed for transplantation ; mysteries of dying can be explored, after which death can be brought about with lethal dose of barbiturates”(Winslade 159).
Furthermore , pain is not only facet of suffering that visits the dying patients. “Other physical symptoms associated with terminal illness are numerous . Weakness ,Anorexia, Dyspnea , Insomnia ,confusion pressure sore are also some symptoms taken from four surveys of terminal patients”(Kasting 38).
Besides the above facts, according to my opinion ,an individual has a right to decide for themselves. If they know that they are going to die because of the illness then why they should suffer pain till the death occurs in reality ? They have the right to make decisions concerning their own bodies ,including decisions about when and how to die .Phyllis Taylor has given an example : Mrs S had lived with progressive emphysema for years .During her last admission she was brought grasping for her breath into the emergency room of the local hospital . Her niece arrived at the hospital and showed her aunts living will ,which specified no breathing machine .They followed her wishes. She died comfortably with her niece and daughter beside her (Taylor 140).
Despite the above facts, the opponents argue that the role of physician is to heal rather than to end the lives .A physician providing the means for helping another person commit suicide would be intentionally participating in bringing about the death of another. “Once the habits of taking dominion over