[dropcap]W[/dropcap]hen Heather married Nigel, she would have never imagined that she would be the one to commit his murder. Heather was placed on bail for murder when she placed a pillow over his mouth after he became unconscious from an overdose. Nigel was terminally ill and suffering from his condition. Because of the laws in the UK, Heather was convicted of “aiding and abetting a suicide and received a conditional discharge for 1 year.”

This story came from an organization in the UK entitled Campaign for Dignity in Dying. This organization specialized in the legalization of physician-assisted suicide(PAS) in the United Kingdom. They believe that if an adult is dying, terminally ill or mentally competent, with a determined time span of 6 or fewer months to live, they should be able to have PAS as an available option of treatment. In the UK, since PAS is illegal, a person convicted of assisted suicide could face up to 14 years in prison.[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] “We’d both watched my husband die from the illness and knew the distress and agony it could cause. Nigel knew what was going on and that he did not want to be around to suffer anymore. On his 42nd birthday, he told me the best present I could give him would be to end his life.” –Heather Pratten.   [/perfectpullquote]

This also goes for Whale and Northern Ireland.  Because of these laws, people who are suffering from intractable conditions and diseases have to sit out and wait for their fate when in reality there is another option for them.  Physician-Assisted Suicide should be legal and a viable option for treatment of patients with conditions and diseases that are shortening their lifespan and undermining their quality of life.

Where PAS is Legally

Physician-assisted suicide/death is legal in 6 US states.

• Oregon, 1997
• Vermont, 2013
• California, 2015
• Colorado, 2016
• Montana, 2009
• Washington, 2008
• Washington DC, 2016

However, some physicians will administer anesthetics to stop the pain of death if the situation comes to a point where the patient is not able to handle the pain anymore.  In 1870, the first idea to combine a dosage of an anesthetic and morphine to intentionally end a patient’s life was proposed.  The first euthanasia bill was drafted in Ohio in 1906. This bill did not get passed.

PAS is only viable if the main physician on the medical case says that it would be in the patient’s best interests to end their life.  However, many states do not allow PAS so if a patient were to request PAS, they would need to be transferred to one of the 6 states that allow assisted death to have their request fulfilled.

In an NPR podcast entitled “Debate: Should Physician-Assisted Suicide Be Legal?”, The hosts of the podcast talk about how if people having the right to deny or dismiss life-saving options, then they should also have the right to medically end their own life. The majority of the podcast is centered around Oregon’s Death With Dignity motion of 1997.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]In 2014, a number of people who were prescribed the medication capable of taking one’s life and then using it was 752 people. However, 400 people were given the medication but for decided against taking it. [/perfectpullquote]

Andrew Solomon, a professor at Columbia University, argues in the same NPR podcast that PAS is not about depression, it’s more about reliving one’s self of a prolonged death and the physical symptoms. His own mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer when she was 56 and told him,”If I ever come to that state of pain, promise that one of you will shoot me.”

After her first round of chemotherapy, she requested to obtain the pills that would end her life.  She proceeded to go through 2 more rounds of unsuccessful chemo before she understood that her condition could not be in control of her anymore.  She had seen a gastroenterologist only to learn that she had developed large tumors in her intestines that would soon make her incapable of digesting her food.

After that meeting, she called her sons and she took her pills. Solomon says that his mother was “the same person in death than she was in life”, and it was her right to choose it over a hard, painful death.  He says that it should be everyone’s right to avoid a hard and painful death.

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How PAS Will Make an Impact

All living things must die and as humanity has grown, humans have found ways to cheat death, prolong life and save lives. Humans are physically living longer than they had in the past because of advances in science and medicine, but as the modern age of technology has grown there are new issues that have started to take lives in ways medicine isn’t prepared for.

[perfectpullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]In Minnesota, if someone is charged with assisted suicide, the perpetrator could face up to 15 years in prison and a $30,000 fine, or a 7 year prison sentence along with a $14,000 fine[/perfectpullquote]

New diseases are more relevant and cancers are progressing and the people who were unfortunate enough to have these new things are suffering. When a person who is suffering, and knows they will be forever suffering, has the opportunity to take a medication that will end their pain, it gives them relief and time to understand their options. All people should have the opportunity to choose their own life if they are terminally ill.

Many people who oppose the motion think that the legalization will lead to the treatment option being taken advantage of or be misused, but according to an article from The Daily Signal, the amount of terminally ill adults who are offered this course of treatment will most likely stay the same as it is right now.

Right now, there have been 30 states who have bills circulating through their state legislature about the legalization of PAS this year, including Minnesota. A Death with Dignity bill was first proposed in 2015 in Minnesota, however, Senator Eaton withdrew the bill before it could be voted on because of poor support.

With the support that it needs, Minnesota could be the next state to legalize Physician Assisted Suicide and help more and more people get their life back into their own control.

Opposing Views

One argument against PAS is, in the oath all doctors must take before entering a practice consists of the following lines: “I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it nor will I make a suggestion to this effect. Similarly, I will not give to a woman an abortive remedy.” The entire concept of PAS goes against this line, thus making PAS a hypocritical request. Physicians’ main job is to help a patient become well again. Undermining their duty can weaken their relationships with other patients and their employers.

Another point that is argued is in the Netherlands, PAS has expanded to include children since the passage in 2001. The same illness restrictions remain, but any child under the age of 12, who suffers from an incurable disease, illness, etc. that limits their quality of life, is viable for PAS at the hand of a physician.

Closing

Physician-assisted suicide is a medical pathway for terminally ill people.  There are many reasons why it should be a viable option for treatment and it will help lots of people become happier and also lead to more medical research in the future.

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