Paramo 1

Olga Paramo
Mr. Newman
English 101: Rhetoric
1 December 2014
Quality of Life
The idea of death scares generally about everyone. No one knows what to expect and
they fear of the unknown pain theyll experience when dying. Those who decide to end their life
early whether due to a disease or depression are viewed in multiple ways. They can be seen as
cowards, as they took the easy way out and didnt fight the battle to survive. Other people see
them as brave souls, as they had no fear while they end their life and decide to take their own
fate in their own hands rather than leaving it to nature. No matter the situation of why someone
decides to take their own life, someone always has an opinion to state referring to what occurred.
Debates have been occurring more frequently on whether or not people should decide if they
would like to die due to a young woman publically announcing and documenting her own
physician-assisted suicide. Five states have legalized physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill
patients, some people state that the right to die should be expanded further, while others oppose
to that same idea. Although physician assisted suicide is looked as ethnically wrong by multiple
people, terminally ill patients should have the choice of when to perish.
The Death with Dignity Act developed in Oregon, allowing terminally ill patients to
obtain life-ending prescriptions along with help from a physician. Recently, controversy on if
such law should exist has been occurring on the social media. Many have stated that the law
should be expanded further as it will give loved ones the chance to avoid suffering, while others
state that the law will somehow be abused by many who are mentally ill. Moreover, Oregons
law is seen as a success due to its safe and effective implementation as they included safeguards

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in order to ensure the patients decisions are voluntary with right intentions and that they are well
informed, as stated by Thaddeus M. Pope, director of the Health Law Institute at Hamline
University.
Denying someone the right to decide when to let go or prevent his or her misery is wrong.
The length of life does not compare to the quality of the patients life when suffering chronic
pain. Doctors, whose primary goal is to heal and extend a persons life expectancy, believe the
law is going against everything they have studied to achieve, but John M. Grohol, psychologist
and founder of mental website, Psych Central, says It appears incredibly inhumane,
insensitive and disrespectful of a persons free will to deny them an end to their misery. In
other words, it is a huge decision on deciding whether or not to die and when a patient comes to
that decision, theyre doing what they think will cause less pain for their family and themselves.
While some people agree with physician-assisted suicide, others see it as a moral wrong.
Ira Byock, a professor at Dartmouths Geisel School of Medicine and medical officer of the
Institute for Human Caring of Providence and Health and Service, declares that people who are
terminally ill, like heart disease, neurological disorders and advanced cancer, qualify for
physician assisted suicide but are deemed ineligible for hospice under Medicare and Medicaid.
Meaning that while patients will be approved of receiving the life ending prescription, those who
decide to continue treatment for their illness and fight the battle, will be denied any help from the
government. Byock also states, Legalizing assisted suicide fixes nothing. While the
prescription will help end the suffering of patients, it will not help in improving the situations at
nursing homes or training doctors more effectively.
Physician assisted suicide not only affects the patients and doctors involved but family
members as well. Watching a family member suffer from a disease, no matter the time limit, is

Paramo 3

always rough and traumatizing. Trying to be there for someone who is terminally ill is rough
due to the fact that there is nothing one can do to relieve them of their pain or to make things
easier for them. Anita Freeman, a volunteer for Compassion & Choices, discusses her experience
with watching her sister die of stage four cancer, she states, No one should suffer as my sister
did and every state should give its citizens the right to a peaceful death. Patients shouldnt
suffer in their final moments nor be denied their final requests of dying peacefully. Physician
assisted suicide is only looked at from a professional and scientific point of view, no emotion nor
compassion towards the patient or the family, when it should also be viewed from a family
member point of view, where they consider what the patient wants.
When comparing the cost of physician assisted suicide or a patient continuing their
treatment, physician-assisted suicide would come out cheaper. Doctors tend to prescribe
aggressive and expensive treatments for their patients in order to extend their life expectancy.
Furthermore, by doing so, some patients may not be able to afford the treatment or will end up
physically and emotionally worse at the end of their treatment. Sandeep Jauhar, a cardiologist
and author of Intern: A Doctors Initiation, claims, As a doctor, I see it all the time: sick,
elderly patients being treated by a slew of specialists who aggressively order tests and procedures
that result in physical (not to mention psychological and financial) harm. By prescribing these
types of treatments, the quality of life is not taken into consideration when it is obvious that it
should be as it is more important how one lives in their final moments of life rather than how
long they live even if they are miserable.
The decision of when to perish should be made only by the patient, not the family
members nor the physician. By expanding the physician-assisted suicide, patients will have the
choice of when to die and being able to die peacefully. Although by expanding the law to other

Paramo 4

states will not help improve situations occurring in nursing homes, training doctors more
effectively or the cost of treatment for patients, it will provide many with a choice.

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Works Cited
Byock, Ira. Doctor-Assisted Suicide Is Unethical and Dangerous. New York Times: Room for
Debate. New York Times Company, 6 Oct. 2014. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
Freeman, Anita. Everyone Deserves to Die With Dignity. New York Times: Room for Debate.
New York Times Company, 7 Oct. 2014. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
Grohol, John M. Denying Someone a Peaceful Death Can Be Unethical. New York Times:
Room for Debate. New York Times Company, 7 Oct. 2014. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
Jauhar, Sandeep. Limit Aggressive Treatments for the Sickest and Oldest Citizens. New York
Times: Room for Debate. New York Times Company, 6 Oct. 2014. Web. 17 Nov. 2014
Pope, Thaddeus M. "Oregon Shows That Assisted Suicide Can Work Sensibly and Fairly." New
York Times: Room for Debate. New York Times Company, 7 Oct. 2014. Web. 17 Nov.
2014.