Death with Dignity Is Not the Best Option

Date: 22.Dec.2016
Name:
Student#: 201521578

In the United States, many states are considering introduction the Death with
Dignity Act, which is one of todays most controversial topics. Death with dignity is an act
of intentionally ending lives to end pain of suffering by giving the terminally ill a lethal
dose of medication. This practice is illegal in most countries in the world but some
nations and four states in the US legally practice it. The author of the article of VOA In
US, Growing Push for Aid in Dying for Terminally Ill says that patients want to die with
dignity because health care for the dying is very costly, while lethal drugs are cheap.
Despite the economic benefits, we should not allow death with dignity because it will
demean the value of human life and could lead to unethical abuses of the practice.
No one has the right to kill another person for no reason and the cost of health
care should not enter into right to die arguments. A human life cannot be equated with
money. Physician-assisted suicide is also fundamentally against with the idea that
physicians have a role as a healer. Patients who want to die by euthanasia actually cry
for help because the health care failed to meet the need of patients. Dr. Alexander, who
has been a physician in the specialty of physical medicine and rehabilitation for over 40
years, said that I know from experience that many people who, at the end of their lives,
ask for death have not in fact received optimum care (Alexander 1). Therefore, a doctor
should not give up every single life. There are chances for miracles and possible
recovery. One of my close acquaintances was diagnosed with a lung cancer and his
doctor predicted him to live one year at most, but he took a care from hospital without
losing hope and overcame the cancer. Even doctor can be wrong about predicting how

long the patient will live. No one can become the final arbiter of guessing ones life
expectancy.
Letting patients end their life is a slippery slope; it will causes to various abuses
of the system and legalized murder. Individuals and society could misuse the system of
death with dignity if the practice is legalized. Doctors could abuse assisted suicide
because they have all of the power. Unethical doctor could help patients die for wrong
reasons. Some family may give the patient pressure to give up on recovery too early
because of financial burdens. Lastly, the society will gradually stop taking responsibility
of saving people. Insurance company could force doctors to help patient die or
companies invest money only on profitable fields instead of developing new medicine for
incurable diseases. Today in countries where death with dignity is allowed, physicianassisted suicide is evolving into physician-directed euthanasia (2).
The biggest reason the proponents of death with dignity agree with is that every
human being has a right to die as well as right to live. We have right of choice and it
means that ultimate choice is leaving ones life. Death with dignity helps patients to
escape from unbearable pain and trauma. One story in the article of VOA is about one
woman who chose to die with a lethal prescription. Her name was Brittany Maynard and
she suffered from brain cancer. She wanted to end her life peacefully in her home with
her family. She said, Who has the right to tell me that I dont deserve this choice?
We dont have the rights to decide others lives. Some people really want to be
death because of serious disease or pain. Choosing to die is not like choosing what to
learn or where to live. Those choices are what you can bring back, however, once you
choose to die, you have no second chance. Thus, we should be certainly careful on
dealing with this topic. Nearly 95 percent of those who kill themselves have been shown
to have a diagnosable psychiatric illness in the months preceding suicide (Herbert 34-

35). The majority suffer from depression that can be treated. We need to take care of
patients psychological state and prevent them from giving up their lives.
Death of dignity is not the best option for human. Even though assisted suicide has a
good intention to help patients, the better way for entire human beings is to keep trying
to save them not to end their lives. Legalizing this system will eventually damage whole
society by establishing a trend that cheapens human life. If the right to die becomes
prevalent in the world, human no longer respect ones life, especially the life of poor and
weak people. Unless we establish the certain methods to prevent those abuses this
practice will bring, we should keep our traditional principle that man must not kill one
another.

References

Alexander, Michael A. "Dr. Alexander: 'Death with Dignity' Too Slippery a Slope." Delaware
online. N.p., 17 Apr. 2015. Web. 18 Apr. 2015.
http://www.delawareonline.com/story/opinion/contributors/2015/04/17/dralexander-dying-dignity-death-dignity/25956755/
Hendin, Herbert. Seduced by Death: Doctors, Patients, and Assisted Suicide. New York:
W.W. Norton, 1998. Web. 18 Apr. 2015. http://www.usccb.org/issues-andaction/human-life-and-dignity/end-of-life/euthanasia/upload/Suicide-and-AssistedSuicide-The-Role-of-Depression.pdf
Weaver, Carolyn. "In US, Growing Push for 'Aid in Dying' for Terminally Ill." VOA. N.p., 9 Apr.
2015. Web. 18 Apr. 2015.
http://www.voanews.com/content/in-us-growing-push-for-aid-in-dying-forterminally-ill/2712191.html
Thompson, Eva. Terminal cancer patient reminds us that death with dignity is not suicide
Centralmaine.com. Opinion. 9 Jul. 2015.
http://www.centralmaine.com/2015/07/09/terminal-cancer-patient-reminds-us-that-deathwith-dignity-is-not-suicide/
Courtney S, Campbell. Ten Years of Death with Dignity The new Atlantis, Current Issue.
Number 22. Fall 2008.
http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/ten-years-of-death-with-dignity