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Many people support the right of a terminally ill patient to die - but what if t
he right becomes an obligation??? And what of the potential for abuse by impatie
nt heirs???
Should dying patients have the right to order their doctors not to start or cont
inue medical treatment? Should doctors be protected from prosecution if they sho
rten a patient's life expectancy with pain-killing drugs?
Most of us would answer yes to both questions. But does this mean we need a "rig
ht to die" law? Or is there more to the issue than first meets the eye?
Public discussion of the treatment of dying patients often confuses two separate
issues. First, is the right of the terminally ill person to be allowed to die w
ithout being subjected to invasive medical procedures? Second, is the question o
f whether a dying person should also have the right to hasten his or her own dea
th, and require the help of doctors and nurses to do so.
PATIENTS RIGHTS
It is often overlooked that patients have the common law right to refuse any med
ical treatment. A doctor who treats a patient against his or her express wishes
can be charged with assault. It would be wise to educate people as to their righ
t to refuse treatment. There is no need to convert this well established legal p
rinciple into legislation.
Regardless of the intention of "right to die" or "aid in dying" laws, they could
very easily open the door to active euthanasia.
In the present climate of opinion, it is easy to imagine a doctor giving a letha
l dose of pain-killing drug and then claiming that death was the best way to eli
minate physical suffering. If the doctor could also show that the patient had re
quested the lethal dosage, the court might well interpret the law in the doctor'
s favor.
Many do not find the prospect of legal voluntary active euthanasia in any way al
arming. But two things should give us pause.
First, as a soon-to-be-published Canadian study will show, most health care prof
essionals who work with the dying endorse the patient's right to refuse medical
treatment, but oppose legalizing active euthanasia. The professionals recognize
that if pain is controlled, as it can be in virtually all cases, very few termin
ally ill people ask to be put to death. Second, experience in Holland tells us t
hat voluntary Euthanasia can quickly become involuntary euthanasia.
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Source: This article is from Life Circle Books, Lewistown, NY.
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