Assisted Suicide Essay, Research Paper
Assisted Suicide
Assisted suicide is a hotly debated topic in Michigan today. Dr. Jack Kevorkian has made his life-
taking, pain-relieving procedure possible to many elderly people and to others with terminal and painful
summer of 1996 because I
diseases who want to die with dignity. I was against assisted suicide before the
had no life experiences with death. However, in August my grandmother passed away. As I saw her
suffer in her battle with cancer, I realized that relieving those who are in pain should not be a crime. Dr.
Kevorkian is committing, not a crime, but a very helpful service. For this reason, I believe assisted
suicide should be legalized.
Some may say that helping a person die is the same as murder, but these people do not realize the
almost unbearable pain and agony a person with a terminal illness may face daily. Usually the close
family members are unwilling to relieve the suffering because they do not want to lose the family member
and because they do not realize the severity of the pain. Dr. Kevorkian provides a clean, efficient
way to die with dignity. I believe it should be up to the person who is in pain to make the decision
whether to live or to die.
Some reject the idea of assisted
disease. These people fear that if the sick person is allowed to die by suicide and a cure is found, he
would have died for nothing. Some promote assisted suicide because it is too expensive to keep the
elderly and severely ill alive with drugs and equipment that cost a lot while not necessarily providing a
cure.
Also watching the family member or friend suffer with equipment in their veins or stoned on
morphine all the time is a painful sight. Many of these people believe that the best way to let loved ones
go is to let them go with dignity rather than letting them lie in a hospital bed for weeks on end with tubes
connected all over their body. I personally believe that assisted suicide is a wise decision in order to ease
the pain and suffering of the terminally ill.
Assisted suicide should be legal in the United States. Each person should have the right to choose
what is best for his particular situation. If someone has a terminal disease and lives in pain, he should
have the option of suicide and those who help the terminally ill to die should not be called criminals.
Although this will continue to be a debated topic, I believe it is time to focus on what really matters -
the pain and suffering of the patient.