My Life, My Death, My Choice

My Life, My Death, My Choice         Assisted suicide, perhaps more commonly termed as euthanasia, is currently legal in the American state of Oregon and in the Netherlands, and that is with severe restrictions (Horgan). The word euthanasia originated from the Greek language: eu means "good" and thanatos meaning "death".                 I believe that euthanasia of terminally ill patients should be legalized everywhere, as long as there are still severe restrictions. Although I do believe that suicide may not always be the best choice, I think it should be our own decision whether we live or die, and if we ask for assistance from a physician then so be it. There are a few cases in which I might even consider assisted suicide myself.

        Some people may argue that euthanasia is cruel and that helping someone die is unacceptable. I disagree. I believe that there are plenty of situations in which euthanasia is acceptable.

For those who think that assisted suicide should not be tolerated, I think they should take into consideration the suffering that some people go through. Some people live in constant pain, wishing that the breath they just took would have been their last. For those people, assisted suicide would be a dream come true. If they were given a prescription for a lethal dose of sleeping pills, or a supply of carbon monoxide gas, they would not have to suffer anymore and they could die a painless death. Another example is those who have been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's Disease or other degenerative progressive illnesses. In 1998, there was a mercy killing of a patient with Lou Gehrig's Disease by Dr. Kevorkian, a Michigan physician. His patient was scared that the advancing disease would cause him to die a horrible death. Dr. Kevorkian injected controlled substances into...