Physician assisted suicide

Essay by flogirl313College, UndergraduateA+, December 2014

download word file, 2 pages 0.0

Nina Hackett

Exemplification essay

While physician assisted suicide is a much discussed and argued topic, I would like to present my reasons for believing that it should be legal and accepted. If a person is terminally ill, and there is suffering or no quality of life, I believe that it is their right to decide to end their life in a dignified manner. When we take away the last decision people can make for themselves we are stripping them of this dignity. I believe that humans are not meant to stay on this earth for the amount of time we do, and I am empathetic of the pain of having to rely on others to take care of you when you can't take care of yourself. While I do not condone this practice simply to leave this earth, I feel that it is one that is very personal and can only truly be made by oneself.

When a person is terminal, with no chance of recovery or survival, I cannot support the decision of others to keep them here against their will. I have seen illness in it's most frightening form, and if we allow others to choose for us how we remain on and leave this life we are taking away from ourselves one of the most important choices a human can make. This method is not for those who are otherwise healthy and is not a choice that is made lightly. While it would have been hard to deal with I can honestly say that if my mother had decided to take her own life in this manner I would have supported her. Only we as individuals can elect this for ourselves, and only when there is no other humane alternative.

As we age, often one of...