Csorny PAGE 4
Danielle Csorny
Paper #3
FYS Word Count: 714
23 October 2014
Legalizing Physician-Assisted Suicide
Brittany Maynard, a very active young wife, chose to take advantage of her right to "die with dignity". She was diagnosed with terminal stage 4 cancer of the brain, formally known as Glioblastoma multiform. Only having a few months to live, Brittany requested a life-ending medication to avoid the pain and suffering. This is a case of physician-assisted suicide, a topic that has become an increasingly popular debate in America's changing healthcare policies. It is only legal in 5 out of 50 states. However, assisted suicide, or euthanasia, should be legalized in all 50 states because of its positive moral and economic effects.
In a PEOPLE interview, Brittany Maynard explains, "My [cancer] is going to kill me, and it's a terrible, terrible way to die. So to be able to die with my family with me, to have control over my own mind, which I would stand to lose - to go with dignity is less terrifying".
All human beings have a moral right to decide what they will make out of their lives provided that it causes no harm to others. Allowing assisted suicide would give patients a better chance of a comfortable death as well as ease the sadness of family and friends. It would make a difficult time significantly less stressful and painful. Brittany has raised a lot of awareness about this topic and because of this, she will definitely die with dignity. Her situation strongly emphasizes the moral benefits of physician-assisted suicide.
In a similar case, author Debra Dunn described her husband as "â¦purely skin and bones. No fat. Not much subcutaneous tissue. Minimal muscle. He couldn't hold a glass to drink from it, and he stopped being...