LEGALIZATION OF PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED SUICIDEAJ JewittGrade SevenMrs. MockWednesday, November 22, 2000I. BeginningA. Whose life is it, anyway? These were the words of the late Sue Rodrigues, ahigh-profile, terminally-ill resident of British Columbia, Canada, who sufferedfrom ALS (Lou Gehrigs Disease).
She was helped to commit suicide by a physician in violation of Canadian Law. B. Most people in North America die what may be called a bad death. One studyfound that More often than not, patients died in pain, their desires concerningtreatment neglected, after spending 10 days or more in the intensive care unit.
C. I believe that because so many people are dying so painfully, there are more reasonsor physician-assisted suicide to be legal than not. II. MiddleA.
Physician-Assisted Suicide is: 1. a form of euthanasia in which a doctor gives access to a person the means to kill himor herselfB. A Physician is: 1. a doctorC. Steps in the process and methods of Physician-Assisted Suicide 1.
There are three ways:a. One method is Dr. Jack Kevorkians Suicide Machine. In this process,the patient must first activate it by pushing a button.
Then, three solutionsare injected in order; first, a harmless saline, then, a sleep-inducingative, and finally the lethal drug. b. Another is with the face mask. The patient wears the face mask andthen carbon monoxide is pumped through which poisons the patient.
c. The third is plastic bag suffocation. D. Physician-Assisted Suicide is necessary : 1.
to give people who dont want to live, a peaceful way to die 2. not only for the terminally ill, but also the chronically ill, elderly, depressed, ordisabled peopleE. Preventing Physician-Assisted Suicide from being legal is : 1. many different things including the beliefs a religion has about it although some do think it is O. K.
2. the answering arguments from those who are opposed. In these, similar answers to . . .
in Holland, 63 % of all deaths with the withdrawing of life supportwere executed without consent,. F. Physician-Assisted Suicide is legal in: 1. Columbia 2. Japan 3.
the Netherlands 4. the state of Oregona. Oregon is the only US state where any form of euthanasia is legal. Thisis because of Oregons Death with Dignity Act which became effectiveon October 27, 1997.
G. People wish to have Physician-Assisted Suicide legal because: 1. There are three reasons why euthanasia should be legal: it is a question ofdignity, it is the solution for a person that will die soon, & it is the choice of thepatient. 2. Jack: Well have you ever thought about the fact that some people dont wantthat their pain managed in hospices? What if they dont want to be drugged somuch that they are unconscious for a long time until they die? If they think thatthey would rather die with dignity, then euthanasia should be allowed. Anotherthing is, what if they dont have a medical care plan for such treatment?.
Thatwas from a mock argument that shows why euthanasia is such a controversialissue. H. Pro and Con Statistics 1. 57 % pro38 % con 2. 53.
7 % pro38. 3 % con 8. 0 % dont knowI. Legalization of Physician-Assisted Suicide: 1. has been attempted before but I have found no record of this at allJ.
Tools used in the process are: 1. Dr. Jack Kevorkians Suicide Machine, self-administered carbonmonoxide mask, and a plastic bag 2. chemicals used in the Suicide Machine such as sleep-inducing sedatives, salines, and lethal drugs and in the face mask suffocation, carbon monoxideK. The amount of people killed by Physician-Assisted Suicide is: 1.
in the Netherlandsa. 400 of the cases were physician-assistedb. 2300 of the cases were when doctors killed upon requestc. 1040 of the cases doctors had actively killed without the patientsknowledge or consent ( murder)d. 4941 of the cases doctors had injected lethal doses of morphine without the patients explicit consentIII. ConclusionA.
Physician-Assisted Suicide must be legalized for humane purposes because toomany people die in painB. So, lets make it so Physician-Assisted Suicide can become legal to end suffering from painful illnesses. Whose life is it, anyway? (Robinson 1). These were the words of Sue Rodrigues, ahigh-profile resident of British Columbia, Canada.
She was terminally-ill and suffered fromALS also known as Lou Gehrigs Disease. She
