Doctor Assisted Scuicides and Euthanasia

When the person we love is diagnosed with a terminal illness, is it better to respect their wishes and allow them to die with dignity or prolong their suffering because we are unwilling to let them go. The other day while visiting an older friend with a terminal illness, I began to question whether it is truly right to extend the death and suffering of the ones we love because we are unwilling to accept that it is their time. During the first few visits when my friend had been recently diagnosed, he still seemed to be in good condition. But as time passed, he gradually deteriorated to the point where he was not even half alive. He had a series of small strokes loosing the ability to communicate and perform simple functions. A feeding tube had been deposited into his stomach, but then removed because of vomiting. He slept most of the time because the only strength he had was to open his eyes, and see the beautiful world around him that he could no longer share. He was trapped in a decaying shell with no escape. Hearing the gruesome details of his last few days was difficult to bear, but experiencing them is unimaginable. We did not prolong his life but his agony, and instead of reminiscing on good memories that we shared with him throughout his life, we simply created bad ones. My friend was loved, but did not go gently into the night.

As a society, we have rules and laws to follow which have been set in order to provide us with a safe and peaceful society to protect us from violence. Are these terminally ill patients really being protected from our laws? Because of our laws, patients with terminal illness are forced to suffer an extended pointless and painful death. For instance, Sue Rodriguez had the courage to challenge our laws. Rodriguez suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig's disease, which is a terminal disease that attacks the central nervous system. Rodriguez wanted to be able to end her life at a time of her choosing, but knew that she would be physically incapable of killing herself when the time came. Rodriguez was afflicted with the deadly disease as she fought for euthanasia laws to be changed in the early 1990s, but never lost faith in her argument and continually persisted till she changed history. When Rodriguez took her case to court, she lost her legal battle when the Supreme Court of Canada decided by a vote of five to four that assisted suicide should not be legalized in order to protect the life of those who are vulnerable. She died by suicide in 1994. Since then Canadian doctors and scientists spent the past two years examining end of life issues, and are adamant that their recommendations would not lead to compelled euthanasia of those who are vulnerable. It’s been almost twenty years since Canada's laws on assisted suicide have been challenged by a terminally ill person, and now a similar right to die case has plunged the issue back into the spotlight. The issue had been presented to the courts during August, the summer of 2011. The British Colombia Supreme Court is heard a case from a Kelowna woman who suffers from the same degenerative disease, ALS, who requested that her doctor be permitted to end her life before she becomes unable to move. She had been working with the Farewell Foundation however; the foundation lost its court battle to have the laws changed because its plaintiffs were anonymous. If the last few days of her life will be nothing but pain, and there’s no hope, then she should have the option to pull the plug. Canada should have a permissive yet carefully regulated and monitored system with respect to assisted suicide.

In my opinion, doctor assisted suicide or voluntary euthanasia should be legally permitted for such individuals who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness and are competent to make free and informed choices that their life is no longer worth living. The irony is that in the modern western world, we have the right to live how we want, but we don't have the right to die as we want. Which is more important to you? Shouldn’t the dying depart this earth with dignity and peace or endure the relentless stripping away of their physical and mental abilities?