Elsie Clark is a liberal arts and sciences major at the Arkansas State University- Mountain Home (ASUMH). She is the President of the Student Government Association at ASUMH and a recipient of the Arkansas Community Colleges Academic All-Star Scholarship. She plans to continue her education and get her undergraduate degree in Communications Disorders and Sciences. Last May, Clark attended an Honors Arkansas forum on bioethics, tackling moral questions in the fields of science alongside students from across the University of Arkansas system.
You could go and ask anyone; most would say they knew someone that had died from terminal illness. Chances are you know someone that has passed from a terminal illness. But have you ever thought about how they felt when they died? Were they in pain or already incapacitated? Did they feel like themselves or did they feel like they were overdue for death? Did they feel they were dying with dignity or within their own control? This is when the real topic of today comes up, physician-assisted suicide.
Most would shy away from this idea, saying taking their own life is something they would never consider. But when you’re already dying, what can be the harm of having a different option? But first, let’s clear some things up and define something that some are unfamiliar with. Physician-assisted suicide is the act of suicide with the help of a doctor or medical professional. It is legal in a few counties and certain parts of the United States. Some suggest that assisted suicide should not be allowed because it may increase vulnerability at the end of life, undermines palliative care, and is unnecessary to relieve suffering. There is fear that inequalities of the United States healthcare system that having this option could translate into pressure on uninsured patients to opt for physician-assisted suicide. Yet, the greatest concerns overall are the killing of individuals that are not terminally ill and the potential lack of informed consent from patients.
These concerns are everywhere. There are places with laws to hopefully prevent certain misfortunes from happening, like the state of Oregon. In 1997, The Oregon Death with Dignity Act was passed. The Act states that a person must be diagnosed with a terminal illness and have 6 months or less to live in order to receive physician-assisted suicide. In addition, the patient must make two verbal requests and one written request that is signed by two witnesses. If a person exerts influence on a patient to request medication for the purpose of ending the patient’s life, they could be found guilty of a Class A felony. Further, this act requires physicians to report every prescription they write for assisted suicide to the Oregon Health Authority. This allows the state to collect data on who is being affected by physician-assisted suicide. With this data, it has been determined that most of the terminally ill patients are white, highly educated people that are privately insured. These are people that are determined individuals that do not want to lose their personal identity to these illnesses.
A person being able to choose when and how they die can be an empowering and dignifying thing. Whether you agree with this practice or not, what can be the harm of thinking of the idea? What is the difference between someone dying from a terminal illness or dying with a terminal illness? There are over 330 million people in the United States and more than 70% of adults aged 50-64 have a chronic condition. As a cancer survivor and a person with chronic conditions, I would want the choice to choose. Would you understand that choice?