Peter Quarelli English 2
Project Part C1
Claim 1 Physician-assisted suicide is currently illegal in all but four states in America; however, it should be legal in all fifty. Suicide of any kind is generally a last resort for very desperate people who are suffering. Any patient with a painful terminal illness should be able to have the option to end their suffering prematurely instead of living out their days in agony and despair. Pancreatic cancer is one such disease; patients experience intense pain in their upper abdomen and their back and there is currently no cure for this disease. The pain that is encountered is excruciating and can be eased with medication, but generally only for a little while and severe pain is still felt. Trigeminal neuralgia is an example of another such condition, it is a neuropathic disorder characterized by episodes of intense pain in the face stemming from the trigeminal nerve. There is no cure and triggers as slight as the wind or a high pitched sound can stimulate an episode, it is also described as among the most painful diseases known to mankind. There are many other illnesses similar to these that no one should have to tolerate, especially if there are safer and relatively easier ways for someone to end their agony. Forcing someone to spend their life miserably and in constant pain is not something that can be justified. Every doctor must take an oath to do no harm, but assisted suicide, in the appropriate circumstances, is not doing harm. The omission of delivering an act of mercy may be, in fact, doing more harm to these disadvantaged patients in the long run. Physicians have an obligation to their patients, and asking them to help in the killing of their patients is not something that all of these physicians are comfortable doing. No doctor should engage in such an act if they do not morally agree with it, but