Legalizing Assisted Suicide in the U.S. (Essay Example)

Dr. Jack Kevorkian, famously known as Dr. Death, was an American doctor who worked as a staff physician in hospitals in Michigan and California. In 1982, after working for over 30 years, Dr. Kevorkian retired and made it his mission to help terminally ill patients end their lives on their own terms. He helped over a hundred people end their lives with a lethal dose of potassium chloride. Kevorkian got caught when a video of him administering potassium chloride to a patient was posted on the internet. Kevorkian’s trial sparked an ongoing debate over whether what he did was legal and ethical and whether the practice should be legalized and recognized as an appropriate solution for terminally ill people. The proponents of assisted suicide believe that what he did was morally right and that he should be released from his 10-year sentence in jail. Those against him argue that there are risks in allowing disabled or mentally incompetent people to participate in assisted suicide due to the pressure they may feel to do it. Although there was a precedent set when Dr. Kevorkian was convicted, people in the United States who have terminal illnesses should have access to assisted suicide because of their constitutional right to free will and control over their bodies, restrictions can be put on laws to ensure that only those who meet specific criteria can opt for this practice, and every person has the right to die with dignity.

The debate over assisted suicide is not new. The practice dates as far back as the 5th century B.C. when ancient Greek and Roman physicians helped people end their lives if their situation truly warranted it. However, as Christianity and Judaism became prominent, the practice was de-legitimized with the justification that “what God has given, only God can take away” (N.T. Contributor). These beliefs were reinforced in the Hippocratic oath which “culminated in the near unanimity of medical opinion in opposing euthanasia” (Manning et al.). This opposition to assisted dying played out over the 12th to early 17th centuries and was not up for debate until the 1870s, when Samuel Williams, a non-physician, proposed using drugs such as morphine to end a patient’s life. Samuel’s proposal “received serious attention in the medical journals and at scientific meetings. Still, most physicians held the view that pain medication could be administered to alleviate pain, but not to hasten death” (Manning et al.). The number of physicians that disagreed with his proposal can be mostly attributed to religious bias. Thanks to the Bill of Rights, in present-day times we have to separate church and state, especially when discussing issues that involve a religious history. A religious prejudice against the practice of assisted suicide is outdated and should be re-evaluated in the courts, taking into account the separation of church and state and the provisions in the 9th amendment. 

During Dr. Kevorkian’s trial, he advocated for the 9th amendment rights as they relate to assisted suicide. He demanded that the Supreme Court acknowledge the 9th amendment and grant individuals the undisputed right to choose to die. The amendment states: “The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people,” which can be summarized as, “The federal government doesn’t own the rights that are not codified in the Constitution, but instead, they belong to citizens” (ConstitutionUS). As a citizen of the U.S., your rights are not limited to those stated in the constitution; you are entitled to do anything provided that you do not infringe on others’ rights or prove a nuisance. In the U.K., where they are also dealing with the debate on assisted suicide, the U.K. Human Rights Act Highlights that “the issue is not just about being alive, it is also about how we may reject the right to life, and indeed die” (N.T. Contributor). This emphasizes the fact that humans deserve the right to control their bodies from the beginning to the end of life, and should be given the right to end their lives if mentally competent and terminally ill. For Americans to retain their rights to bodily autonomy, all states must legalize assisted suicide and follow the examples of California, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, New Mexico, Vermont, and Maine.

In addition to the legal questions, the ethics of assisted suicide are also being considered in medical ethics committees across the country. The main points up for debate are: “Under what circumstances are physician-assisted dying and euthanasia ethical? Should these practices be legal and regulated?” (McKinnon et al.). The practice could be considered unethical because it “devalues human life” and “violates the integrity of the physician” (McKinnon et al.), however, every person should have the right to make decisions pertaining to their own body, including when and how they die, regardless of their physicians’ desires. There are many points to consider when deciding whether this practice is suitable for a specific patient, such as “a person’s upbringing, indoctrination, education, and personal beliefs” (McKinnon et al.). The consensus is that assisted suicide is ethical as long as it aligns with the person’s beliefs, they understand what they are agreeing to, and they themselves have made the decision without outside pressure to do so. As long as laws restricting people from making impulse and pressured decisions are put in place and a mandatory psychiatric evaluation is performed, assisted suicide is ethical and should be legalized.

Opponents of assisted suicide argue that advances in medicine and the ability to eliminate pain and improve the quality of life with painkillers offer an alternative to suicide. Some also claim that if painkillers are not enough for a patient, they can undergo “palliative sedation, wherein the dying person is sedated, so discomfort is relieved during the dying process” (DREDF) as it is already legal and eliminates their pain. While these solutions can indeed alleviate physical pain, they cannot relieve the intense emotional pain that people with terminal illnesses go through. These people are left utterly helpless as their lives are slowly and cruelly taken from them. Nancy Rhodes Johnson, a former teacher, athlete, and artist, could do nothing but watch as cancer took over her life and ability to do the things she loved. Confined to bed as her health deteriorated, she said: “I don’t see any reason to prolong my life a bit longer if it means I’ll be living in despair – and if it will bring my loved ones further distress” (Johnson). Offering medication and sedation to patients who are destined to live out the remainder of their lives in a bed, eventually becoming entirely dependent on machines to survive, is not only mentally destructive to everyone involved, but it often also leaves behind a substantial financial burden to grieving families. Forcing these patients to live out the last few months of their lives this way is undeniably cruel and can be avoided entirely with the legalization of assisted suicide.

In this day and age, the right to assisted suicide should no longer be denied to any qualifying candidate in the United States of America. We have sufficient means to enforce specific legal standards and ensure that no one is being coerced into making this decision. The general consensus of medical ethics committees across the country is that assisted suicide is ethical, provided that the person making the choice is mentally competent and has made the choice themselves. Making this practice legal is long overdue, and the arguments against it are outdated. The bottom line is that the courts of America must recognize that every person has the right to die with dignity.

Works Cited 

Johnson, Nancy. “Nancy Rhodes Johnson: I Want To Have a Choice” Death with Dignity, 1 October 2020, https://deathwithdignity.org/stories/nancy-rhodes-johnson-i-want-to-have-the-choice/ 

Manning, Michael, et al. “History of Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide” Britannica ProCon.org, 29 March 2022, Historical Timeline - Euthanasia - ProCon.org 

McKinnon, Brandi, et al. “Ethics in physician-assisted dying and euthanasia” the Southwest Respiratory and Critical Care Chronicles, 24 January 2019. https://pulmonarychronicles.com/index.php/pulmonarychronicles/article/view/561/1236

“Ninth Amendment to the United States Constitution Explained” ConstitutionUS, https://constitutionus.com/constitution/amendments/the-9th-amendment-to-the-united-states-constitution-explained/#:~:text=The%20Ninth%20Amendment%20of%20the,people%20should%20be%20limited%20to. Assessed 22 April 2022. 

“The Ethics of Assisted Suicide” Nursing Times, 18 February 2003. https://www.nursingtimes.net/roles/practice-nurses/the-ethics-of-assisted-suicide-18-02-2003/ 

“Why Assisted Suicide Must Not Be Legalized” Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, https://dredf.org/public-policy/assisted-suicide/why-assisted-suicide-must-not-be-legalized/. Assessed 22 April 2022.