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Dr. Kevorkian's Contribution To The Right To Die Movement In America

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Dr. Kevorkian's Contribution To The Right To Die Movement In America
Physician assisted suicide, or PAS, is a procedure which involves a doctor knowingly and intentionally providing a person with the knowledge or means to commit suicide. Including the counseling of a lethal doses of drugs, prescribing such lethal doses or supplying the drugs. Should these physicians assisted suicide method be legal? If a person has the mental ability to make decisions regarding their health care, then they have every right to be able to make that choice. When a person is given the option to choice whether or not they live or die, it gives them the chance to die with a sense of dignity and pride. There has been many different opinions and discussions when it comes to the topic of whether or not assisted suicide should be legal, …show more content…
Dr. Kevorkian was a controversial figure and the public was sometimes skeptical of his contribution to establishing the "death with dignity" movement for the terminally ill (Humphry). "Patient flying to Michigan one day, and being found dead the next, is not their idea of caring a cautious medical practice," said Derek Humphry in the article, "Evaluating Dr. Kevorkian's Contribution to the Right to Die Movement in America". Dr. Kevorkian believed that if a patient has expressed the want to end their own life, it is not our position to stand in their way. Dr. Kevorkian strategically used his publicity to bring attention to the needs of suffering individuals, and some political activists during this time saw this as a negative impact in the media; therefore, they did not look forward to running into him (Humphry). His efforts did bring more attention to issues such as hospice services, pain management care, and other end of life care. Over the years, things have drastically changed when it comes to Dr. Kevorkian's practices and palliative care as a whole. There are now national organizations who specialized in finding ways to assist suffering and dying people find a peaceful and legal end to their …show more content…
When a person is given the option to choice whether or not they live or die, it gives them the chance to die with a sense of dignity and pride. There has been many different opinions and discussions when it comes to the topic of whether or not assisted suicide should be legal, and there continues to be more efforts put into researching more about this topic. Physician assisted suicide may not be currently legal in every state, but the topic continues to create new ways for law to be implemented in order to service the people who truly may need it.

Works Cited
Girsh, Faye. "Society Favors the Legalization of Physician-Assisted Suicide." Physician-Assisted Suicide. Ed. Gail N. Hawkins. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2002. At Issue. Rpt. from "Death with Dignity: Choices and Challenges." USA Today Mar. 2000. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 01 June 2016.
Debate: Should Physician-Assisted Suicide Be Legal? NPR. NPR, 20 Nov. 2014. Web. 01 June 2016.
Assisted Suicide. (n.d.) In Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary. 03 June 2016.
"'Death with dignity' laws offer compassionate option." USA Today 21 Oct. 2015: 07A. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 13 June 2016.
Humphry, Derek. “Evaluating Dr. Kevorkian’s Contribution to the Right to die Movement in America – Assisted Suicide.” Evaluating Dr. Kevorkian’s Contribution to the Right to die
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