Exploratory Paper
Exploratory Paper
Society and Assisted Suicides
If assisted suicides were made legal how would society respond? I know that it would have affected my family and me since I have had a family member that could have decided to commit euthanasia. My Grandmother died in 1992 from staph infection, diabetes, and heart disease which was not an easy way to pass on. Is it right for someone to be selfish and want to die to be released from their situation or is it selfish for wanting another person to live that is suffering? Assisted suicides are mostly negatively viewed and illegal; however it is also defined as just in certain situations. However, euthanasia being right or wrong has been at battle since 1906. Ohio was the first state to try and legalize euthanasia, when they tried to pass the bill it was outvoted (Humphry, 2010).
In 1997, Doctor Kevorkian made his most public debut by receiving a 10-25 year sentence by the U.S. Supreme Court for committing assisting suicides. All one-hundred and twenty situations where Doctor Kevorkian “helped” these people are described in detail on his website. There are statements from the family members of the deceased that have made positive statements about the act, the doctor, and the matter in which it was performed. All the patient’s family members realized how much pain or a painful death would have been in the near future and contacted someone to help with the suicide. Kevorkian helped forty-seven of his suicides poison themselves, either with carbon monoxide gas, a lethal injection of drugs or both (Anstett, 2007).
Doctor Kevorkian started using a machine in the 1990’s called the Thanatron; which is a pretty basic setup that only uses about thirty dollars of spare parts. This machine starts by causes a steady drip of saline solution such as an intravenous or IV, then with the push of a button will inject a sedative solution that will make the person sleep. Shortly thereafter, the machine switches to potassium chloride,
Society and Assisted Suicides
If assisted suicides were made legal how would society respond? I know that it would have affected my family and me since I have had a family member that could have decided to commit euthanasia. My Grandmother died in 1992 from staph infection, diabetes, and heart disease which was not an easy way to pass on. Is it right for someone to be selfish and want to die to be released from their situation or is it selfish for wanting another person to live that is suffering? Assisted suicides are mostly negatively viewed and illegal; however it is also defined as just in certain situations. However, euthanasia being right or wrong has been at battle since 1906. Ohio was the first state to try and legalize euthanasia, when they tried to pass the bill it was outvoted (Humphry, 2010).
In 1997, Doctor Kevorkian made his most public debut by receiving a 10-25 year sentence by the U.S. Supreme Court for committing assisting suicides. All one-hundred and twenty situations where Doctor Kevorkian “helped” these people are described in detail on his website. There are statements from the family members of the deceased that have made positive statements about the act, the doctor, and the matter in which it was performed. All the patient’s family members realized how much pain or a painful death would have been in the near future and contacted someone to help with the suicide. Kevorkian helped forty-seven of his suicides poison themselves, either with carbon monoxide gas, a lethal injection of drugs or both (Anstett, 2007).
Doctor Kevorkian started using a machine in the 1990’s called the Thanatron; which is a pretty basic setup that only uses about thirty dollars of spare parts. This machine starts by causes a steady drip of saline solution such as an intravenous or IV, then with the push of a button will inject a sedative solution that will make the person sleep. Shortly thereafter, the machine switches to potassium chloride,
References: Humphry, D. (2010). Chronology of Right-to-Die Events During the 20th Century and into the Millenium. Retrieved October 22, 2010, from http://www.finalexit.org/chronology_right-to-die_events.html Anstett, P. (2007). SUICIDE MACHINE, PART 2: The failure of medicine. Retrieved October 22, 2010, from http://www.freep.com/article/20070527/NEWS05/70525069/SUICIDE-MACHINE-PART-2-The-failure-of-medicine Beschizza, R. (2007). The Thanatron, Jack Kevorkian’s Death Machine. Retrieved October 22, 2010, from http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2007/06/the_thanatron_j/ Oregon.gov (1997). Oregon Death with Dignity Act Records & Reports. Retrieved October 23, 2010, from http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/pas/ Washington State Department of Health (2010). Center for Health Statistics Death with Dignity Act. Retrieved October 23, 2010, from http://www.doh.wa.gov/dwda/ Rosenblatt, J. (2010). Montana Becomes Third State to Legalize Doctor-Assisted Suicide. Retrieved October 24, 2010, from http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aU0qhkVObeqU Nightingale Alliance (2003). Legal Status of Assisted Suicide/Euthanasia in the United States. Retrieved October 24, 2010, from http://www.nightingalealliance.org/pdf/state_grid.pdf Marker, R. (2009). Assisted Suicide Debate on Fox News. Retrieved October 26, 2010, from http://www.internationaltaskforce.org/video/fn_20090227.htm