Should Death with Dignity laws be enacted nationwide?
Only five states in the US including, Washington, Colorado, California, Oregon, and Vermont have enacted laws that allow for assisted suicide or physician aid in dying. The District of Columbia also enforced similar laws. One of the primary factors of enforcing death with dignity laws is the fact that many members of society suffer from terminal illnesses which have no cure. As a result, the individuals suffer a great deal of pain and cause significant financial stress on relatives who have to incur huge healthcare bills. Through these laws, mentally competent patients suffering from terminal illnesses have the ability to request voluntarily and receive prescription medication that allows them to die in peace and in a humane manner.
How do your values factor into your response?
In the healthcare industry, one of the most important roles played by clinicians is to ensure that patients do not suffer a great deal of pain. In fact, the care services provided are directly required to alleviate pain and maximize the individual’s ability to enjoy the time they spend living. The death with dignity laws are an essential part of upholding one of the primary duties of the medical practitioners. Cancer, one of the major terminal illnesses affecting the modern population, is a leading cause for the pain and suffering that patients have to endure. Despite the use of powerful opiate drugs, patients continue to suffer only to succumb to death. Therefore, the death with dignity laws will prevent the prolonged anguish of these individuals.
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What factors should determine if a terminally ill person can exercise his or her right to die?
The possibility of practitioners and patients alike to abuse this law, it is essential to establish factors that will enable individuals to exercise their right to die. One of primary conditions is that the patient should be of a sound mind such that the decision made is voluntary and not forced on by relatives or clinicians. The individual should also demonstrate the irreversibility of the illness and a high likelihood of unbearable pain in the future that undermines their quality of life. Another factor to consider is that the available medication cannot effectively relieve the misery of the patient and help in leading a fruitful life towards imminent death.
