Assisted Suicides :: essays research papers

Assisted SuicidesThe Washington Post September 2-8, 1996Picture yourself in this situation. You go to the doctor for a r go forthinephysical. You look fine. You feel good. All those exhausting workouts at thegym are finally starting to pay sour and you actually stuck to that low fat, highvitamin diet youre doctor recommended. You stool never felt better. You areessentially the epitome of a healthy, fit human being. Then, out of nowhere,you are diagnosed with a disorder of the nervous system accompanied by chronicfatigue syndrome. The illness is permanent and there is no cure. It will howeverprogress and worsen with time, and all you can do is wait. What would you do?If you were 42-year-old Judith Curren, a nurse and mother of two smallchildren, youd be in close come home with the infamous suicide assessor, Dr. JackKevorkian, a.k.a. "Doctor Death," discussing your "options." However, accordingto an editorial published in The Washington Post, entitled "38 Assis tedSuicides," many people gestate that when it comes to matters such as life anddeath, there are no options. The decision to live or die is made by God.Judith Curren didnt agree. With the assistance of Dr. Kevorkian, she died andthe retired pathologist presided at his 38th assisted suicide, fairly confidentthat he will not be prosecuted or even suffer public disapproval.Many of the people who have sought out Dr. Kevorkian have been terribly illand suffering, with no hope of long-term survival. Their stories offeredexamples that built public sympathy for this cause. But from the beginning,even among observers who believe that the desperately sick should be given helpto die, there have been questionable cases. For example, a adult female in her fiftiesallegedly suffering from early Alzheimers affection was fit enough to play tenniswith her adult son shortly before dying. Another-said to have had a painful,progressive illness-was found to be free of infirmity by the county med icalexaminer.The article argued this point, "Is it in any way merciful, compassionate,or healing (a favorite word of Kevorkian fans) to assist in the suicide of amiddle-aged woman who is tired and depressed and married to a man whom sherecently accused of attacking her and who then delivers her to Dr. Kevorkian?Pain is controllable. Depression and fatigue can be ameliorated by drugs.Violent husbands can be prosecuted and divorced. Suicide in such a case isunreasonable. A doctors help in that course is unconscionable."I had mixed feelings on this editorial because I take into considerationboth sides of the argument.