It's 5:30pm on Tuesday, Nov. 1st & I am sitting here on the computer with the TV on in the background. I've always kinda of thought of people who watch Dr. Oz a little off beat, but it's what just happened to be on right now. I got sucked in when I realized they were arguing over the perpectives of Assisted Suicide. Patients are arguing that they truly wish they had the option to kill themselves instead of dealing with their terminal suffering. A doctor is also on the show debating against the idea of assisted suicide. It's a very intense debate going on. Considering it's still I can't give you the end result of the show, but I will post a link below to Dr. Oz's website.
Due to this class, I now appreciate that Dr. Oz is will to go against fellow doctors' opinions and facilitate this debate that is a lot more common than society would like to realize.
Dr. Oz: Death on Demand
- Steph Nester
I would like to agree that this subject matter is a lot more common than society as a whole would like to realize that death is a shunned topic for the public at times. Assisted suicide should be granted to those in that circumstance where they have no choice but to suffer through agonizing pain or if they are also terminally ill and feel they have nothing to live for anymore, whether that is no family or friends their age to communicate or share memories with.
ReplyDeleteAssisted Suicide is a topic that I feel will be debated for centuries. There is not a right or wrong answer to this question: whether it is just or humane to allow the assist in killing. But are we not born with opinions and the freedom to do what we want with our life?
ReplyDeleteMaybe if these 'injections' or 'pills' that help people die were legal and optional, do you think there would be hundreds of people jumping off of buildings or shooting themselves? I dont think so. . .
What Evelyn said reminded me of an episode of Grey's Anatomy from a couple of seasons ago. I am an avid follower of Grey's Anatomy, and I happened to have just done a project on the subject of euthenasia and covered the topic of physician-assisted suicide, which is how I found out that it had become legal in some states in recent years. Grey's Anatomy takes place in Seattle, and Washington is one of the few states that has legalized physician assisted suicide. The patient on the show who is seeking physician-assisted suicide makes the statement “Maybe you have to be dying to understand, but there’s a point when death stops being scary. It’s hope that’s scary.” referring to the fact that, no matter what people might say about how they might find a cure for tomorrow, she's too far gone and she'd like to die on her own terms. I think it makes the point that surrounds so many of today's issues; that it is nearly impossible to make judgments about a situation until you've been in it.
ReplyDeleteI saw the movie about Dr. Kevorkian and it really got me thinking. The main argument that I hear against physician assisted suicide is that doctors take an oath to do no harm against patients; or something of the sort. This leads me to the topic of taking people off of life support. If it is legal to take people off of life support, how come it is not legal to allow physician assisted suicide for extreme cases?
ReplyDeleteThis post on assisted suicide helped me remember a book I read a fews year back called "The Pact" by Jodi Picoult. The story was about two families who had not only been best friends, but neighbors. The two family's children end up being soul mates and first loves. At the age of seventeen, Emily is dead due to a gunshot wound to her head. The bullet belonged to her neighbor and soul mate's dad. Her soul mate Chris describes her death as a suicide pact gone bad. Chris was supposed to die with her, but survived. The families battle each other brutally during this assisted suicide case. Although this case is a completely different perspective and fictional, it shows an example of when someone truly wants to be dead. If anyone is interested on this topic and wants a good read, I truly recommend reading "The pact". It is phenomenal.
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