Assisted Suicide Essay, Research Paper

Assisted Suicide

Assisted suicide is a hotly debated topic in Michigan today. Dr. Jack Kevorkian has made his life-

taking, pain-relieving procedure possible to many elderly people and to others with terminal and painful

summer of 1996 because I

diseases who want to die with dignity. I was against assisted suicide before the

had no life experiences with death. However, in August my grandmother passed away. As I saw her

suffer in her battle with cancer, I realized that relieving those who are in pain should not be a crime. Dr.

Kevorkian is committing, not a crime, but a very helpful service. For this reason, I believe assisted

suicide should be legalized.

Some may say that helping a person die is the same as murder, but these people do not realize the

almost unbearable pain and agony a person with a terminal illness may face daily. Usually the close

family members are unwilling to relieve the suffering because they do not want to lose the family member

and because they do not realize the severity of the pain. Dr. Kevorkian provides a clean, efficient

way to die with dignity. I believe it should be up to the person who is in pain to make the decision

whether to live or to die.

Some reject the idea of assisted suicide because they believe a cure might be found for the

disease. These people fear that if the sick person is allowed to die by suicide and a cure is found, he

would have died for nothing. Some promote assisted suicide because it is too expensive to keep the

elderly and severely ill alive with drugs and equipment that cost a lot while not necessarily providing a

cure.

Also watching the family member or friend suffer with equipment in their veins or stoned on

morphine all the time is a painful sight. Many of these people believe that the best way to let loved ones

go is to let them go with dignity rather than letting them lie in a hospital bed for weeks on end with tubes

connected all over their body. I personally believe that assisted suicide is a wise decision in order to ease

the pain and suffering of the terminally ill.

Assisted suicide should be legal in the United States. Each person should have the right to choose

what is best for his particular situation. If someone has a terminal disease and lives in pain, he should

have the option of suicide and those who help the terminally ill to die should not be called criminals.

Although this will continue to be a debated topic, I believe it is time to focus on what really matters -

the pain and suffering of the patient.