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Mrs. Pettay
ENG 112
29 March 2017
In 2014, Brittany Maynard, young and newly married 29-year-old, was diagnosed with
Stage 4 Glioblastoma (a malignant brain tumor). Because her cancer was so severe, she was
given a maximum of six months left to live, but she didnt let it stop her. Maynard had, from that
point forward, made it her life goal to capitalize on the days she had left, and advocated for the
right for a consenting death. Maynard lived a fulfilling life until her final day, spent with her
family in a small yellow house in Portland, Oregon, was painlessly ended by lethal injection
(Maynard). Maynards story reminds both sides on the heated discussion of Euthanasia that it is
ultimately up to the patient to decide what is best for them. So, is it possible for these two
entirely polarized arguments, on the discussion of a humans ability to choose between life or
death, to find common ground? Furthermore, will these decisions have implications that stretch
Others argue that the legality of physician assisted suicide defiles an array of basic human
rights. Some even claim that Euthanasia is no different than killing another person, and
physicians use it as a cop out instead of doing their job, which is to keep that person alive.
Although there could be instances of such laziness, the purpose behind Euthanasia isnt to harm,
but to heal. Though there are doubts about its exact purpose, but there is a clear divide between
the two positions on this topic. Surprisingly, though, both sides are fighting for the rights of the
patient, rather than the physician. Since this common ground may not be enough, one has to
recognize the earnest opinion of the opposition. Many fight the legalization of Euthanasia to
protect the rights of U.S. citizens and those all around the world, to deter the rising number of
committed suicides, and to provide incentive to do more extensive medical research ("Euthanasia
- ProCon.org").
Although every aspect of Euthanasia is not fundamentally sound, there are numerous
counts of positive effects that can be found from it. In fact, there are many protections for the
patient and the physician alike in states or countries that have legalized Euthanasia. Specifically
in the Netherlands, where Euthanasia has been legalized as of 2001, physicians must follow a
strict line of requirements that avoid the possibility of an unwanted death. Firstly, the physician
is required to knowingly adhere to the patient's explicit requests of assisted suicide after all other
possibilities have been discussed, especially in cases of long-term suffering. Secondly, the acting
physician must consult at least one other doctor whom had/has seen the patient and they write a
report on the procedure to follow. Thirdly, the act of assisted suicide must be done through the
All things considered, there is a common push for patients rights. Especially in a time of
extreme vulnerability and pain, the last thing a terminally-ill patient needs is to be taken
advantage of. There have been countless cases of prolonged deaths for the victims of diseases
such as cancer, ALS, or Alzheimer's disease, and in this topic of debate we sometimes forget who
were actually advocating for. A comprehensive medium to solute this issue would be for
advocates and critics alike to search for alternate means for patient palliative, or end-of-life, care.
For both sides to come together as a collective to provide the best means of patient care would be
a huge step in the medical community, thus stronger unifying the polarized arguments that haunt
us today. The stagnation of these debates leaves the medical community in a free-for-all which
leaves a minority of the states in a vulnerable position to be attacked by the rest. For example,
an open ballot vote in each state that has dealt with legalizing this issue has ultimately been
chastised and blamed as murderers and greedy doctors, although this is not the case most of the
time.
If done in a civilized and selfless manner, the fight against life-ending diseases could be
made easier if those in favor of, and not in favor of, Euthanasia come together and work for a
common goal. The medical world has shown us that there are very few things that have been
able to trump humans ability to counter with medicine. Cancer, ALS, and other aggressive
diseases have proven their ability to be unstoppable in the years that they have been a problem.
With that being said, it is up to medicine to come up with a solution to protect against these
diseases, and that all could be made easier if we put aside our differences and fight for a bigger
solution.
Works Cited
2014, www.cnn.com/2014/10/07/opinion/maynard-assisted-suicide-cancer-
Rurup, Mette L. The Reporting Rate of Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide: A Study of .
the Trends.Medical Care, vol. 46, no. 12, 1 Dec. 2008, pp. 11981202. JSTOR,
www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/23053773?ref=search-gateway: