Euthanasia is defined by Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary as “the act
or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured
individuals (as persons or injured animals) in a relatively painless way for
reasons of mercy.” This is different in the way that a physician administers
lethal drugs, where in physician assisted suicide (or physician assisted death),
the drugs are prescribed and taken by the patient. In the 17th
century common law in the American colonies prohibited the act of suicide and
assisted suicide. During the renaissance and reformation, in the late 17th
century and towards the beginning of the 18th century, many modern
writers began to challenge the authority of the church concerning ethical
matters. Through the rest of the 18th century there was not a lot of
interest in opposing the enacted laws of suicide and assisted suicide, although
many other church systems began voicing their beliefs that concluded the
preceding laws. In 1828, the first U.S. statute to explicitly outlaw assisted
suicide was passed in New York. This statute also included the provision of any
drug or weapon with the knowledge that someone intends to use it to take his or
her own life. In 1870, Samuel Williams, a commentator and non-physician,
proposed to the Birmingham Speculative Club that euthanasia be implemented to
bring about a painless death for those suffering from hopeless and painful
illnesses. In response to Samuel Williams’ proposal, the Journal of the
American Medical Association attacked his statement claiming the proposal was “an attempt to make the physician don the robes of an executioner.” In 1915, Dr. Harry Haiselden
unknowingly made the idea of euthanasia very public and helped to gain traction
for the idea itself. Dr. Haiselden did this by simply making the call to not
give surgery. The doctor made this call on a recently born baby boy,
who was
born blue and badly deformed who would most likely suffer with his physical
deformities all his life even if surgery was given. By making the decision,
after the okay from the parents, to neglect the surgery, the young boy died
about 5 days later. In the 1930s there was a huge increase of support for
euthanasia due to the great depression. In 1935 the Voluntary Euthanasia
Legislation Society was founded. In 1937 the first voluntary euthanasia act was
introduced to the U.S. senate. The very next year, the National Society for the
Legalization of Euthanasia was founded. The British and North American
Euthanasia Societies collectively decided to petition the United Nations to
amend the declaration of human rights to include euthanasia in 1952. In 1990,
Dr. Jack Kevorkian assisted in his first publicized assisted suicide. Dr.
Kevorkian was charged with murder after this although the charges were dropped
on December 13, 1990 since there were not any laws regarding assisted suicide in
Michigan at the time. However, the next year, the state of Michigan revoked his
medical license. In November of 1994, Oregon passed the Death with Dignity act,
becoming the first law in U.S. history to permit physician assisted suicide. On
June 16, 1997 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that there is no constitutional
right to die. In
November of 1998, jack Kevorkian appeared on 60 minutes where
he showed a video clip of himself administering a lethal injection to a man
suffering from Lou Gehrig’s disease, Thomas Youk. In 1999 Jack Kevorkian was
convicted of the murder of Thomas Youk and sentenced to 10-25 years, eight of
which he served. The Netherlands officially legalized euthanasia in 2001. In
2008 Luxembourg, and Washington state legalize physician assisted suicide,
making Washington the second U.S. state to pass the Death with Dignity act. In
2008, Montana ruled that Montana residents have the legal right to physician
assisted suicide with court ruling. Lastly, on May 20, 2013 Governor Peter
Shumlin of Vermont signed the “End of Life Choices” bill into law. Many
arguments against physician assisted suicide are based in religious and ethical
concerns. However, some people have a fear that by condoning euthanasia it
would mean rejecting the value and importance of a human life. My personal
opinion is that if someone is suffering from an illness with very little to no
chance of recovery, they should have the right to choose what to do with their
life. If those people decide that they would rather not suffer the pain of
their illness or disease and they would like to die in a painless and
respectable manner, they should have the option. Considering the opposition’s
arguments against it, I would say that a reasonable precaution to take would be
to make a living will. A living will is a document stating a person’s desires
regarding their medical treatment in circumstances where they are not able to
express informed consent. The issuing of a living will allows individuals to
decide what happens with their medical treatment in case they are no longer
able to give informed consent regarding how they would like to be treated.
This statute also included the provision of any drug or
weapon with the knowledge that someone intends to use it to take his or her own
life. In 1870, Samuel Williams, a commentator and non-physician, proposed to
the Birmingham Speculative Club that euthanasia be implemented to bring about a
painless death for those suffering from hopeless and painful illnesses. In
response to Samuel Williams’ proposal, the Journal of the American Medical
Association attacked his statement claiming the proposal was “
Sources:
Emanuel, Ezekiel, and Steven
Joffe. Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia. U.S. National Library of
Medicine, 18 Mar. 2003. Web. 20 Nov. 2014. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books /NBK13381>.
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