Critical Thinking Paper

Jack Bulger
April 24th, 2016

Critical Thinking Paper

The controversy over whether a terminally ill patient should be able to choose death over
life in dealing with a terminal illness is very important. This issue is significant to many people
with terminal illnesses in Maryland, not to mention the entire world, and needs to be addressed

as soon as possible. When a patient chooses to commit physician-assisted suicide with the help
of euthanasia, they are choosing to die for a few possible reasons, including the patients
recognition that they no longer see their life as worth living because of their debilitating physical
condition, or they dont want to see their family members suffer because of them, among other
things. For the right of self-determination of ones fate, the suffering of the patients condition on
friends and family, and the discrimination against the poor, the state of Maryland must legalize
euthanasia as an option for the terminally ill.

Euthanasia has been a topic of controversy over the course of history for a long time.
From about the 5th century B.C. to the 1st century B.C., the ancient Greeks and Romans widely
supported mercy killing as opposed to prolonged suffering and pain (History of Euthanasia and
Physician-Assisted Suicide, ProCon.org). From the 12th to 15th century, Christians and Jews
were against the idea of using euthanasia in medicine, as did the American colonists in the 17th
century (History of Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide, ProCon.org). Once America
became its own country, the American people tended to oppose euthanasia until the 1930s, when
euthanasia gained more support (History of Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide,
ProCon.org). From that time period to modern times, the pro-euthanasia movement has garnered
more and more backing from supporters, so that it is a much more controversial issue nowadays,
as the number of its supporters in America has approached the large majority that has existed of
people who have opposed it (History of Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide, ProCon.org).

As is the case with many things in life, the amount of money one has plays a part in
physician-assisted suicide. People who are wealthy have many options, when it comes to buying
things and making life choices. If a millionaire was diagnosed with a terminal illness and was

going through intense pain every day of his life, and decided he didnt want to live that way
anymore, he wouldnt have to. All he would have to do is buy a plane ticket, fly out to Oregon-or
another place where assisted suicide is legal- and pay to die by euthanasia. However- someone
with a terminal illness and not much money would be in a very different situation. They would
almost definitely not be able to buy plane tickets to fly anywhere. This means that they would
have to stay in Maryland, and even if they were experiencing extreme discomfort, even if their
sole wish was to die, it would not be legal for them to die by assisted suicide. Even if their pain
became so unbearable that they trembled in their hospital bed day in and day out, constantly
screamed out in agony, if they were kept up all night, the pain keeping them awake, there would
be no end for them, not until their illness took them over.

The family and friends of a terminally ill patient are also affected by the condition of the
patient. The person that they love is slowly dying, often in a painful manner, and the patients
family and friends cant do anything about it. The illness of a family member or friend
...tends to raise the anxiety of all those close to the patient. (Impact of Illness on the Family,
EuroMedInfo.eu). If the patient This anxiety that the family and friends of the patient experience
can be destructive, and can disorganize and strain the relationships and day-to-day activities of
the patients loved ones. They obviously dont want the patient to die, so they suffer for the wellbeing of the patient. If the patient becomes terminally ill, this would make the patients family
and friends more anxious, and would make them suffer more. If by the time the patients days
were numbered, it would clearly put his/her family and friends more at ease if he/she did not
have to spend their days full of agony, and instead could die peacefully and painlessly.

Another big reason that the terminally ill should be able to have physician-assisted
suicide is that everyone should have the right to the determination of his/her own fate. There are
some rather archaic religious reasons why a person should not have this right, such as because
Life is a gift from God...Thus, only God can start a life, and only God should be allowed to end
one. An individual who commits suicide is committing sin. (Euthanasia and physician assisted
suicide (PAS), ReligiousTolerance.org). According to famousdebater on Debate.org, ...each
person has the right to control his or her body and life and so they should be able to determine at
what time, in what way and by whose hand he or she will die. Behind this lies the idea that
human beings should be as free as possible...And behind that lies the idea that human beings are
independent biological entities, with the right to take and carry out decisions about
themselves This means that everybody has the right to decide their fate and go about their life
in their own way. In the case of the terminally ill, this means that if a person with a terminal
illness is going through extreme pain every day of his life and doesnt want to bear the agony any
longer, they should be able to end the pain by ending their life.

There are people who feel that assisted suicide should not be legalized. These people say
that the legalization of assisted suicide will cheapen the value of human life. As a result of this,
authorities, such as doctors and nurses, will take matters into their own hands and kill the patient
without as much thought as they would today, because a human life would not seem as valuable.
For these reasons, there would have to be safeguards when the law is put into place, such as that
the patient needs to be of sound mind, and that the patient himself has to give consent. Also,
according to Ovetta Wiggins, ...there have been no reported instances of coerced death in
Oregon, where legislation was approved in 1994, or in any of the other states that have legalized

aid in dying. (Wiggins, C). This means that the issue of authorities taking over and making the
wrong decision is probably not a real concern when it comes to assisted suicide.

The lack of the option of a quick and easy death for the terminally ill is a legitimate
problem. Over the course of history, physician-assisted suicide has been a controversial issue,
one that needs to be finally resolved in favor of the patients well-being. Terminally ill patients
must have the right to choose to die, especially if their illness is painful. If physician-assisted
suicide is not legalized in Maryland, terminally ill patients and their friends and family will be
denied an important right and continue to suffer, and the patients in poverty will continue to be
discriminated against. For the right of self-determination of ones fate, the suffering of the
patients condition on friends and family, and the discrimination against the poor, the state of
Maryland must legalize euthanasia as an option for the terminally ill.

Works Cited
"Effort to legalize assisted suicide fails again in Maryland." Washington Post [Washington
D.C.] 3 Mar. 2016, Regional ed., Maryland Politics: A. The Washington Post. Web. 19 Mar.
2016. <https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/effort-to-legalize-assisted-suicide-inmaryland-fails/2016/03/03/fe92ea74-e14b-11e5-846c-10191d1fc4ec_story.html>.
Famousdebator. "Euthanasia should be recognized as a human right for the terminally ill."
Debate.org. Debate.org, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2016. <http://www.debate.org/debates/Euthanasiashould-be-recognized-as-a-human-right-for-the-terminally-ill/1/>.
"History of Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide." ProCon.org. ProCon.org, n.d. Web. 17
Mar. 2016. <http://euthanasia.procon.org/view.timeline.php?timelineID=000022>.
"Impact of Illness on the Family." Euromed Info. EuroMed, n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.
<http://www.euromedinfo.eu/impact-of-illness-on-the-family.html/>.
Wiggins, Ovetta. "A Delicate Debate on Life." Washington Post [Washington, D.C.] 21 Feb.
2016, Regional ed., Metro: C+. Print.

Annotated Bibliography
Effort to legalize assisted suicide fails again in Maryland. Washington Post
[Washington D.C.] 3 Mar. 2016, Regional ed., Maryland Politics: A. The Washington
Post. Web. 19 Mar. 2016. <https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/effort-tolegalize-assisted-suicide-in-maryland-fails/2016/03/03/fe92ea74-e14b-11e5-846c10191d1fc4ec_story.html>.
Euthanasia Pros and Con List. OccupyTheory. OccupyTheory.org, n.d. Web. 15 Feb.
2016. <http://occupytheory.org/euthanasia-pros-and-con-list/>.
Famousdebator. Euthanasia should be recognized as a human right for the terminally
ill. Debate.org. Debate.org, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.debate.org/debates/Euthanasia-should-be-recognized-as-a-human-right-forthe-terminally-ill/1/>.
History of Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide. ProCon.org. ProCon.org, n.d.
Web. 17 Mar. 2016. <http://euthanasia.procon.org/view.timeline.php?
timelineID=000022>.
Impact of Illness on the Family. Euromed Info. EuroMed, n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.
<http://www.euromedinfo.eu/impact-of-illness-on-the-family.html/>.

Lombardo, Crystal R., ed. Top 8 Euthanasia Pros and Cons. NLCATP. nlcatp.com, n.d.
Web. 15 Feb. 2016. <http://nlcatp.org/top-8-euthanasia-pros-and-cons/>.
Robinson, B. A. Euthanasia and Physician Assisted Suicide (PAS). Religious
Tolerance.org. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.
<http://www.religioustolerance.org/euth7.htm>.
Should euthanasia be legal? Debate.org. Debate.org, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.debate.org/opinions/should-euthanasia-be-legal>.
Useem, Andrea, ed. Oregons Death with Dignity Law: 10 Years Later.
PewResearchCenter. Pew Research Center, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.pewforum.org/2007/10/10/oregons-death-with-dignity-law-10-years-later/>.
Wiggins, Ovetta. A Delicate Debate on Life. Washington Post [Washington, D.C.] 21 Feb.
2016, Regional ed., Metro: C+. Print.