Assisted Suicide

by | Oct 13, 2022 | Class of 2023

Your Choice

Max Burgess, Class of 2023

“I am forced to suffer with this disease without a choice, a disease which inherently limits my opportunities for choice. I would like, if I am suffering intolerably, to be able to make a final choice about how much suffering I have to endure.”

~ Julia Lamb

Everybody has a right to their health. Everyone should have the final say over their wellbeing. Assisted suicide provides a chance to die in a more civil manner, surronded by loved ones (if there is any) and maintains a level of respect. Why should other people get to decide what happens to you?

     One of the most common arguments against assisted suicide is that it devalues human life – that it is better to be dead than disabled. The people that argue this also say that disabled people “vehemently” disagree with this notion. If we legalized euthanasia, would we be supporting this notion? Would this convince the disabled that they are burdens on society? No they would not. Not wanting to live and being a burden on society are two very different things. Legalizing assisted suicide lets those who wish to pass on for personal reasons do so in a more peaceful and controlled manner. People who wish to pass on because they believe that they aren’t themselves anymore and those who think they are burdens on society are very different people. Euthanasia is a way out for those who have changed their opinion on life, and what it means to truly be living it, and has nothing to do with “being a burden” on society.

     Most people that argue against assisted suicide say things like “assisted suicide is murder”. While euthanasia is (in a way) murder, it can also relieve people of a personal hell. For example, a man named Mathew Donnely had skin cancer. He had lost his nose, his left hand, two fingers on his right hand, and part of his jaw. He was blind and his body was slowly deteriorating. Through excruciating pain, he expressed that he wanted to be “put out of his misery”. His cries for help went unanswered, until his brother Harold, “unable to ignore his brother’s pleas for help”, shot him in the head. Harold was tried for murder. Do you believe Harold in the wrong? This is one of many cases of assisted suicide, although this one wasn’t carried out by a phycian. For many people, assisted suicide is a way out of a personal hell, a way out of a life maybe not worth living, a way to maintain some level of respect. If, like Mathew, you lose many parts of yourself and you wish to pass on, you should be able to in a controlled and respectful manner.

     Many people will argue that we as a society have a right to preserve life, and to those folk, I implore you to take a second look. I agree that preserving life is important, but what happens if you undergo some type of drastic change? For example, imagine you develop some cancer, some illness, some disability; and for whatever reason, you are not quite the person you used to be. Maybe you look different, have lost limbs, or are disfigured in some way. I know for me, if I ever had kids or grandkids, I wouldn’t want them to see me in such a way. Most people would wish to maintain a level of respect and leave behind a memory of a stronger, healthier version of themselves, rather than a memory of an old, diseased self. Many fathers, sons, mothers, daughters, and friends who undergo cancer don’t wish to be seen that way by their loved ones. If you don’t feel that you are yourself anymore, you should have an option to let go.

     Assisted suicide should be ones choice, and not decided by others. If you wish to kill yourself, you should have an option to do so in a controlled manner.

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