Physician Assisted Suicide Persuasive Essay

Words: 474
Pages: 2

In 1991, Sue Rodriquez was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s Disease, a neurodegenerative disease causing the demise of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, leading to the inability to eat, speak, move, and breath. The only prognosis is death. At the age of 42, wheelchair bound, aphasic, and unable to complete basic activities of daily living, Sue petitioned the Supreme Court of Canada to overturn a law that banned her right to consent to her own death, and in 1993, Sue’s plea was denied. Unable to endure the suffering any longer, Sue enlisted the help of an anonymous physician and ended her life, comfortably, in her own home. Physician assisted suicide is defined as “the act of intentionally killing oneself with the assistance of another who provides the knowledge, means, or both.”. …show more content…
Disease processes reduce patients to a lesser version of themselves, permitting patients to set parameters surrounding their death allows them to reclaim control over their lives, gives loved ones the opportunity to say goodbye, permits patient families to see their loved one happy and free from crippling pain and suffering, and most importantly, grants patients the freedom to live out the rest of their lives without fear of an agonising or unknown death. Conversely, are we placing an already vulnerable patient population into situations where they can be pressured by others to end their own lives, is this law a misuse of an already flawed medical