FREE ESSAY ON EUTHANASIA

EUTHANASIA

In recent years, Euthanasia has become a very heated debate. It is a Greek word that means
easy death but the controversy surrounding it is just the opposite. Whether the issue is
refusing prolonged life mechanically, assisting suicide, or active euthanasia, we
eventually confront our socity's fears toward death itself. Above others, our culture
breeds fear and dread of aging and dying. It is not easy for most of the western world to
see death as an inevitable part of life. However, the issues that surround euthanasia are
not only about death, they are about ones liberty, right to privacy and control over his
or her own body. So, the question remains: Who has the right?
Under current U.S. law, there are clear distinctions between the two types of euthanasia.
One group of actions taken to bring about the death of a dying patient -withdrawal of
life support, referred to by some as passive euthanasia- has been specifically upheld by
the courts as a legal right of a patient to request and a legal act for a doctor to
perform. A second group of actions taken to bring about the death of a dying patient
-physician-assisted death, referred to by some as active euthanasia- is specifically
prohibited by laws in most states banning mercy killing and is condemned by the American
Medical Association. Although it is not a crime to be present when a person takes his or
her life, it is a crime to take direct action intentionally designed to help facilitate
death--no matter how justifiable and compassionate the circumstances may be.1 With active
euthanasia, it is the doctor who administers the lethal drug dose. Since it is tantamount
to homicide, the few U.S. doctors who perform it have been brought to trial but none of
them have ever been convicted and imprisoned.
Modern interest in euthanasia in the United States began in 1870, when a commentator,
Samuel Williams, proposed to the Birmingham Speculative Club that euthanasia be permitted
in all cases of hopeless and painful illness to bring about a quick and painless death.
The word painless is important: the idea of euthanasia began gaining ground in modern
times not because of new technologies for agonizingly prolonging life but because of the
discovery of new drugs, such as morphine and various anesthetics for the relief of pain,
that could also painlessly induce death. Over the next three decades Williams's proposal
was reprinted in popular magazines and books, discussed in the pages of prominent
literary and political journals, and debated at the meetings of American medical
societies and nonmedical professional associations. The debate culminated in 1906, after
the Ohio legislature took up An Act Concerning Administration of Drugs etc. to Mortally
Injured and Diseased Persons, which was a bill to legalize euthanasia. After being
debated for months, the Ohio legislature overwhelmingly rejected the bill, effectively
ending that chapter of the euthanasia debate. 2
Euthanasia reemerged in the 1970's, when in 1976 California was the first state to
legalize a patient's right to refuse life-prolonged treatment. The Legislature passed the
Natural Death Act, which allows for living wills, an advance directive to a doctor
requesting the withholding or withdrawing of life sustaining treatment.3 Today, all
states have some form of living will legislation. In addition, the individual who wishes
to have such a will, may also designate a family member or friend as a proxy to make the
decisions for him or her, should he or she be unable to make the decisions himself or
herself. Some states also require the individual to sign a power of attorney to do so.4
In 1976, the New Jersey Supreme Court decided the parents of Karen Ann Quinlan won the
right to remove her from a ventilator because she was in a persistent vegetative state.
The justices unanimously ruled that this act was necessary to respect Quinlan's right to
privacy.5 Some medical ethicists warned then that the ruling was the beginning of a
trend--the slippery slope--which could lead to decisions to end a person's life being
made by third parties not only on the basis of medical condition but also on such
considerations as age, economic status, or even ethnicity.6
In 1990, the Supreme Court case, Cruzan v. Missouri, recognized the principle that a
person has a constitutionally protected right to refuse unwanted medical treatment. In
1983, Nancy Beth Cruzan lapsed into an irreversible coma from an auto accident. Before
the accident, she had said several times that if she were faced with life as a vegetable,
she would not want to live. Her parents went to court in 1987 to force the hospital to
remove the tube by which she was being given nutrition and water. The Missouri Supreme
Court refused to allow the life support to be withdrawn, saying there was no clear and
convincing evidence Nancy Cruzan wanted that done. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed, but it
also held that a person whose wishes were clearly known had a constitutional right to
refuse life-sustaining medical treatment. After further proof and witness testimony, a
probate court judge in Jasper County, Mo., ruled Dec. 14, 1990, that Cruzan's parents had
the right to remove their daughter's feeding tube, which they immediately proceeded to
do. Nancy Cruzan died Dec. 26, 1990.7
The Cruzan decision sparked a fresh interest in living wills and in 1990 Congress passed
the Patient Self-Determination Act. It requires health care facilities that receive
Medicare or Medicaid funds (95 percent of such centers) to inform new patients about
their legal right to write a living will or choose a proxy to represent their wishes
about medical treatment, and what kind of measures will be taken automatically for
patients as institutional policy. Where state law permits, these institutions must honor
living wills or the appointment of a health care proxy.8
On March 6, 1996, for the first time in U.S. history, in the case Washington v.
Glucksberg, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th circuit in San Francisco overturned a
Washington State law that made assisted suicide a felony. The existing ban on assisted
suicide was successfully challenged under the equal protection clause of the
Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment. The court noted that, under present law, a dying
patient on life support may legally have it removed to facilitate death while another
dying patient, not on life support but suffering under equivalent circumstances and
equally close to death, has no means by which to end his or her lives. The court, ruled
that, bans on assisted suicide constitute a violation of the second patient's equal
protection rights under the Fourteenth Amendment.9
In his majority opinion, appellate Judge Stephen Reinhardt of Los Angeles wrote: If broad
general state policies can be used to deprive a terminally ill individual of the right to
make that choice, it is hard toenvision where the exercise of arbitrary and intrusive
power by the state can be halted.10
Reinhardt's analysis relies heavily on language drawn from U.S. Supreme Court abortion
case, Roe v. Wade, because the issues have compelling similarities, he wrote. Like the
decision of whether or not to have an abortion, the decision how and when to die is one
of the most intimate and personal choices a person may make in a lifetime, a choice
central to personal dignity and autonomy.11
On April 2, 1996, in the case of Vacco v. Quill, the U.S. Appeals Court for the Second
Circuit in New York struck down that state's law making it illegal for doctors to help
terminally ill people end their own lives. But whereas the Ninth Circuit decision was
based on the Fourteenth Amendment and privacy issues, the Second Circuit ruling in April
invoked an equal protection argument that people suffering terminal illnesses should have
the same right as those, such as Quinlan, who are in a coma and have the law on their
side in the decision to halt life-sustaining nourishment or treatment. Physicians do not
fulfill the role of `killer' by prescribing drugs to hasten death, wrote Second Circuit
Judge Roger J. Miner, any more than they do by disconnecting life-support systems.12
In 1997, both Washington v. Glucksberg and Vacco v. Quill went before the Supreme Court.
The Court took a look at the cases and backed away from the slippery slope by their
unanimous decision to uphold state laws in Washington and New York, banning doctor
assisted suicide. Chief Justice William Rehnquist wrote, Throughout the nation, Americans
are engaged in an earnest and profound debate about the morality, legality and
practicality of physician-assisted suicide. Our holding permits this debate to continue,
as it should in a democratic society.13 However, the Court left open the possibility that
such bans might be invalid when applied to individual cases involving great suffering at
the end of a terminal illness.14
In 1994 a limited right to die measure squeaked through in Oregon. The Oregon law allowed
doctors to prescribe, but not administer, a deadly dose of medication to terminally ill
patients, defined as those diagnosed as having less than six months to live. By the Court
kicking back the decision to the states in June, the Supreme Court then refused to hear
the challenge on that physician assisted suicide law on October 14, 1997. Doctors in
Oregon are now permitted to prescribe life-ending medication to anyone who is mentally
competent and diagnosed with less than six months to live. But the patient may only take
a lethal dose after completing a 15-day waiting period. The law does not specify what
medication may be used. Under the approved Oregon law, patients may request doctor
assisted suicide if: 1) They are mentally competent. 2) They are diagnosed as having less
than six months to live. 3) They request a lethal prescription from a doctor today, and
wait the required 15 days. After the waiting period, during which patients can rescind
their request at any time, they are free to take the drugs. Oregon Board of Medical
Examiners will oversee physician compliance with the law,patients or families with
concerns can contact the board,and a 25-member task force of health and ethics experts
will decide some of the policy questions that will guide the state's oversight of the new
law. Several experts expect there will be further guidelines to carry out this new
policy.15
Sooner or later, discussions about euthanasia and assisted suicide in the United States
turn to the situation in the Netherlands. Although euthanasia still is a criminal offense
there, punishable by up to 12 years in prison, it is increasingly tolerated in practice.
Dutch physicians who put hopelessly ill patients to death after being asked to do so are
not prosecuted if they follow certain guidelines formulated by the courts.16
In a series of Dutch court cases decided between 1973 and 1984, two conditions were
deemed essential for legitimizing euthanasia. First, the patient must make the request at
his own initiative, repeatedly and explicitly expressing his wish to die. Second, the
patient must be suffering from severe physical or mental pain, with no prospect of
recovery. Since 1984, Dutch courts have added a third condition--that a physician
intending to perform euthanasia first consult a colleague to confirm the accuracy of the
diagnosis, verify the planned means of bringing about death and ascertain that all legal
requirements are being met. Some court cases have also cited as requirements the presence
of an incurable disease or a demand that death by euthanasia not inflict unnecessary
suffering on others.17
Typically, a Dutch euthanasia patient is first given a shot of barbiturates, which causes
unconsciousness within three to five seconds. A follow-up shot of curare produces death
in 10 to 20 minutes by paralyzing the respiratory system. A Dutch doctor who performs
euthanasia is not permitted to attribute death to natural causes on the death
certificate. Rather, he or the coroner must inform the police that a medically aided
death has occurred. The police, in turn, report to the district attorney, who decides
whether to prosecute.18
Recently, Dr. Jack Kevorkian killed a man suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease and gave
the videotape to 60 Minutes. Thomas Youk, 52, was killed by lethal injection of potassium
chloride at the hands of Dr. Kevorkian. The ex-pathologist has claimed to have taken part
in over 130 assisted deaths, but this time Dr. Kevorkian taken his work to a new level:
he had injected the poisons himself, rather than rigging up his homemade suicide machine
so the patient could kill himself.
When Michigan banned assisted suicide in September, Kevorkian decided it was time for a
new-- and perhaps final--showdown in court. This new mercy killing case revived the long
and contentious debate over whether we have the right to die--and whether doctors should
take part in their patients' deaths. More than 30 states have banned assisted
suicide--the act of helping a person take his own life. Now Kevorkian has gone a step
further, to euthanasia--the act of actually carrying out a mercy killing.19
With his new step toward active euthanasia, Dr. Kevorkian may have lost a number of his
supporters. A Detroit Free Press pool showed most Michigan residents were wary of
Kevorkian's latest move. And some assisted suicide activist who once idolized Kevorkian
are refusing to support his graduation to euthanasia. Even if he is aquitted of the first
degree murder charge, he could find that he is no longer takn serious and could hurt
actually his cause.20
Euthanasia opponents envision a bleak future for dying patients who don't have access to
health insurance, adequate pain control treatment, or the money to pay for long term
care. Some may feel forced or be coerced by their families and doctors to opt for
euthanasia. Of course, no law can guarantee that coercion will never occur. We can't know
for sure what family members' motives may be in any number of already legal health care
and other decisions in which they participate. But should we reduce our available choices
because we don't believe people can always make the right decisions for the right reasons
or because we fear possible abuses? Or should we continue to expand our individual
choices and freedoms while doing our best to prevent inappropriate and coerced influences
and to educate all people in critical decision making?
In fact, abuses are far more likely to occur within the present unregulated, covert, and
occasional practice of assisted suicide. There is no accountability for such deaths, no
procedures, no safeguards, and no reporting requirements. How much safer would it be if
laws such as those in Oregon were in place nationwide? Can the debate over legalization
of Euthanasia be compared to the debate over legalizing abortion? Wasn't the main reason
for legalizing abortion because it was being done anyway. People still had access to
abortion, it was just being done terribly. We're in exactly the same situation today.
People do have access to assisted suicide, it's just being done poorly.
I believe, that if in this great country, we have the right to life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness then why shouldn't a person have the right to control the conditions
of their death as much as they have the right to control the conditions of their living.
If procedures similar to the Dutch model can help us avoid unnecessary suffering, it
would be worthwhile to work out with the legal and medical professions. By firmly
establishing the right to die in America, an extension of the right to privacy, we are
safeguarding such fundamental rights against governmental exploitation. If not a legal
law, there is certainly a moral law over one's own body and our life should be subject to
our own self-determination. We have a right to end our own life; and if we cannot
accomplish the task on our own, at our discretion, another person should have the right
to end it for us, as an act of compassion.
History of Euthanasia in America
1973- The American Medical Association issues the Patient Bill of Rights. The
groundbreaking document allows patients to refuse medical treatment. 
1976- The New Jersey Supreme Court rules that the parents of Karen Ann Quinlan, who has
been in a tranquilizer-and-alcohol-induced coma for a year, can remove her respirator.
She dies nine years later. 
1979- Jo Roman, a New York artist dying of cancer, makes a videotape, telling her friends
and family she intends to end her life. She later commits suicide with an overdose of
sleeping pills. 
1985- Betty Rollin publishes Last Wish, the story of her mother's battle with ovarian
cancer. The book reveals that Ida Rollin killed herself with a sedative overdose. 
1990- Dr. Jack Kevorkian performs his first assisted suicide, using a homemade machine,
to end the life of Alzheimer's patient Janet Adkins. Meanwhile, after protracted legal
wrangling, the parents of Nancy Cruzan, who has been in a coma for seven years, are
allowed to remove her feeding tube. Friends and co-workers testify in court that she
would not have wanted to live. 
1991- Hemlock Society founder Derek Humphry first publishes Final Exit. The controversial
suicide how-to book later becomes a national best seller. 
1994- Voters in Oregon pass a referendum making it the only state in the country that
allows doctors to prescribe life-ending drugs for terminally ill patients. The hotly
contested law was not put into effect until last year.
1995- George Delury publishes But What If She Wants to Die? a diary chronicling his
wife's long battle with multiple sclerosis. The book describes the couple's agonizing
decision to end her life with a drug overdose. Delury served four months in prison for
attempted manslaughter for his role in her death. 
1997- In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court rules that the Constitution does not
guarantee the right to commit suicide with the help of a physician. The decision upholds
laws in New York and Washington state making it illegal for doctors to give lethal drugs
to dying patients. 
1998- In November, Michigan voters defeat a measure that would have made
physician-assisted suicide legal.
Michigan Poll On Dr. Kevorkian and Euthanasia22
1. After watching that segment which showed Jack Kevorkian administering a lethal
injection of drugs, do you think it was appropriate or not appropriate for 60 Minutes to
show that scene on television?
56%Appropriate
35% Not appropriate
10% Undecided/Don't know/Refused
2. Did the experience of watching Dr. Jack Kevorkian cause a man's death influence your
opinion about assisted suicide, or would you say that your opinion about assisted suicide
was not influenced at all by the 60 Minutes program? 
11%Influenced opinion about assisted suicide
84%DID NOT influence opinion about assisted suicide
5%Undecided/Don't know
3. Did the experience of watching tonight's 60 minute segment on Jack Kevorkian influence
you to be more supportive of assisted suicide or more opposed to assisted suicide? 
6%Much more supportive of assisted suicide
31%Somewhat more supportive of assisted suicide
13%Somewhat more opposed to assisted suicide
38%Much more opposed to assisted suicide
12%Undecided/Don't know
4. Generally speaking, do you favor or oppose laws that would allow physician assisted
suicide for terminally ill people who are in a sound state of mind? 
31%Strongly favor
14%Somewhat favor
10%Somewhat oppose
40%Strongly oppose
5%Undecided/Don't know 
5. Dr. Kevorkian has invited law enforcement authorities to arrest him and charge him
with a crime for his actions in the death shown on television. What do you think? Should
Dr. Jack Kevorkian be arrested and charged with a crime for his actions, or do you think
authorities should do nothing? 
50%Kevorkian should be arrested and charged 
34%Authorities should do nothing
16%Undecided/Don't know
6. If Dr. Kevorkian is arrested for his involvement in the death of the man shown on 60
Minutes, for what crime do you think he should be charged--violating Michigan's new law
banning assisted suicide, for committing a more serious crime, such as murder, or for
committing a different crime?
30%Violating law banning assisted suicide
45%More serious crime - such as murder
16%Something else 
9%Undecided/Don't know
7. If he was charged with violating Michigan's new law banning physician assisted suicide
instead of murder, based on what you saw on television tonight, would you find Dr. Jack
Kevorkian guilty or not guilty of that crime? 
62%Guilty of assisting a suicide
26%Not guilty of assisting a suicide
12%Undecided/Don't know
8. Dr. Jack Kevorkian has publicly stated that he is trying to force the issue of
assisted suicide and euthanasia by his actions, and, if necessary, he will starve himself
in prison to become a martyr for his beliefs. Do you believe that Dr. Kevorkian is doing
what must be done for the cause of assisted suicide, do you think he has gone too far and
is hurting his cause, or, do you think he should do even more to force changes in
assisted suicide laws? 
28%Doing what must be done
55%Has gone too far and is hurting his cause
8%Should do even more to force changes
9%Undecided/Don't know
9. In the recent November 3rd election, did you vote YES in favor of Proposal B, the
assisted suicide proposal, did you vote NO to oppose it, did you vote in the election but
skip that proposal, or were you unable to vote at all on November 3rd? 
24%Yes
56%No
5%Did not vote on that proposal
11%Did not vote in the election
2%Can't remember
2%Refused
. 
Bibliography
Works Cited
1. Dority, Barbara. The Ultimate Civil Liberty. Humanist. July/August 1997. p. 17.
2. Emanuel, Ezekiel. Who's Right to Die?. Atlantic Monthly. March 1997. p. 75.
3. Henry, Sarah. The Battle over Assisted Suicide: A Time to Die. California Lawyer.
January 1996. p. 1.
4. Ubell, Earl. Should Death Be a Patient's Choice?. Parade. February 9, 1992. p. 25.
5. Birenbaum, Arnold. The Right to Die in America. USA Today. January 1992 p. 28.
6. Hallock, Steve. Physician-Assisted Suicide:Slippery Slope or Civil Right? Humanist.
July/August. 1996. p. 9.
7. Worshop, Richard L. Assisted Suicide. Congressional Quarterly Researcher. February 21,
1992. p. 153.
8. Martinez, Elizabeth. Going Gentle into That Good Night: Is a Rightful Death a Feminist
Ideal? Ms. July/August. 1993. p. 67.
9. Dority, Barbara. p. 18.
10. Weinstein, Henry. Assisted Deaths Ruled Legal: 9th Circuit Lifts Ban on Doctor- Aided
Suicide. Los Angeles Times. March 7, 1996. p. A1.
11. Hallock, Steve. p. 12-13.
12. Hallock, Steve. p. 13.
13. Beck, Joan. Backing Away from a Very Slippery Slope. Chicago Tribune. June 30, 1997.
p. A1.
14. Johnson, Tim. Legal Eythanasia Unsettles Colombia. Miami Herald. June 30, 1997. p.
7A
15. Maier, Thomas. Death By Choice. Newsday. November 6, 1997. p. A5.
16. Emanuel, Ezekiel. p. 73.
17. Worsnop, Richard L. p. 59.
18. Worsnop, Richard L. p. 59.
19. Bai, Matt. Death Wish. Newsweek. December 7, 1998. p. 31.
20. Bai, Matt. p. 33.
21. Frehm, Ron. Newsweek. December 7, 1998. p. 32-33.
22. Detroit Free Press poll of 300 Michigan residents conducted November 22, 1998 by
Epic/MRA, of Lansing