The Right to Die and Assisted Suicide
| Author | Daniel Brannen, Richard Hanes, Elizabeth Shaw |
| Pages | 513-517 |
Page 513
Death is the end of life and the process of dying involves choices and actions. By the end of the twentieth century not only has life become more complicated, but so has the process of dying. No longer do many Americans die early from infectious diseases (strep throat, pneumonia, etc.), but life expectancies run well into the seventies with heart disease and cancer being primary killers. Medical technology can keep terminally ill (dying) patients alive much longer than ever before. Patients who previously would have died quickly from an inability to eat and drink or other complications now can be sustained for days, weeks, even years. Intravenous (IV) feeding and hydration (watering), artificial blood circulating and respiratory systems, antibiotics, and chemotherapy (treatment for cancer) enable life to be prolonged.
The Roman's philosophy about dying was, "To live nobly also means to die nobly and at the right time." Figuring out what is the "right time" is the key problem, especially toward the end of the twentieth century. In the 1990s the courts wrestled with ethical (moral codes) and legal controversies.
Page 514
When should an artificial respirator or feeding tube be removed from a person in a coma? When should chemotherapy be discontinued for a cancer patient? Not only when, but who has the right to make the call? Patient's rights groups and physician's organizations as well as religious groups battle for control over decisions about how and when an individual dies. Laws and court decisions began to establish rules and standards to apply to the dying. For example, the right of an individual to refuse medical procedures—sometimes referred to as the right to die—has been affirmed. Before considering court decisions, the difference between right to die and assisted suicide must be clear.
The right to die generally refers to allowing a patient to die by natural causes when life-sustaining treatment is taken away. The cause of death is considered, therefore, the illness. A competent person may refuse medical treatment. A competent patient is considered by the courts one who can give consent (agree) to be treated or not be treat. The ability to accept or refuse medical treatment is often referred to as bodily self-determination or patient autonomy (self-reliance). On the other hand, an incompetent patient does not have the ability to make such decisions.
A competent person, realizing that he may become incompetent as time passes, may leave instructions to others about...
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