THE RIGHT TO DIE (Part 3)
Was I the nurse caring for a dying patient? Was I a mother desperately praying for my premature baby to survive? Was I the patient in the hospital bed in severe pain? Would I, a victim, have shot and killed the bank robber who pointed a loaded gun at my children? During my life, I have experienced each one of these scenarios.
Groups concerned about the disabled being killed against their will and some medical organizations, whose members are disturbed by the idea of assisting people to die, make up the majority of the remaining opponents to the right to die movement. These groups wish to save and extend life at all cost.
The debate by the right to lifers includes more than just terminally ill patients. It is their belief that legalizing assisted suicide would eventually lead to the removal from society of other persons that were deemed to be a burden.
During my research for this article I ran across a new phrase, "the slippery slope" theory. Many people in their argument against legalizing assisted suicide utilize this rationale. Opponents believe that once we make assisted suicide legal, it will be easier to kill disabled, retarded, sick or elderly people against their wills.
There are many people who believe that any and all pain can be relieved by medication. This simple is not true. Physicians are becoming concerned that they might be prosecuted if they adjust the dose of drugs to relieve pain and the patient dies as a result of the increase in the amount of drug given.
Are we even sure that everyone dying in pain is receiving pain medications? Due to the health care crisis many people without insurance are unable to afford expensive drugs, medical treatments, or hospice care.
Pain is not the only reason that a person may choose assisted suicide. They may be experiencing trouble breathing, be unable to eat or keep food down or not be able to control their bowels and bladder. This may be extremely embarrassing to that person. It certainly affects the quality of their life. They may feel the remainder of their life is being spent in an undignified way.
In all my research, I have not found any proposed legislation that advocates anyone but a terminally ill person having the right to use assisted suicide. Many of the right to lifers believe that if assisted suicide was legal, many persons who
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