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Essay / Death with Dignity Act: Ethical Dilemma Regarding Euthanasia
Today, many people have heard about suicide, where one commits suicide when things become difficult to handle and they have feeling like there is no other way to deal with it. Today, few people have heard of assisted suicide. Assisted suicide occurs when a doctor helps a patient commit suicide by prescribing lethal doses of medication or providing medication. To discuss the topic of dying with dignity, this essay explores the complex ethical and moral issues surrounding assisted suicide and provides a platform to discuss this topic in a thoughtful and respectful manner. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayDr. Jack Kevorkian played an important role in assisted suicide. He was a doctor who lived in Michigan and helped his patients commit suicide. He helped more than 130 people from 1990 to 1998. He even helped his parents assist them in their death. He served 8 years in prison for second-degree murder for administering the lethal injection rather than helping the patient do it himself. At the age of 83, on June 3, 2011, he died under the Death with Dignity Act. It is said that he died peacefully listening to his favorite composer. He died in the intensive care unit where he suffered from pneumonia and kidney problems. He later developed pulmonary thrombosis. Assisted suicide is legal in 5 states, including Oregon, Montana, Washington, Vermont and California. Anyone living in these states, over the age of 18, terminally ill and mentally competent can benefit from assisted suicide. The first state to authorize the Death with Dignity Act was Oregon on October 27, 1997. As of 2014, a total of 155 terminally ill adults in Oregon received an order under the Death with Dignity Act. Of the 155 patients, 105 ingested the drugs to die peacefully. Since the law was passed in 1998, a total of 1,327 patients have received the prescription, and 859 have ingested it and died. About 1 in 3 people who receive these medications under the Death with Dignity Act decide not to use these medications. Most people who choose People who die under the Death with Dignity Act tend to be well educated and have excellent health care, good insurance, access to care palliative care and financial, emotional and physical support. Most people who choose this path have cancer or ALS. They usually choose to die at home and are enrolled in palliative care. Research shows that 2 in 3 people are aged 65 and over, while the median age is 72. In 2014, 29-year-old Brittany Maynard, who had terminal brain cancer and lived in Portland, Oregon, chose the Death with Dignity Act. On New Year's Day, after months of chronic headaches, she was diagnosed with brain cancer. She had been married for a little over a year and was trying to start a family. After learning of her diagnosis, she learned that she had 6 months to live. She researched the effects of radiation and discovered that she would have first-degree burns on her scalp and lose all of her hair. Because his tumor was so big, radiation wouldn't do much good. She had considered dying at home, but she didn't want her family to witness such a tragic thing. She took the medicine for weeks, she wanted people to know she's not.