What are some arguments for and against Oregon's Death with Dignity Act?

Question

this is for a debate i am planning to participate in

Answer 1

Arguments in favor:

1. People have a right to choose how to end their own lives. If they are terminally ill anyway (which is required under that Act), then it's not a question of if they are going to die, or really even when, but rather how.

2. If you know you are going to live in pain for the last six months of your life, and you can take drugs to reduce (but not eliminate) the pain, but no matter what you do you can't cure the disease, what's the point of waiting.

3. Medical care is expensive. Why force someone to pay for six months of continued treatment that has no chance of curing them?

4. People already have the fundamental right to refuse medical treatment, and the fundamental right to refuse life support. They also have the right to refuse medicine designed to alleviate pain. So, if they have a terminal illness, they already have the means to hasten their death. Why force the end to be as painful as possible, rather than allowing them to choose to go gently.

5. Remember the crucial difference between assisted suicide and euthanasia. In assisted suicide, all the doctor does is allow the patient to have legal access to medication that the patient can take to end their own life. It's still the patient's choice to do so or not, every step of the way. Euthanasia is when the doctor kills the patient directly. Completely different.

Arguments against:

1. Nothing is ever hopeless. There's always a chance. And people should not be allowed to give up.

2. Doctors are supposed to save lives. Even if someone is terminally ill, with no hope of recovery, doctors still shouldn't help them to end their lives. Doing so is a violation of medical ethics.

3. The government is the only authority who should be allowed to choose whether people live or die (I didn't say these would all be good arguments).

Answer 2

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
What are some arguments for and against Oregon's Death with Dignity Act?
this is for a debate i am planning to participate in

Answer 3

Another argument I've heard against assisted suicide, etc., was made by some British doctor at some thing, I'll try to find a link to it. It was something to the effect of "A patient's right to die might become a duty to die, to ease the financial burdens of family members, etc., and not to ease their own pain."*

There was a Supreme Court case on this too: Gonzales v. Oregon. The majority opinion ruled in favour of the Death With Dignity Act (6-3); this & the dissenting opinions might provide more arguments (both pro and cons) if you want to digest through them.

Hope I helped! ;o)
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*: This is what I found in the article linked below:

"[. . .] Dr. Andrew Davies, a Welsh practitioner who told the conference he opposed doctor-assisted death, said he was concerned that terminally ill patients would choose to die to ease the emotional and financial burden on their families, not themselves.

'My worry is that a right to die will become a duty to die, a duty to unburden their families,' Davies said. [. . .]"

(While the opinions of members of the British Medical Association don't really affect Oregon, the arguments are just as applicable.)

Answer 4

The best argument against is that George W. Bush, and not the terminally-ill individual or his doctor, is best qualified to decide how a person should cope with their pain and what medications they should take.