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Euthanasia Essay: The Dying With Dignity Act

577 Words3 Pages

Everyone is born, and everyone dies, including our pets. It is the circle of life. It is natural. So, why not allow all mentally competent, terminally ill patients who face unbearable suffering the choice to die with dignity?
In 1997, Oregon passed the Dying with Dignity Act. Currently California, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Colombia are the only other states with Dying with Dignity laws. This law allows a terminally ill adult the option to hasten death. A patient with six months of remaining life may take a self-administered lethal medication prescribed by a physician when they feel they have no quality of life remaining and no hope for improvement. These patients are acting within the scope of the law and seeking peace and tranquility, and a dignified death. …show more content…

Passive euthanasia is when life-prolonging medical treatment is withheld, and inevitably hastens death. Do-not-resuscitate orders are considered an ethically acceptable practice in society and have been for years. Why? When someone decides it is their time to die, they have the choice to opt out of life saving interventions. Brain-dead patients may have functioning bodies, but are taken off of ventilators and allowed to die naturally. Why? Because there is no possibility of recovery and no quality of life. Terminally ill patients know they will not recover. I know that I would prefer quality of life versus quantity of life in my last few months. When that quality time has passed, I want the autonomy to die in a dignified manner without unbearable

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