death with dignity act apa

LIBERTY FOR CONTROL: END OF LIFE ISSUES

Running head: Liberty for Control

Liberty for Control

Mary Jo Cameron

Robert Morris University


The Death with Dignity Act has allowed 341 people to take their lives in the state of

Oregon due to terminal illnesses (Aungst, 2008). Hospice, palliative care, and medications are

used in Illinois to deal with terminal patients to make them comfortable for their passing. But in

Oregon, the extra option of Physician-Assistant Suicide has led to a new option for control.

Physician Assisted Suicide through the Death with Dignity Act was passed fourteen years ago

after a long fight with the legal and ethical issues, and informative considerations scoped out.

On October 27, 1997, the state of Oregon enacted the Death with Dignity law to allow

terminal patients a voluntary way to end their lives through a self-administered lethal medication

(Aungst, 2008). Seventeen years ago, the state of Oregon became the one and only state to allow

Physician Assisted Suicide (PAS). Though the process wasn’t easy, terminally ill patients now

have another option for their end of life care plan. Oregon started fighting for this law in 1980

after the Supreme Court decided to “leave it to the individual states to grapple with the question

of the lawfulness of the practice” (Mathes, 2006). Oregon passed the law in 1994 due to a

different way of approach. The state decided to let the people decide what they feel is right rather

than the legislature (Mathes, 2006). This provided the society a chance to weigh the legal and

ethical points, and make their own democratic decision, leading to a 60 percent result for

enacting the law. With such a controversial law, many people thought it was unconstitutional by

providing a way out of life, unethically. The law was appealed after controversy with the

Controlled Substance Law in which states that a controlled substance can only be administered

for a legitimate medical purpose (Mathes, 2006). The court overruled the appeal because of the

situation. The history of the Death with Dignity Law goes back to the ancient times, but Oregon

made a society altering decision for the law to allow death to terminally ill patients.


When creating the Death with Dignity Law, they needed to have limitations so it does not

become abused. A patient has to qualify for the Law through multiple different steps. First, the

patient has to be 18 or older and also have the capacity to make an informed decision regarding

their health care. They also need to be a terminally ill patient that has a prognosis of no more

than six months. After these qualifications are met, the patient has to make an oral request to the

doctor for medication. After fifteen days, the patient is required to write a letter of intent with

two witnesses, other than the physician. When the doctor is informed that this may be an option

for this patient, he/she is obligated to discuss other options such as hospice and palliative care. In

addition, the doctor must describe the risks of the medication, and the probable result of death

(Mathes, 2006). With this medication, the patient needs to understand that the medication has to

be self-administered with no help drinking the fluid. Many specifications are listed to make sure

the medication is not being abused and the patient is readily informed of the consequences.

Cody Curtis, 54, chose to participate in the documentary, How to Die in Oregon, to show

the benefits in her life for the new option in end of life care. Cody struggled with liver cancer at a

very young age. She chose to get the legal medication through her doctor so if she ever felt like it

was time, she would have the medication. She fought every minute of the fight and lived far

beyond her prognosis. But when the cancer started to metastasize, she could barely walk,

breathe, or communicate with her family. Cody decided to go to the doctor and let her know it

was time, and her physician decided to be involved with the lethal medication administration.

Cody thought it was right for her because she wanted to leave in peace, with her family nearby.

This is the story that provokes ethical consideration for the Death with Dignity Law. The

organization, Compassion and Choices, is an organization rooted in Oregon, that helps

terminally ill patients navigate the complex legal requirements for the act (Miller, 2004). This


organization also supports the patients through counseling so they can make the most informed

decision. After speaking with a representative from Compassion and Choices, they told me about

how the advocates are volunteers. The volunteers become their companion until the last day,

when the advocate becomes responsible for preparing the medication. In the movie, How to Die

in Oregon, the we see the real life stories of people suffering from terminal illnesses and that’s

when we have to choose between the ethical or legal considerations that are controlling

Physician Assisted Suicide within other states.

Though the Death with Dignity Law has benefited many people in the state of Oregon,

there are other considerations that need to be thought about. In an evaluation of the law, the

concept of respect versus liberty created a controversial point of view. Doctors are mandated to

respect their career by providing treatments and care to “cure” the body of its disease. This

means that within the limitations of a doctor’s ethical stances, The Death with Dignity Law

violates their job description. Though, in our pledge of allegiance we have, “Justice and Liberty

for all.” According to the dictionary, Liberty is defined as, “The state of being free within society

from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority by ones way of life, behavior, and political

stances.” This means we as United States citizens, we should have the right to freely choose our

way of life without outside pressure (Durante, 2009). This especially is linked to political views

being imposed on the decider as a way of liberty. So, though patients can decide freely, once

they have decided, the doctor cannot help them based of the limitations. Another consideration to

be made is the fragility of terminally ill patients (Durante, 2009). If there was a box that said,

Fragile—handle with care, would it be ripped it apart? In relation to the Death with Dignity Act,

assisting in the death of a terminal ill patient is not handling them with care. With our extensive


hospice, palliative care, and many resources, people should be able to die without a lethal

medication killing them within minutes.

Cody Curtis was a young woman that ended her life early due to a terminal illness using

the Death with Dignity Act. The history of the act was on high radar through the ethical and legal

considerations. After a long debate in the Supreme Court, the act is now being enforced in one of

the fifty states of the United States of America. The choice laid in the hands of Oregon’s citizens

and not the government. As we all deserve liberty for our choices, some choices are meant to be

made, in the end of life care treatment plans with the Death with Dignity Act.


References

Aungst, H. (2008). 'Death with dignity'. Geriatrics, 63(12), 20-22.

Durante, C. (2009). Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Palliation: Re-Evaluating Ronald Lindsay's Evaluation of the Oregon Death with Dignity Act. American Journal Of Bioethics, 9(3), 28-29.

How To Die in Oregon, Peter Ricardson, 2011.

Mathes, M. (2006). Gonzales v. Oregon and the Legitimate Purposes of Medicine: Who Gets to Decide?. MEDSURG Nursing, 15(3), 178-181.

Miller, L. L., Harvath, T. A., Ganzini, L., Goy, E. R., Delorit, M. A., & Jackson, A. (2004). Attitudes and experiences of Oregon hospice nurses and social workers regarding assisted suicide. Palliative Medicine, 18(8), 685-691.

death with dignity act apa

Documents