Euthanasia and the right to die

Sociology

1 Aug

‍I wrote this essay for my Access to University course (2021-2022) sociology module. It’s an interesting topic that some agree with and disagree with. What do you believe in? I personally agree with the right to die.

Please do not plagiarise my work.

Human-written, AI-free!

Euthanasia and the right to die

This essay will cover what euthanasia is, the UK law surrounding assisted suicide and Dignitas, and then I will discuss the arguments for and against assisted suicide.

“Euthanasia is the act of deliberately ending a person’s life to relieve suffering” (NHS, 2021). Assisted Suicide is helping a person to die in any manner. Under UK law, this is Illegal under the Suicide Act (1961), in which anyone involved in helping a person to die could be sentenced to up to 14 years imprisonment; however, attempted suicide is not illegal. Within the UK, you have the right to refuse treatment and can make an ADTR – Advanced decision to refuse treatment, or a ‘living will’ to deny treatment if you are over 18 and mentally capable to do so; consequently, this is not classified as asking for assistance with dying. ADTR must be in writing and signed, including a witness for its legitimacy, in addition to a ‘Do not Resuscitate’ (NHS, 2021).

When it comes to assisted suicide, I believe in this human right, and so do many others, with organisations such as Dignitas.

Dignitas is situated in Switzerland and was founded in 1988. The organisation believes in ‘To live with dignity, to die with dignity’ in line with Swiss law to assist people worldwide in making choices, and without stigma. Dignitas principles include ‘Respect the freedom of the individual’, which recognises the freedom of autonomy for people and defends that human right. Dignitas do not believe in those persons assisting suicide for their own gain, and thus it must be in the interest of the individual; otherwise, this is a punishable offence. Their work incudes counseling, the prevention of suicide with severe consequences and long-term effects, defending the rights of individuals and their choice to die with dignity and comfort, and as a member, any person who is terminally ill can voluntarily end their life with the support of Dignitas with a painless and quick medication. Members must be competent and able to administer their own medication (Dignitas, 2021).

Dignity in Dying campaigns for the control, choice and access to support associated with death and that assisted dying should be legal in the UK for terminally ill, mentally capable adults with 6 months or less to live, and they should have the control of their death to prevent dying painfully and to have a safe and peaceful death without paying thousands for travelling abroad to fulfil their choice. Dignity in Dying believes that a dying person should make the decision voluntarily and is assessed by a Dr with a waiting period of 14 days, with the ability to die at home. The non-profit organisation states that 84% of the public supports the choice of assisted dying for terminally ill adults, and 54% of GPs are supportive or neutral on the ideology, with 86% of disabled people also agreeing with assisted dying. Dignity in Dying does not condone assisted suicide to people who are not dying or mentally incapable of making such a decision, and encourages better end of life care. Other statistics include 300 people a year who are dying taking their own life, 8 people a year travel abroad to die in dignity, with some not ready in fear of being prosecuted, and finally 44% of people would break the law to support a loved one’s decision to die, calling for a need to change the UK law(Dignity in dying, 2021).

There are several cases of people sharing their stories of agreeing with assisted dying after watching loved ones die in pain and suffering or by suicide itself, including terminally ill patients speaking about their desire to have control of their death. A quick Google will bring up several articles from the Guardian, the Independent and BBC.

However, the UK law is not clear, and we have cases such as Debbie Purdy, who had MS and took her case to court for the right to die and won the court case with the House of Lords in 2009, because she did not know if her husband would be prosecuted if he travelled abroad to support her (Dignity in Dying, 2021).

The British Medical Association states that those who oppose of physician assisted dying argue that this is an ‘option’ and that we cannot disregard that family and friends may cohere the opinion of vulnerable people and their decision is not voluntary, that more attention should be sought for better palliative care rather than assisted dying, the role of the doctor is to provide care and not to cause death, that patients fear being a burden will choose assisted death for ease, that assisted dying could be misused when if it becomes ‘normalized’ and that it is not the role of the Dr to make such decisions for patients (BMA, 2021).

BMA also states the contrasting arguments state that Dr’s agree that even terminally ill patients with palliative care will suffer severe pain and discomfort, with correct legislation assisted dying would support the decisions of individuals to avoid the misuse such as cohesion and vulnerable patients are safeguarded, that patients end their lives sooner due to not having the funds to travel abroad and this is detrimental to so many families, there is widespread support for the approval of assisted dying in controlled circumstances, dying people should have the right to choose and have autonomy for themselves and that assisted dying allows individuals the peace of mind for dying people and their families (BMA, 2021).

CARE argues that the UK bill does not mention the end of suffering, but just their ‘settled wish,” and that the life expectancy of 6 months to live diminishes that of those diagnosed with conditions with years of suffering lying ahead of them; moreover, that the prediction to live is unreliable and that of individuals who go into remission. Care also brings up the important point of abuse, neglect and abandonment of the elderly, including reasons for manipulation into assisted dying; consequently, the elderly fear being a burden and unable to look after themselves, wanting to die, thus suffering from depression with lack of support and pressure. Arguable that individuals suffering from mental distress and depression lack the cognitive ability to make a clear decision, as the illness distorts their thinking. Questionable, there is the percentage where medically something goes wrong, and complications occur, including the negative effects for the people involved, in addition to the lack of training for health care professionals within this area. Overall, there is no ‘right’ to be killed, and it leads to a ‘slippery slope’. Furthermore, not all terminally ill people wish to end their life; in conclusion, all life is valuable(John Wyatt, 2021).

Likewise, to the support of assisted dying, some organisations disagree with the idea, such as “Care Not Killing” and “Not dead yet UK”, who believe that “Legalising assisted suicide will inevitably lead to increasingly adverse judgements about the quality of life of disabled people. This will undoubtedly begin to affect the many disabled people who cannot speak for themselves and who have not requested death.“ Moreover, nearly a quarter of the assisted suicides in the Netherlands have been against the individual’s will. Stigma against disabled people and the burden will be reinforced with assisted suicide (NDYUK, 2021).

Meanwhile The MS trust states both sides, such as the thoughts for including that the UK law is unclear whist opposed to assisted dying would limit the funding for palliative care and including that people may feel like doctors don’t care. This unbiased approach allows readers to learn about the subject when involved with chronic conditions(MS Trust 2021).

In conclusion, there is a strong stance with both sides of assisted suicide across the globe, making it a very controversial subject today, with attempts to change the UK law and denial over the last 20 years by MP’s. Personally, I believe that Human rights should involve the right to die to relieve chronic pain and suffering.