Assisted suicide and euthanasia have been a topic of debate for a very long time. In this paper I am not dealing with statistics and laws, but instead with feelings and emotions. The question posed before me today is “What is my response and thoughts on assisted suicide and euthanasia? After reading Susan Wolf’s paper entitled Confronting Physician Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia: My Father’s Death I can see where the choice can be a difficult one. Follow me on a journey through my thoughts and emotions on this subject.
Let me start out by saying that I am a supporter of assisted suicide and euthanasia simply because I do not believe people should have to suffer needlessly if they choose not to. That being said, there are more complicated issues at hand. I would not support nor condone assisted suicide for just anyone who feels like dying. In my opinion, assisted suicide should be an option for those who are terminally ill and will die a slow and painful death. This statement leaves a lot of doors unopened and leaves a trail of questions behind it. I will attempt to answer some of those, at least in my opinion, as I progress through this issue. Life is a precious gift and a person should not take this lightly.
What if this was my father and I was in the position that Susan Wolf was in? Susan Wolf stated that after her initial response of NO “I knew right away that I needed to think through my no.” (Wolf, 2008). Being in support of assisted suicide and being in support of it with your own family members is two very different things. My first reaction would be much like Susan Wolf’s; I know this because my father asked me years ago to help him die if he was ever in a terminal condition. My first gut instinct reaction was NO, but I really had to search my soul after my initial reaction. My father and I had a discussion about his wishes and after hearing his reasoning I had to agree, to an extent. To what extent? My father’s initial request was not to help him die with dignity but to actually kill him myself, with a gun. There is no way I could go along with this scenario so I instead told my father that if the time ever came I would help him die with dignity. Even though this would be the hardest thing I would ever have to do, I would have to honor my father’s wishes.
Assisted suicide or suicide in general is something I don’t believe in if the person is merely depressed or in an altered mental state. These things can change, because life is ever changing. When a person is under mental stress it is not a good time for major life decisions or end of life decisions. What this person is feeling at that particular moment will, more than likely, not last very long. As controversial as this statement may be, just because I don’t agree with or believe in assisted suicide for the depressed or mentally impaired does not mean that I don’t think they should have the right to do as they wish with their own body and life. Regardless of my personal beliefs I do feel that each human being has the inalienable right to do as they wish concerning their own life, after all, it ultimately that person who has to suffer the consequences. This is not to say that family and friends do not suffer the loss of someone via suicide, but it is and was not their choice. Would I feel this way if one of my children committed suicide because they were depressed? I think I can fairly say, no-absolutely not. I would, beyond a shadow of a doubt, eat my own words. This being said, I would really have no choice other than to accept the choice he or she made because I would be unable to change the fact of the matter.
Susan Wolf stated “I would not want to bear the burden of having accelerated of causing his death by euthanasia or assisted suicide; this is hard enough.” (Wolf, 2008). Here is where I disagree; I personally feel that bearing the burden of not helping my father accelerate his impending death would be too much. Why do I feel this way? I would not, in any way, want to be the cause of unwanted suffering on my father’s part- regardless of how it made me feel. I have spent an abundance of time around death and the dying, enough to know that what the families are feeling is nothing compared to what the person suffering is. It hurts beyond belief to watch your loved one suffer needlessly when the end of their life is so obvious. I can understand, empathize and sympathize with Wolf; I just cannot bring myself to agree with her on this matter.
I understand that there are many questions left unanswered, as there always will be. This subject will be up for debate for as long as the human race inhabits this planet. There are many factors leading to the way people view assisted suicide and euthanasia, entirely too many for one single paper. Many people will cite religion as a reason to oppose assisted suicide and they may very well have merit, however, in the end, it is a very personal decision. It is my personal belief that the only thing that should matter when this decision comes is what the individual person thinks or feels. It is highly controversial, yes, but isn’t the truth often controversial?
In conclusion, while I understand the stance Susan Wolf takes I do disagree with it. Giving the already dying person the respect to make their own choice and the dignity of dying on their own terms seems to be the right choice, in my eyes. This is never an easy thing for family and friends; however, there should be enough respect and love there for them to realize this person does not wish to live in agony. We have no right, really, to impose our personal views and feelings on the dying individual. This would be, undeniably, very difficult for anyone, I agree. It was never said that life and decisions would be easy. As family and friends all we can do is support the ones we love in their dying process, however it is they choose to die.
