...PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED SUICIDE: LEGALITY AND MORALITY Wednesday - May 8th, 2002 By Martin Levin, 107 Irving Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (617)-497-6828 mlevin@levinlaw.com On Sunday, June 21, 1992, Jennifer Cowart, age thirty-two, and her brother George Kowalski, age twenty-eight, traveled to Pensacola Beach, Florida, for a day of relaxation. At the end of the day, Jennifer and George were heading back to their vehicle when Jennifer noticed a go-kart track. The two entered the track, bought tickets, and began riding. Within one minute, Jennifer’s go-kart bumped into one of the side guardrails, flipped on its side, and burst into flames. Jennifer was seat-belted in the go-kart and could not get out. George tried to run into the fire to save his sister, but the flames were too intense. Bystanders attempted to use a fire extinguisher, but it did little to lessen the inferno. Jennifer was trapped in the burning go-kart for two minutes when her seat-belt finally burned through and she fell to the ground. George grabbed his sister and pulled her away from the fire. Jennifer was alive. She was lying on the asphalt alert, oriented, and coherent. She had suffered 3rd and 4th degree burns covering ninety-five percent of her body. She was suffering the worst pain imaginable. At the scene, Jennifer begged the rescue personnel to “let me die.” Instead, Jennifer was flown to a burn center in Mobile, Alabama, where she remained for one year until she was overcome by an infection...
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...Assisted Suicide Suffering from an illness that is terminal can last weeks, months and even years, or it can take one massive decision on taking yourself away from the pain with assisted suicide. Assisted suicide is when a patient that is terminally ill, and qualifies for the procedure, asks for medication to take their own life to stop the pain. In the United Sates, forty six states do not give the option for assisted suicide, which means there are millions of people suffering from incurable illnesses, waiting to die. Many people try killing themselves on their own, because they are not a citizen of a state that allows assisted suicide. I believe that killing yourself unassisted is worse than killing yourself with provided medication. Assisted suicide should be legal, because it allows suffering people to decide when they want to overcome the pain. Assisted suicide is not like any ordinary suicide. It is a suicide to relieve pain from a patient who only has so long to live. To receive assisted suicide, the patient has to qualify to all of the requirements. Out of the four states that have legalized assisted suicide, three of them involve the same requirements. Oregon was the first state to legalize assisted suicide on November 8, 1994. “An adult who is capable of making choices, is a resident of Oregon, and has been determined by the attending physician and consulting physician to be suffering from a terminal disease, and who had voluntarily expressed his or her life in...
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...more people. It is an eye opener to how intense and severe the bullying scene has become. The children in the film were bullied because they were "different". But who determines the definition of different? Who sets the standard of normal? In reality, no one really has the right to judge someone and proclaim them different or weird. We are all created with unique features that are our own. However, dating back since the beginning of life, the world has attained a class/social system. Over the years, children have watched the separation of society, whether it be through television or in person. This evokes either a sense of superiority or inferiority in a child, becoming the foundation for bullying. With children committing suicide due to bullying, there needs to be serious action taking place to stop and prevent it. I agree with one of the mothers in the film that stated that when she sends her child to school, she should be able to feel that the child is safe and being watched over as if they were home. However, with bullying occurring, a parent is not able to feel safe sending their child to school. If I were a parent, I would not have a sense of security and peacefulness either. After watching the film, it made me wish that I could go back in time to my high school years. I would have stood up for a lot more kids and...
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...Assisted Suicide Pamela Zipfel Herzing University Assisted Suicide Whose life is it anyways? Is the right to die our own decision or does ones fate lie in the hands of someone else? Should a person with a terminally ill disease be forced to suffer in pain? Physician assisted suicide should be a legal option for terminally ill patients; therefore the government, religious groups, and family members should not intervene. In the United States there are only two that support the Death with Dignity Law. These states are Washington and Oregon. These two states allow a physician to prescribe a patient with a terminally ill disease a lethal dose of medication to end their life. If you assist someone to die in any other state you will be prosecuted for homicide. The laws are very strict on this matter, a patient can only have up to 6 months to live and they have to be of sound mind. These laws are being fought strongly by religious groups. The fifth commandment “Thou shalt not kill,” is what we are taught growing up, by our churches and family. Physicians struggle with something that goes against their beliefs and moral ethics when deciding to participate in assisting a patient with suicide. Even though Washington is a death with dignity state it is hard to find a physician to prescribe the medication to assist with death. The Catholics believe that suffering is a critical piece of life. If someone takes their own life they bypass the chance to experience redemption. However...
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...Brady was talking to Brittany when the voices started again. One moment he was discussing the weather with her and the next he could barely understand her because the voices were so loud. This time the voices were telling him that he was useless and that Brittany deserved better. He argued with them that he was perfect for her. Then the next thing he knew Brittany was flirting with another guy and hanging all over him. Brady started screaming at her to stop, but it was as if she could not hear him. Brady collapsed and started crying. What Brady did not realize was that Brittany was still sitting across from him and had never left. Brady was suffering from a schizophrenic episode. He had lost touch with reality and could not see what was actually happening. Definition of Schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a psychological disorder. If a person has hallucinations, delusions, disorganized behavior or catatonic behavior and disorganized speech, one may have schizophrenia. In the world, there is approximately one percent that is affected by schizophrenia. Schizophrenic symptoms tend to be universal and similar. Some cultural variations do exist. A person with schizophrenia tends not to be able to interpret reality normally. A person with schizophrenia will tend to start showing symptoms during young adulthood, usually before the age of 19. Some contributory factors have been traced back to genetics, neurobiology, psychological or social processes, and early environment. Prescription...
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...astonishing words in his “To be, or not to be,” soliloquy; it is obvious that Hamlet is conveyed as a troubled character. He is unsure about death. “To be, or not to be, that is the question:” (line 1), proves that Hamlet is troubled because the use of a colon is a sign that he is not only answering his own question, but he is expressing opposing views about life thus leaving him with an unsure decision about suicide. He answered himself by saying: “Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer/ The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune;” (Lines 2-3.) This imagery shows that Hamlet questions the honor of death, and since he is open to death he does not realize whether it would be honorable to go through the act of committing suicide or if it would be considered a sin. This makes him have a troubled state of mind because he has these two opposing views of death floating in the vastness of his thoughts. The first sentence of his soliloquy finishes with: “Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, / And by opposing, end them.” (Lines 4-5.) Hamlet still questions life and suicide, and the imagery of “a sea of troubles” can express the immensity and variety of thoughts that is fumbling around in his mind. By saying: “to take arms” shows that Shakespeare is conveying Hamlet’s mind as violent because it has bloodthirsty imagery and it expresses that Hamlet is in a wreck, thus proving that he is conveyed as very troubled about life and death. Hamlet also views life as...
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...out, nervous or just depressed. Depression is a more serious case of sadness. Depression means negative thoughts and lasts for much longer. Many people commit suicide because of depression so, it`s a dangerous disease that can be treated only through therapy. Few people can actually consider themselves to be really happy. Happiness is a state of mind that can change immediately. Everyone has problems like : money, work, family problems etc. It`s normal to have some issues because life is made of good things and bad things. People get sad because of many reasons, but it`s a long road from feeling sad to falling into depression. Sadness and depression are two different things . Sadness is a state of mind that can pass very quickly once things become better and it`s caused by grief, sorrow, by things that don`t go according to plan, by love and unresponded love. Depression is more deep, it longer and usually gives people suicidal thoughts. The number of people that kill themselves each year has increased over the years . Depression is very dangerous and people that suffer from it, need to make counseling sessions. The problem is that many don`t know they have it. Stress, money, concerns make us worry all the time. Some people make of drinking, a solution. Sadness Alcohol Depression are three things that lead to Suicide. Too much alcohol makes...
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...point in their life. For most, it’s not a big deal, the situation blows over and normal life continues, however, for some ostracism can be life threatening. Increased access and popularity of the internet, especially social sites like Facebook and Twitter make escaping ostracism almost impossible. In the article “Social Exclusion causes Self-Defeating Behavior” by Jean Twenge, Kathleen Catanese and Roy Baumeister, they explain that out of ostracism comes a natural instinct to try to turn a negative feeling into a positive feeling for the victim. Unfortunately, in an attempt to produce a positive outcome, negative ones most often happen. A good example in our society is in the latest media coverage of homosexual males who have committed suicide as a result of extreme ostracism and self-defeating behaviors that arise from feeling alone. I would argue that today’s society is much more accepting and supportive of those who are homosexual, however, although overall society accepts these individuals, there are still many who are not accepting and go out of their way to make people feel “different” and ‘wrong”. In the case of the student at Rutgers University, it was found that not only was he feeling ostracized in school and online, his parents were not accepting or supportive when he shared his sexual orientation with them. Having parents who are not supportive is detrimental to these individuals psychological well-being, and makes them more susceptible to self-defeating behaviors...
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...DEPRESSION AND WORK FUNCTION Throughout the nation and our world people are suffering from this disease.Depression effects people of both genders, all ages, and any background. People once believed that teens never went through any form of severe depression. Some still believe this to be true, but if it were why are teens homicidal and suicidal? This report should give support for the fact that a teen’s depression deserves attention, not the shrug of the shoulders or the turn of a back. Depression is defined as the point or points is ones lifetime when they are mentally unstable and the emotional state marked by sadness, discouragement, and loss that can occur during the teenage years. Depression causes changes in behavior, thinking and especially changes in ones everyday life. “Depression amongst teens generally starts when a child hits puberty, but could possibly begin the day they were born if chemically inbalanced (heredity).” Dr. David Kalkstein, psychiatrist at Penn Foundation. Depression can effect anyone, anytime, and anywhere. Teens, children, and adults are all effected, some even have the same problems in common, the causes too. Depression is experienced mostly by teens even though it is mistakenly classified as an “adult illness”. “Twenty percent of high school students are deeply unhappy or have some kind of psychiatric problem.” The causes for depression in teens are sometimes more harsh than the causes in adults. In a teen’s lifetime they have to face many problems...
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...examine music and social issues. Suicide rates have increased among teenagers, young adults and an epidemic in our military with the prolonged wars. Songs that are composed about suicide and the loss of someone whom has committed suicide has also increased in recent decades. Key words: suicide, music, social problems, demographics and lyrics. MUSIC REVIEW Music is easily accessed today through various media outlets and devices. Music is in automobiles, smartphones, personal audio devices and online. With all these personal devices it has become more common today for people to listen to their choice of music when shopping, traveling on public transportation, working out or virtually any other task at any given time of the day. Music can be an outlet to escape from a situation, isolate oneself or to reflect on something. People can focus in one genre of music, artist or song and repeat that over and over as much as they want. This can be both a good and bad situation. Music can motivate you at the gym when listening to a high beat tempo while conducting a cardiovascular routine. However, music can also keep someone depressed or emotional after a particular event or situation. Suicide has been an increasing problem in young to middle age people over the last decades. This is can be attributed to a number of factors such as wars, financial distress from global recessions and increases in social platforms and information. Committing suicide has become an increasing problem...
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...December 17, 2010 What scene or image from the film stood out to you? Why? The film Dead Man Walking is a very powerful motion picture, one that captures the most natural and deep aspects of the human spirit. Throughout this film there are many powerful scenes. What is most powerful about this film is its ability to evoke thoughts of love and sympathy, for both innocent people and savage killers. Sister Helen exemplifies what it means to be a caring individual throughout this film, and Matthew Poncelet shows why even humans who have done the gravest wrongs are still capable of change, and deserve their dignity. Of all the scenes in Dead Man Walking, the most powerful is the resolution to the film’s conflict, the execution. When preparing for his death in his jail cell, Matthew Poncelet confesses to Sister Helen that he in fact was guilty of rape and murder. The closing scene begins when he is being led by guards into the execution room. Matthew asks for permission for Sister Helen to touch him, and it is granted so. Sister walks with him, reading to him from the Bible. He tells Sister that he is not afraid, and that he knows he is going to be in a better place. Sister tells him that the truth has set him free. At this point, the emotional power this scene carries begin. A man, though about to die, has found comfort in what a nun has preached to him. He has taken faith on the way to his death. The next dramatic part of this scene is when the curtain to the execution room...
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...isolation from family and friends, poor performance at school and work, and suicidal thoughts (teen-depression.info). In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, Holden Caulfield, the main character, is suffering from depression and has difficulty dealing with his own life. Holden is depressed because of many things such as: his failure in life and school, his loneliness, and also because of the death of his brother, Allie. As he tells more stories, it is getting clearer that he is suffering from depression. Holden has been experiencing many symptoms, and the 4 major symptoms that Holden experiencing are: he isolates himself from society, low self-esteem, always talking about his traumatic event, and has the thoughts of death and suicide. The first symptom that Holden has been experiencing is isolated himself from society. Holden Caulfield...
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...respecting theirs and others capacities as rational beings. One of Kant’s main arguments is that suicide is using yourself as a means to an end. By using your own capabilities to end your life, you are not treating yourself as an end. The means is ending your life and the end, in the case of terminal illness, is ending pain and suffering. However, if you read Kant’s humanity formula, you see it says that you cannot use someone as merely a means (Timmons, pg. 16). Merely is using them as nothing else than for your own ends and disregarding the ends they have themselves. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy states that we can’t avoid using people as a means, but it is acceptable as long as they are “at the same time being treated as an end in itself” (Johnson, SEP). In this way, the patient considering euthanasia is both a means and an end, but not merely a means. Though they are using themselves as a means, they are also pursuing their own ends and treating themselves as an ends. The humanity formulation also says that humanity, not humans, should be treated as an end. Humanity is defined in an article from the Journal of Medicine and Philosophy as “ the capacity for autonomous action” (Gentzler, p. 462). A person with autonomy makes decisions and imposes laws on themselves, as does a dying patient who wishes to end their life. In the case of the terminally ill, it could be said that suicide is not a disrespectful act to humanity because they are using their human capabilities to...
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... Serena is an 82-year old woman who lives in her north inner city Dublin home with her husband Dan. They have four sons who now have families of their own but are all supportive and are still very much present in their lives. Her only sister, Blair, lives in a nearby county but visits her twice a week. Her relationship with her family is identified as her main support system. Serena is known to the psychiatric services due to her long history of Bipolar Affective Disorder and previous suicide attempts, resulting to numerous psychiatric admissions. She was on lithium for approximately 18 years, which now resulted for her thyroid to become toxic and her kidneys to completely stop functioning. She has been recently diagnosed of End Stage Renal Failure (ESRF). This recent diagnosis has left her more anxious and depressed. As her family and the Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) from the POA unit had worrying concerns regarding her increasing inability to cope at home and recent suicide attempt, they have decided to refer her to Golden Living Centre (GLC) for respite. GLC is a nursing home where I did my 8-week specialist placement. The CMHT from the POA unit visits Serena on a weekly basis ensuring continuity of care. The community mental health nurse (CMHN) comes in to the nursing...
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...THE LAW ON ASSISTED SUICIDE On July 26, 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld decisions in New York and Washington state that criminalized assisted suicide. These decisions overturned rulings in the 2nd and 9th Circuit Courts of Appeal which struck down state statutes banning physician-assisted suicide. Those courts had found that the statutes, which prohibited doctors from prescribing lethal medication to competent, terminally ill adults, violated the 14th Amendment. In striking the appellate decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court found that there was no constitutional "right to die," but left it to individual states to enact legislation permitting or prohibiting physician-assisted suicide. (The full text of these decisions, plus reports and commentary, can be found at the Washinton Post web site.) As of April 1999, physician-assisted suicide is illegal in all but a handful of states. Over thirty states have enacted statutes prohibiting assisted suicide, and of those that do not have statutes, a number of them arguably prohibit it through common law. In Michigan, Jack Kevorkian was initially charged with violating the state statute, in addition to first-degree murder and delivering a controlled substance without a license. The assisted suicide charge was dropped, however, and he was eventually convicted of second degree murder and delivering a controlled substance without a license. Only one state, Oregon, has legalized assisted suicide. The Oregon statute...
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