7;(48) People have constitutional rights regarding otherpersonal issues in their life, why should the death be treated with less respect? Theattorney is arguing that if a person can choose to have an abortion, he or she may alsohave the personal choice of how and when to die. He is stating that this choice is centralto a person’s dignity and independence. Laws in this country have changed over the yearsand will continue to change for many years to come. Activist for euthanasia andphysician-assisted suicide will continue to fight for the freedom of choice. Hopefullypeople will begin to see the need for human compassion when it comes to the needs ofthe dying. The most difficult aspect of death is watching a loved one die due tounnecessary pain and suffering. Our hospital’s intensive care units and nursing homes arefilled with people dying and experiencing meaningless torment. When death is the onlyway to relieve suffering, why not allow it to come in the most humane way possible?There are organizations such as Hospice that have been very successful in helping peopleto die at home. Hospice provides the family and the patient with loving support andeducates the family on the dying process. They also provide pain management and try tomake the patient as comfortable as possible, however this is not enough. People still diewith unnecessary pain and suffering (20). Barbara Dority, founding president of theCompassion in Dying states: That’s why we still need to ask our doctors to end our liveswhen our pain or deterioration has become unbearable. Physician-assisted suicide death isthe only possible solution for those patients experiencing unrelievable pain or unbearabledeterioration who plead with us as fellow human beings to help them die. (20) Aphysician’s help is still needed in order to die without pain. When a person is pleading forhelp due to unbearable pain, we are helpless and therefore unable to aid in his or herr...
