To Die or Not To Die That is the Question, Miscellaneous, College Term Papers.com


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To Die or Not To Die That is the Question

To Die or Not To Die That is the Question To Die or Not to Die? That is the Question Louise Taylor, aged 72, knew her life was coming to an end. Lou Gehrig’s Disease was taking away the use of her limbs one by one. Eventually it would affect her throat and she would be in danger of choking on her own saliva. This elderly, respectable, courageous woman was faced with a very serious dilemma. To die or not to die? She was forced to decide whether to live out the rest of her life naturally or to end it voluntarily. Euthanasia is certainly a very controversial issue, one with many sides. I’m not here to give my opinion, I’m only going to show two sides and one story of a woman faced with this unequivocal decision. Is this a moral issue or a medical issue? Morally, some people say its wrong to force someone to live in a horrible, debilitating state of existence. Others say its certainly immoral to take one’s own life or help another take their own life. Medically, some doctors say its their duty to relieve the suffering of a terminally ill patient. Others, such as Dr. Sandy Macara, British Medical Association chairman, say “Others rightly see us as saving life, not embracing death. We should not do anything to betray that trust in our essential vital function”(www.euthanasia.com). Louise and Dutch Taylor were the ‘sweet old couple’ on the block where they lived in the community of Danville, Ohio. She had been a kindergarten schoolteacher. He served as a petty officer in the US Navy during world War II. They were married on December 1, 1945, and Dutch worked for 45 years making cabinets until retirement. They had three grown children that no longer lived near home, but all the children in the neighborhood knew the Taylors’ door was always open for candy on Halloween or cookies after school. They were loved by the neighbors and cherished at church. They were very active with their clubs and went square dancing regularly till Louise became ill. Regarding the moderate Christian view on the morals of choosing to live or die, they often refer to the Bible. “Whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s”(Rom 14:8). A Christian perspective mandates respect for each person; such respect includes giving due recognition to each person’s carefully considered preferences regarding treatment decisions. However, these same Christians believe the deliberate act, of a physician helping a patient take their own life, is morally and ethically wrong, even if its the patient’s wish. Does this mean there are double standards in the moral issue? Or is there truly a difference? Do these same conflicts also exist in the medical debate on euthanasia? As mentioned earlier, Macara is strictly against physician assisted suicide. Another view of physicians is that its their duty. Marcia Angel is quoted as saying “These are not simply assertions that the physician “do not harm”...but assertions of positive obligations. It might be urged that the physician’s duty of mercy derives from a special contractual or fiduciary relationship...the duty of medical mercy is generally binding on all moral agents”(pg. 98-99). With her legs weakening and her right arm useless, Louise began to think about her future, about how much time she had left before her body just didn’t work at all, including her mind. The pain from the neuromuscular disease was increasing. she did not want to linger for months in steady decline, dragging down her aging husband at the same time. Louise thought long and hard on what to do. She read books on the subject of death and dying. She talked with a counselor and discussed her feelings with her close friends and family. Louise did not want to die, however, she didn’t want to live either. As you might have noticed there are quite different points of views concerning this subject, even among the same groups of people. While reading this you might have noticed I left out the legal issue. I purposefully omitted this issue because I feel that issue is dependent upon the moral and medical issue that I’ve concentrated on for the purpose of this essay. Have you, as the reader, decided how you feel about euthanasia? Has the story of Louise affected your decision? Possibly changing your mind or reinforcing your beliefs. What ever your reactions or feelings on this subject, one thing is certain, this debate will You might have thought that I forgot about Louise. Louise, with assistance of her loving husband of some 50 plus years and with the assistance of one of her loving adult sons, passed away peacefully. She left this world at a time of her own choosing before the pain became unbearable to her and her family. What would you have done? I suppose the that the question is still; To Bibliography:

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