ion how and when to die is one of ‘the most intimate and personal choices a person may make in a lifetime,’ a choice ‘central to personal dignity and autonomy.’(48)People have constitutional rights regarding other personal issues in their life, why should the death be treated with less respect? The attorney is arguing that if a person can choose to have an abortion, he or she may also have the personal choice of how and when to die. He is stating that this choice is central to a person’s dignity and independence. Laws in this country have changed over the years and will continue to change for many years to come. Activist for euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide will continue to fight for the freedom of choice. Hopefully people will begin to see the need for human compassion when it comes to the needs of the dying. The most difficult aspect of death is watching a loved one die due to unnecessary pain and suffering. Our hospital’s intensive care units and nursing homes are filled with people dying and experiencing meaningless torment. When death is the only way 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 people to die at home. Hospice provides the family and the patient with loving support and educates the family on the dying process. They also provide pain management and try to make the patient as comfortable as possible, however this is not enough. People still die with unnecessary pain and suffering (20). Barbara Dority, founding president of the Compassion in Dying states: That’s why we still need to ask our doctors to end our lives when our pain or deterioration has become unbearable. Physician-assisted suicide death is the only possible solution for those patients experiencing unrelievable pain or ...
