st make peace with his or her life. When the end is near people must have some sort of closure to their life. If possible, people need to die at home surrounded by their loved ones. They need to be able to express all of their feelings and make peace, not only with themselves but those around them. So many times people die without being able to do these things. Many people die alone with extreme physical pain and mental suffering. How can this be legal? Dr. Puchalski informs us: Spiritual support is essential in the care of the dying. We need to help foster hope, love, and contentment with their lives in the final days of living. We need to provide an environment where people can be still, pray, laugh, cry, hold, and be held as they are dying. (37)Dr. Puchalski, therefore, is talking about human compassion and providing the dying with a sense of peace and security. The dying need to express emotions whether good or bad and because they are human we need to treat them with the same respect as the living. Sometimes people hold onto life and won’t let go until they have reached a point when they feel it is safe. We need to provide the dying with realistic choices that should be available to everyone. Sadness that surrounds death needs to be replaced with peacefulness. Although euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide threatens the medical profession, we need to change our way of thinking and consider the needs of the dying. Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide is an issue that has opened the eyes of many Americans. People will continue to fight for the right-to-die, especially for those who are terminally ill or debilitated with a degenerative disease. People should be able to make their own decisions regarding their death. Yes, physicians are obligated to the Hippocratic Oath, however; we as loving compassionate human beings should be obligated to fulfill the needs of the...
