Do the Terminally Ill Have a Right to Die?

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Killing people is not always murder.  We allow for killing in self defense, when it’s part of an act of war, when it’s an accident, and when it’s an unborn baby.  But more to the point, there’s a huge difference between killing an innocent person, and having that person ask for a doctor to provide them a prescription that will allow them to end their own life.   It’s a personal choice.   And it’s not for any one of us to make it for another. 

Opponents of allowing a dying individual to make the choice to end their life, frequently make claims that inevitably doctor assisted dying at the request of a mental competent and terminally ill person will lead to involuntary euthanasia. First, Oregon , the only state that allows physician assisted dying , does not allow euthanasia – even voluntary. The patient must self-administer the drugs…the doctor merely prescribes them at the patient’s request. 

There are also strict controls to ensure that the patient actually wants to end their life, including three separate requests, spaced over time and one written, by the patient and an evaluation from two different physicians.   The person must be mentally competent and dying of a terminal illness, with an expected life expectancy of less than six months.   What ten years of data and experience in Oregon has shown is that practice is not being abused and is not sliding down a slippery slope to involuntary euthanasia. They are two very separate and morally and ethically distinct practices.