Assisted Suicide, is it murder, or is it not? There was a case where an older lady, Velma Howard age 76, who knew that her life was coming to an end. She had Lou Gehrig's disease, a disease is an incurable fatal neuromuscular disease characterized by progressive muscle weakness, resulting in paralysis. After a lot of thinking, and no signs of getting better, she decided on rational suicide. Rational Suicide is the concept that suicide is presumably a reasonable choice by a terminally ill person; also, the ending of one's life for considered reasons as opposed to emotional/psychological reasons. Assisted Suicide is only legal in Washington, Oregon, and Montana. After she committed suicide, her husband, which actually gave her the medication, was tried for murder. “This case doesn’t have anything to do with whether it’s right or wrong to commit suicide”, “It just happens to be illegal in Missouri to help somebody to do so” (Greg Bridges). So this website shows and example how assisted suicide is actually murder if assisted suicide is not legal in your state; even if assisted suicide is legal in your state, its only legal for a physician to do so if the patient is with in 6 months of dying.
"Assisted Suicide." Assisted Suicide - Information on Right-to-die and Euthanasia Laws and History. Euthanasia Research & Guidance Organization (ERGO). Web. 06 Apr. 2011.
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How can we actually stop assisted suicide? Its hard to stop assisted suicide in states that it is legal, but assisted suicide is easily stopped in states that it is not legal in. The Bush administration tried to stop Oregon to stop from being able to actually practice assisted suicide. The people of Oregon voted to pass Death with Dignity Act in 1994, but three years later they voted to appeal this law. “In 2001 an edict was issued that doctors who prescribed drugs that are used to commit suicide can be prosecuted under the federal controlled substance act” (John Ashcroft). By this quote from an attorney general, John Ashcroft, it became aware that there are ways to actually stop states where assisted suicide is legal and convict the doctors in those states that practice this.
"The Right to Die." NY Times. 5 Oct. 2005. Web. .
Chase, I feel that you did a great job on explaining your topic in this paragraph. You not only gave your sources, but you analyzed them as well. Before I saw this blog, I have never even heard of assisted suicide. I agree with you that assisted suicide is very wrong and that it is a person’s life and no one should have a say on how long you get to live.
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