The Right to Die

Humans have a natural instinct to stay alive and to do everything they can to keep living. So one would think that humans have the natural instinct to know when the pain has become too much and to know when the life has already left them, and it is time to die. We as humans find ourselves constantly contemplating the meaning of life and finding the purpose of our lives, and we are constantly on the search for things that make us happy or enlighten us in certain ways.

But when disease has consumed your body and your life, it is almost impossible to continue living a happy life, as the pain is all you can think about since it will never go away. These are the effects of certain terminal illnesses, such as ALS.

If you were put in a situation where you could put your patient out of their misery, would you let them die? A utilitarian would not, as they believe in the greater good for the greatest amount of people, and would probably presume that by letting one person die, that it would mean letting every person with the wish to die, die. But, a deontologist would respect the persons right to self-determination, and let them make the autonomous decision to end their life.

In the case of Sue Rodriguez from British Columbia, she would have liked to have had a few deontologists on her side. Sue Rodriguez suffered from ALS as it explains in her case, http://dsp-psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/Collection-R/LoPBdP/BP/bp349-e.htm, and wished to have a physician aid her in terminating her life. As a competent person, she was still denied her wish. Sue, as most people, wanted to die with dignity. She did not want to spend the rest of her life incapable of doing almost everything independently, and the pain became too much for her to deal with. But how could the judges understand just how much pain she was in? Everyone has different tolerances for pain.

There is a point where life ceases to be a right, and becomes a duty that is forced upon you. The right to die is seen as a true testament to how much autonomy people legitimately attain. But should each person with a terminal illness have the choice of euthanasia? Yes! One should have control over their body and mind and be the master of their own life. How many times can you cheat death until you end up putting yourself into more pain?