Assisted Suicide Argumentative Analysis

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Last night on television I watched one of the most controversial documentaries I have ever seen. Peter Smedley with his wife as he prepares to leave the world in front of a national audience on T.V, to help influence the government to change the laws regarding assisted suicide. One of Peter’s close friends commented ‘He would have liked to die at home, in his bedroom.’ Legally, he couldn’t get help to die in England, he had to die in a foreign country. Peter Smedley suffered from Motor Neurone Disease where he would eventually end up suffocating. To avoid this, Peter chose to end his own life (with the assistance of Dignitas clinic) where he swallowed a fatal poison. Dignitas clinic in Switzerland is expensive; it costs around…show more content…
Gordon Brown, former prime Minister, warned ‘frail and ill people would be under pressure to end their lives if the suicide laws were changed.’ It would also risk pressure on the vulnerable people in society who may feel their existence a burden to others. A survey showed that 70% of disabled people would feel more pressure to kill themselves if the suicide law was changed. There is also the issue of people’s wishes fluctuating. Would it be making it too easy for people to end their lives and be legally helped to end their lives? Assisted Suicide is one of those controversial topics where everyone has different opinions, and everyone thinks their opinion is right. It sparks strong debate and emotional ideas. There are many charities such as ‘Care not Killing’ that say the current legislation is a safeguard against vulnerable people being taken advantage of. I think that this is always going to remain a topic of much controversy. There have been many cases recently of passionate campaigning, which has again provoked this poignant debate. In the end you have to ask yourself, as it becomes more and more fragile, how precious is

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