Death With Dignity Analysis

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Ellen Clarkson Professor Avery Rhetoric and Composition 2 9 March, 2014 Death with “Dignity” “I don’t want to die” says Brittney Maynard as she campaigns for her right to choose death. She was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor and given only 6 months to live. Instead of letting nature take its course, she decided to opt for a more unconventional alternative. Maynard decided to make a move to Oregon so that she could consume a lethal dose of medication that would end her life when she decided that the time was right. Before she died, she created an initiative to legalize euthanasia everywhere, calling her campaign “Death with Dignity”. I will argue that Maynard’s stance on doctor assisted suicide is morally not the right thing to…show more content…
By granting this a right, we are steadily giving up the authority to regulate suicide. At what point are we allowed to determine if life is worth living? Everyone suffers, so what gives you the authority to determine what amount of suffering that justifies choosing death? People suffer in different ways, so to say an overwhelming degree of suffering warrants the right to choose death enables many people who are not in the a situation particularly dealing with a terminal illness but still are suffering enough to where they cannot find meaning in life the opportunity to easily choose death. We are creating a beast that will soon be impossible to…show more content…
Perhaps most important to consider is the possibility that choosing life is much more morally rewarding than doctor assisted suicide. As a fellow terminal cancer patient, Kara Tippets describes her perception of suffering by saying “Suffering is not the absence of goodness, it is not the absence of beauty, but perhaps it can be the place where true beauty can be known”. Through her suffering she was able to discover her strength. Choosing to fight requires bravery and copious amount of courage but it’s worth the effort if you are able to realize the value of life. Tippets describes to us a monumental way she is able to find meaning and beauty out of her life and suffering by taking advantage of the precious time she has left with her loved ones and focusing on those relationships. She tells us of her belief that “one day the story of her daughter will be made beautiful because she witnessed my dying.” She explains how the intimate love she is able to share with her loved ones is enriching to both her life and theirs. She warns Brittney that she is “robbing those that love you with such tenderness, the opportunity of meeting you in your last moments and extending you love in your last breaths”. She has found such meaning for life in the relationships around her and fears that Brittney may be missing out on something amazing in her effort to protect her
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