PSY 510 Week 1 Right to Die

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Grand Canyon University *

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510

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Psychology

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Feb 20, 2024

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Right to Die Grand Canyon University PSY-510: Contemporary and Ethical Issues in Psychology Katie Wick December 13, 2023 Right to Die 1
The right to die has been a very controversial topic for many years. In the United States, there are 11 states where the right to is legal. Oregon became the first state to vote on the right to die and it was voted in on November 8, 1994. There are many people who are against the right to die and feel that it is unethical. Supporters of the right to die feel that it is a humane and painless way to die on one's own terms and is ethical. The right to die should be a fundamental human right. It respects autonomy, dignity, liberty, alleviates suffering for the terminally ill, and offers a compassionate choice for those facing inevitable mortality. Analyze and Compare Articles The controversy over the right to die started in 1975 with the case of Karen Quinlan. Karen Quinlan was a 22-year-old female who, after ingesting a mix of alcohol and drugs, suffered 2w fifteen-minute periods of interrupted breathing that left her in a vegetative state with no cognitive function (Center for Practical Bioethics, n.d.) . This case caused controversy due to her father wanting to be appointed her guardian with the authority to discontinue all extraordinary procedures to sustain his daughter's life (Center for Practical Bioethics, n.d.) . In the article “The right to die in chronic disorders of consciousness: Can we avoid the slippery slope argument?”, the ethical issues of end-of-life decisions for patients with chronic disorders of consciousness (DOC), such as a patient being in a vegetative state or minimally conscious state are discussed. The authors argue that the right to die should be recognized as a fundamental human right, based on the principles of individual autonomy, compassion, and dignity (Calabrò, et al., 2016) . The article emphasizes that patients with DOC should be able to choose the manner and time of their own death, or have their surrogates make that decision for them, based on reliable information about their diagnosis, prognosis, and wishes. The authors address the slippery slope argument that legalizing euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide 2
(PAS) would lead to abuse, a decline in moral standards, and a loss for respect of life of the patients. They also look at empirical evidence and the arguments that challenge the right to die and propose ways to avoid and prevent the slippery slope. The central issue in the article “Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are unethical acts” is whether it is ethical for a doctor to intentionally cause a patient's death, even at his or her considered request (Goligher, et al., 2019) . Another statement that it makes is that what is legal is not necessarily ethical. The authors state that claiming that euthanasia and physician- assisted suicide are compassionate is to say that their life is no longer worthy and that their existence is no longer of value (Goligher, et al., 2019) . E & PAS is not considered a medical treatment and undermines the boundaries between end-of-life care that does not intend death and those that intend death. Article Evidence of Stronger Argument The article that has the strongest argument is The Right to Die in Chronic Disorders of Consciousness: Can We Avoid the Slippery Slope Argument? This article is stronger due to the amount of evidence provided in support of the right to die for patients and how to make it a more standardized and legal process that does not undermine the ethical and moral obligations of society. One argument is that the patient's diagnosis, prognosis, and wishes should be central to determining the most appropriate therapeutic approach and end-of-life decisions and that the diagnosis, prognosis, and patient wishes should also be central to legislation and guarantees the right to die (Calabrò, et al., 2016) . This also prevents the slippery slope argument through the establishment of evidence-based protocols for managing patients (Calabrò, et al., 2016) . The authors discuss end of life with dignity in this article and state that if one respects life with 3
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dignity one should respect death with dignity, this is a very powerful statement. Calabrò, et al., 2016 quote Marc Auge with what I think is the most compelling argument in support of the right to die. Marc Auge said To die without dignity is to die alone, abandoned, in an inhospitable and anonymous place, in a non-place. To die without dignity means to die, suffering needlessly or to die tied up to a technical gadget that becomes the sovereign of my last days. To die without dignity also means to die in isolation, surrounded by insensitive people, soulless specialists, and bureaucrats who carry out their professional tasks mechanically. (Calabrò, et al., 2016, p. 15) The article, Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide are Unethical Acts, does not provide many arguments that are patient-oriented and support respect for their death as well as their life. The authors report that E&PAS puts the patient at risk and that a free autonomous decision to die is an illusion (Goligher, et al., 2019) . Some of the arguments in this article refer to patients with mental health illnesses such as depression or they feel that they are a burden on family members but it does not discuss creating legislation or regulations on a person choosing to end their life. In the summary, it is stated that the WMA policy must continue to stand as a beacon of clarity to the world, bringing comfort to the patients and support to the physicians around the globe (Goligher, et al., 2019) . 4
References Calabrò, R. S., Naro, A., De Luca, R., Russo, M., Caccamo, L., Manuli, A., . . . Bramanti, P. (2016). The right to die in chronic disorders of consciousness: Can we avoid the slippery slope argument? Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience, 13 (11-12), 12-24. https://web-s- ebscohost-com.lopes.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=bd7d0577- 413a-4249-bd62-4442a7d89dd7%40redis Campbell, C. S. (2019). Mortal responsibilities: Bioethics and medical -assisted dying. Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, 92 (4), 733-739. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6913808/ Dugdale, L. S., Lerner, B. H., & Callahan, D. (2019). Pros and cons of physician aid in dying. Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, 92 (4), 747-750. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6913818/ Goligher, E. C., Cigolini, M., Cormier, A., Donnelly, S., Ferrier, C., Gorshkov-Cantacuzène, V. A., . . . Quinlan, J. (2019). Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are unethical acts. 2
World Medical Journal, 65 (1), 34-37. https://web-s-ebscohost-com.lopes.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer? vid=1&sid=868606c3-d9af-4339-a175-dcd2d9e73e7f%40redis Healey, J. (2017). End of life issues. The Spinney Press. 3
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