Editor’s Note: On Tuesday, May 15, 2018, a California judge overruled the state’s assisted death law. The opinion below on the topic was written in 2014.
Is “death with dignity” the same as suicide?
There has been much discussion of whether or not it’s morally right to be able to “die with dignity,” a term used to describe ending your own life if you have a painful, terminal illness.
Some people say it’s no different than suicide, but while suicide is usually associated with an emotional issue, “death with dignity” is for people who are already facing certain death.
To be eligible, you must live in Oregon, Washington, Vermont, or states where it’s legal. Also, you must be at least 18 years old, you must be able to communicate health-care decisions, and you must have been diagnosed with a terminal illness which gives you six months or fewer to live.
The restrictions of the law are specific, but does it make it morally right to allow people to end their own lives, at all?
I’m not a religious person, but I believe suicide is never the answer. However, are suicide and “death with dignity” the same thing? Certainly not.
Comedic-icon Robin Williams killed himself. Williams had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and suffered from depression. He was in no danger of dying, but he committed suicide.
It’s very sad to lose someone, but it’s even worse if the person could have been saved. Depression kills, but it can be helped or cured. On the other hand, if people with painful diseases that are going to kill them anyway, it should be acceptable if they choose to end their lives instead of waiting for their life to end in agony.
The government and religion like to control people’s lives and say what they can and can’t do at the expense of no one else’s physical well-being. The fact that these laws only exist in a few states shows the large amount of control the government has in your life. The fact that suicide is a mortal sin shows how much religion runs people’s lives.
Why does the government force life onto people whose pain is increasing and whose dignity is decreasing? Who are we to impose values onto people in a situation we cannot possibly understand?
We shouldn’t. In these situations, people should have the right to die, painlessly.
Anonymous • Nov 6, 2014 at 10:20 pm
Durkheim would believe otherwise… in both cases (Williams and Maynard), they’re acts of suicide. But because there’s a negative connotation with “suicide” – people (today) have created a euphemism in “die with dignity.” Suicide should have no negative or positive attachment to it. All it is – is the intentional act of killing/harming one’s self knowing that they’ll die from it. Whether it’s for a good or bad reason… that’s a different discussion.