A Person has the Choice to end their Life when they Wish - Discuss

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‘A person has the right to end their life when they wish’ – Discuss

By Luke Warner

Throughout history, the act of committing suicide has been punished in almost every country in the world; however in modern society it is becoming more and more acceptable. According to the online dictionary, suicide is “Intentionally taking one’s own life”1. While this definition is in almost all situations correct, many disagree with the ethics of suicide, and therefore it is a controversial topic. However an equally hot subject is the fact that in Britain, Suicide is legal under legislation, while euthanasia or assisting somebody else’s suicide is not, and as a result fierce debating has raged on over these questionable laws 2. The following paragraphs will discuss various cases to do with suicide and euthanasia, present the arguments for and against suicide, and attempt to decide whether it is one’s right to end their life whenever they want.

As in the majority of nations, Euthanasia is illegal, and in this country punishable by 14 years imprisonment. Unlike suicide, Euthanasia is the act putting to death painlessly or allowing to die, as by withholding extreme medical measures, a person or animal suffering from an incurable, especially a painful disease, or condition3. However slightly bizarrely, suicide is not a criminal offence under the Suicide Act 1961. And even more unusually, it is possible to apply to court to be allowed to ‘die with dignity’, seen by many as a legal way to be euthanized. For example the Tony Bland case in 1993, a Liverpool F.C. fan (Bland), was the first person in British legal history to be allowed to be euthanized in the UK, following the Hillsborough Disaster in which he and many others were crushed. The Court allowed the doctors to cease any more life-prolonging treatment in the care of the hospital, killing the already unconscious, comatose patient. However the Diane Pretty Case casted more doubt on the laws on Euthanasia in the UK, where Mrs. Pretty was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease, a neuro-degenerative disease which deteriorated as time went on, affecting her ability to communicate with others. She attempted to have the British Laws changed, so she could be euthanized, although the Courts rejected her requests, and she died naturally, contrary to what she wished for so long4.

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Many feel that suicide should be allowed only if the person committing it is of sound judgement, and does not have any mental health issues. For example, the decision making skills of a patient with severe schizophrenia and paranoia may wish to commit suicide, when if they did not have the conditions they would not. Such cases are numerous in the world, and many are sceptical of permitting suicide as the person’s view may be impaired due to psychological issues. Another argument against legalising suicide, is the problem of defining what is suicide, and what is assisted suicide. For ...

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The Quality of Written Communication (QWC) is excellent. There is possibly an overuse of parentheses that could otherwise be expanded into longer, more complex sentence structures to show the examiner their adeptness with varying sentence types, but nonetheless, this is a well-written, well-expressed essay with very few comments to be made about QWC.

The Level of Analysis here is well above average for GCSE level. It's a delight to read such a well-informed response that not only voices their own opinions, but takes sensitively the views of some societies and cultures that may have a different view to him (the mention of religious societies disagreeing as God should be the deciding factor in life and death, etc.). There is clearly-established knowledge of the subject matter, drawing on real life cases (Tony Bland, Diane Pretty and Debbie Purdy's legalisation of euthanasia in Switzerland; he touches on how society views that too) whilst writing the argument, and this shows the candidate to have an extensive and appropriate knowledge of suicide, voluntary and involuntary euthanasia. Employing rhetorical devices, statistics and factual information strengthen his argument, and this is a tactic that should be attended to by all candidates. To include these features make an argument more potent in what's it's arguing for. But many candidates many forget to appreciate that other people have a different view to them. The question specifically asks for the candidates to "discuss", meaning they have to present at least one other opinion, regardless if it clashes with their own, and they must remain unbiased. This candidate masterfully adopts objectivity and explains how other people may think about suicide and euthanasia (that it should only be the decision of someone who is of sound judgement so, not the mentally insane or children under the age of 18, etc.). The answer is rounded off nicely with a neat conclusion outlining the condition of why the candidate believes suicide and euthanasia should be legalised. This paragraph is an excellent example of how a conclusion must address the entirety of the essay and then draw together the findings and opinions explored.

This question asks candidates to discuss (argue) whether or not they believe suicide and euthanasia should be legal. The candidate here present an exceptionally well-balanced argument both for and against euthanasia, whilst appreciating and recognising how some other people may think differently to himself. Throughout the response there is a constant focus on the question and all aspects of a well-structured argument are present.