On the other hand, those that argue physician assisted suicide should remain illegal often suggest arguments such as the Sanctity of life. This argument points out strong religious and secular traditions against taking human life. It is argued that assisted suicide is morally wrong because it contradicts these beliefs. Also, there is the argument of Passive vs. Active distinction. The argument here holds that there is an important difference between passively "letting die" and actively "killing." It is argued that treatment refusal or withholding treatment equates to letting die (passive) and is justifiable, whereas physician assisted suicide equates to killing (active) and is not justifiable.
People also debate as to whether physician assisted suicide is illegal. In most states in America, including the state of Washington, aiding in a suicide is a crime, while suicide or attempted suicide itself is not illegal. The state of Oregon is the only state that currently has legalized physician assisted suicide.
However, several major court decisions have been made regarding physician assisted suicide. In the case of Compassion in Dying v. Washington, the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals held that individuals have a right to choose how and when they die. Later, the Second Circuit Court found a New York law on physician assisted suicide in conflict with the 14th amendment, which says that no state shall "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." The Court held that competent patients were being treated differently than incompetent patients. The US Supreme Court has ruled that there is no constitutional right to assisted suicide, and made a legal distinction between refusal of treatment and physician assisted suicide. However, the Court also left the decision of whether to legalize physician assisted suicide up to each individual state.
There have also been a couple of high-profile cases related to specific physician assisted suicide incidents. Dr. Timothy Quill was investigated but not indicted for his participation in the suicide of a patient after he published his account of the incident. In November of 1998, 60 Minutes aired a tape of Dr. Jack Kevorkian administering a lethal injection. His patient, 52 year-old Thomas Youk, suffered from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), otherwise known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. As a result of the show, Kevorkian was tried for first degree murder in Oakland County, Michigan. Kevorkian was convicted of second degree murder, and is currently serving a 10 to 25 year prison sentence.
An interesting point was made about the two doctors during their investigation.
"Quill's patient can take a bottle of barbituates and look at it and say 'I'm just going to die tonight - I'm just too bad' and then say 'Maybe I should sleep on this, I'll see how I feel in the morning'...she can decide whether to die or not die without Quill standing there looking at her, saying 'when are you ready?'...she has the freedom to think about it a bit." (APPOINTMENT WITH DR DEATH - Michael Betzold)
Kevorkian’s method of death was simple, as shown in the diagram. Kevorkian built a device called the "mercitron" or "suicide machine". It had three canisters or bottles mounted on a metal frame, about six inches wide by 18 inches high. Each bottle had a syringe that connects to a single IV line in the person's arm. The first bottle contained ordinary saline, or salt water. Another contained sleep-inducing barbiturates, and the third a lethal mixture of potassium chloride, which immediately stopped the heart, and a muscle relaxant to prevent spasms during the dying process. Kevorkian or an assistant would begin the saline solution flow. The person who wants to die must deliver the barbiturates by throwing a switch or pulling a string. After that, either a timer or a mechanical device triggered by the person's falling arm as the drugs take effect starts the lethal drug flowing. The idea is for the deadly chemicals to enter the bloodstream only after the person is asleep. Death usually occurs within two minutes. Also, Kevorkian was also known to use carbon monoxide poisoning.
After this investigation, I am against physician assisted suicide. I can not see how it would be possible to prevent against abuse of physician assisted suicide and euthanasia. For example, with Dr Kevorkian, no one but him and his patients were there at the time of suicide. If one of them had changed their mind but Kevorkian still wanted to continue with the procedure, no one would know. A separate Kevorkian case is being tried, involving a man with Lou Gehrig's disease. Thomas Hyde, 30 years old, was never really clear about whether he desired physician assisted suicide and on the day he was scheduled for it, he stood by his daughter's crib and cried like a baby. When Kevorkian asked him if he were sure, just before Kevorkian put on the mask to administer carbon monoxide, Hyde said something which Kevorkian admitted was 'unintelligible' however, Kevorkian said he saw a tiny smile on Thomas' lips which made Kevorkian feel he had the go-ahead. This clearly illustrates how easy it would be to abuse this and administer death to those who don't want it or have changed their minds.
