Suffering has always been a part of existence.  There have been numerous requests to end the suffering through both euthanasia and physician assisted suicide.  These requests have been in existence the beginning of modern medicine.  But the more people suffer, the more physician assisted suicide is requested.

Even though modern medicine now has more knowledge and skills to relieve suffering, those that are terminally ill still prefer to end their suffering through this method.  Is this the correct method to use if you are terminally ill?  I believe so and let me tell you why you should too.

This is a natural right of the person that is terminally ill. 

Imagine that you are Gloria Taylor, a woman who suffers from ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

This is a terminal disease that attacks the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement.

Dr. Marco Terwiel is a retired family physician who lives in Maple Ridge, British Colombia, Canada states that he had tried to assist Gloria in her decision to have PAS but family and the courts intervened.

Most terminally ill patients are competent to their situation therefore wanting to end all suffering.

In some cases, even the best doctors can not relieve their terrible suffering, and it is physically impossible for these tormented people to act themselves when they wish to die.

When that person is ready to leave this life it is almost impossible to change his or her mind.  So why even attempt to keep them alive when all they are doing is suffering.

Again, this is their decision to want to move on out of this life.  They may have had a talk with God and who’s to say that He will not forgive that person for choosing this road.

 So who is affected by this decision?

When you deny a person of their natural right to choose to live or die, you only make it more difficult to bear that pain.

 Peter A. Goodwin, MD, a family physician who lobbied for passage of Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act states that “Our advocacy is advocacy for choice,” he said. “It’s the patient’s choice that is central here.”

        2.  The family that doesn’t think that this is the way to go.  Most families have a religious base and in the minds the thought of suicide means eternal Hell.

               a.   These families have often filed lawsuits against the terminally ill and their physicians to eliminate the decision to use the Physician Assisted Suicide method.  And in almost all cases the family has succeeded.  Once again leaving the terminally ill family member to continue suffering.

D.  Dr. Jack Kevorkian of Pontiac, Michigan, also known as Dr. Death, has assisted more than 100 patients would suffered terminally ill diseases states that “Dying is not a crime.”

So I offer these solutions.

Let those who suffer from terminally ill diseases choose the way they want to leave the earth.

Allow those physicians that want to assist these patients to do so without ramifications.

Do not take their rights away especially when they are competent to make their own decisions.

Can you live with yourself knowing that you have taken the Constitutional Rights away from someone you love.

Imagine if it was your family member or a loved one that was suffering with an incurable disease.  Would you want that person to continue to suffer even with the proper and advanced medication that we now have that may prolong life.

Physician Assisted Suicide is designed to help “speed up” death.  It is also used to give that patient “relief” and end the suffering that they have endured for months or even years.

By not allowing your loved ones to choose their way of leaving this Earth could do more harm than you can imagine because you don’t know exactly what is going on in their mind and you can’t imagine the pain that they are going through.

So I urge you to consider this choice of method that these terminally ill persons want to choose besides it’s their life let them end it their way. 

This is not a matter of religion but a matter to end suffering and if they are condemned to Hell, that’s their decision.

By the way, Dr. Peter A. Goodwin, M.D., passed away in March of this year after suffering from the progressive neurogenerative disease corticobasal degeneration.  His last words in a video 30 minutes prior to his death was “I’ve always accepted the idea that if push came to shove, and if I qualified for the [Death with Dignity Act], that I’d use the law.” 

So in closing, let the terminally ill decide their own fate and end their own suffering whichever way they choose, even if it is physician-assisted suicide.

Thank you.