Part 1

Doctors are human, and humans make mistakes. There have been millions of cases worldwide where patients are diagnosed with a terminal illness, only to outlive their prognosis by five, ten, or even fifty years. If a doctor were to misdiagnose a patient with a terminal illness, and that patient decides to take advantage of physician-assisted suicide, they will have given up not only years of their life, but time and memories that could have been made with family, friends, and loved ones. They could have grown into the doctor that discovers a cure for cancer, or the officer that stops a serial killer in his tracks. There is so much potential in one person’s life and physician-assisted suicide eliminates all chance of said potential becoming a reality. Erica Riel from Barre, Vermont was diagnosed with a terminal illness three separate times by doctors in Vermont. She was pursuing the route of physician-assisted suicide until her family convinced her otherwise and she tried one more doctor. This doctor informed her that not only would she live, but she could live to be 80 years old. Her question after her accurate prognosis was “How many other people are getting wrong diagnoses?” Erica is only one of the 12 million approximate people who are misdiagnosed each year in the United States. Erica is now fighting to illegalize physician-assisted suicide in Vermont.

A common assumption of those who turn to physician-assisted suicide is that they are in agonizing pain. However, it is said that many of the patients who use physician-assisted suicide in Oregon are not in pain, but rather they want to control the timing and experience of their death. Isn’t this something that people, even those without terminal illnesses, naturally want? No one wants to die in a vegetative state or while having to depend on everyone else to do things for them. So why is it that those with terminal illnesses get to decide when and where they die, but not those who simply want to avoid the complications and frustrations that come towards the end of life? There is no logical reason that people with the exact same concerns regarding death should be given different options based on their medical status. This is not the reason that all patients turn to physician-assisted suicide, but it has been said that for many, this is a leading factor.

Another issue that results from the legalization of physician-assisted suicide is that it gives people – both doctors, families, and patients – more power, power which could be easily abused. The National Center on Elder Abuse estimates that one to two million Americans aged 65 or older “have been injured, exploited, or otherwise mistreated by someone on whom they depended for care or protection." Many family members who have families and lives of their own are given the responsibility of caring for an elderly relative. After years of putting their lives on hold, the family member may, consciously or unconsciously, suggest that the relative pursue the path of physician-assisted suicide. Their reasoning may sound totally innocent to them, but the underlying reason for their suggestion may simply be that they want their life back. Abuse of the system can also take place when a patient who has a terminal illness, but also suffers from a mental illness such a depression, is given the option of physician-assisted suicide. The patient could use their terminal illness as an excuse for why they want to pursue physician-assisted suicide, when in reality it may be their mental illness swaying them to that option. Mary Harned, staff council for Americans United for Life, states that physician-assisted suicide “creating yet another path of abuse against older individuals—abuse which is often subtle and extremely difficult to detect. In fact, legalized physician-assisted suicide may hide abuse of elderly and disabled Americans by providing complete liability protection for doctors and promoting secrecy."