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Death With DignityAn Argument in Favor of Assisted Suicide

Death with Dignity:
An Argument in Favor of Physician Assisted Suicide
Allow me to present you with a hypothetical situation: A patient walks into his oncologist’s office at Tacoma General Hospital. His body has been ravaged by cancer and the aggressive treatments used to combat it. The patient has done everything that the doctor has suggested; chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and investigational drug therapy, and all have failed. Both doctor and patient agree that there is nothing else that can be done. The patient is forced to take medication to combat the pain the cancer causes and cannot do the things they were once able to due to the effects of these drugs. In effect, this patient is waiting to die. At the appointment this patient asks the doctor, “How long do I have left?” The doctor responds, “Months…. maybe six months at most.” The patient replies, “Doctor, I’ve had it. I can’t take the pain anymore. The pain medication you’re giving me is...

Posted by: Leonard Herriman

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