Physician Assisted Suicide

My local public radio has a segment called “With a Perspective,” where a local will share a story and what it means to them. I think I have a something slightly similar to this, which is a break from the normal policy driven posts we normally do.

My dog Riley was put to sleep recently. He was a member of the family. But that got me thinking, why do we put down dogs, but putting down people is unthinkable. Dogs are close and considered family in many households

I was listening to NPR today about a horse trainer. Apparently, when a horse old is too old, it will be shot by its owner. The man explained that a horse or a cow that dies of natural causes faces a long and painful process. That animal will continue to try to lift itself up with its legs. When that fails, they will try to lift their body up using their head, essentially beating their head to the ground until they die. It's not pretty, and it's not very uhumaine to let that happen.

So why are people any different? How is it different if a person is in pain or suffering? If a person is debilitated and unable to do anything but feel pain, why must they continue to live? Why do humans have to bear untreatable torment until their bodies literally give up. Could physician assisted suicide be the answer?

We already do it for the most near and dear things to our hearts, our pets. Why can't an adult with a terminal illness end their own life? Some people might say it's playing God to kill another. But it isn't killing someone. It's just allowing them to go on on their own terms.

To be clear, not just any person should be eligible for PAS. But those who face a terminal illness. As mentioned I will cover in a future post, many people who commit suicide fail and most who fail don’t try again.

I don’t claim to have all the answers, because I certainly don’t have them. But I think the purpose of this blog is to more to ask the right questions, to get people thinking.