Assisted suicide: should adults have the right to die?

When an animal is seriously wounded, the creature is almost always "put out" of its misery, usually through euthanasia. When a human being is terminally ill or chronically depressed, however, he or she is often left to die a slow, painful death, simply for the sake of living.

In 1998, an Oregon woman diagnosed with breast cancer became the first person to commit a legal, physician-assisted suicide in the United States. Nearly 12 years and many ethical debates later, only three states — Oregon, Washington and Montana — have legalized physician-assisted suicides.

Many opponents of the "Right-to-Die" movement insist that people should not be allowed to make the decision to safely end their lives under any sort of circumstances for fear that the procedure will be abused. Meanwhile, extreme religionists oppose the safe, painless procedure because they feel that suicide is "immoral" and "punishable" by eternal damnation in hell.

Those who oppose the dignified "Right-to-Die" movement have serious control issues. These individuals who are against the freedom of humans to choose their date of death are some of the same extreme religionists who feel that it is their civic duty to invade a woman's right to choose abortion, or a gay couple's right to marry. Why they feel the need to involve themselves in anyone else's business is beyond comprehension.

Many opponents of the "Right-to-Die" movement who fear that the procedure will be abused are mistaken. Because of numerous government-imposed restrictions, the vast majority of people would not qualify for physician-assisted suicide. For instance, Oregonian patients seeking assisted suicide must be older than 18, and a physician must be able to prove that they only have six months to live. Montana patients, on the other hand, have to go through a trial to get an assisted suicide granted. In all three states, the patient must be proven to be mentally capable of making such a final decision.

But let's take it a step further. Why should there be any restrictions to assisted suicide? Why must people, terminally ill or not, be forced to live against their will? Many opponents fear the abuse of euthanasia. Abuse? I think not! True abuse would be to force those who cannot bear the physical, emotional and mental pain to live the rest of their lives in despair. Why not let the depressed or cancer-ridden individual die with dignity intact? Why should the person with untreatable depression be forced to live in pain and despair? Why should people be forced to live when they did not ask to be born?

I'm not saying that we should allow moody teenagers or the mentally incapacitated to euthanize themselves. What I am saying is that all adults, no matter what circumstances, should be afforded the opportunity to end their lives in the most dignified manner possible.