THE RIGHT TO DIE WITH DIGNITY

The right to die with dignity is an ever-evolving debate in the American medical community . Generally , we still view it as a crime for a person to take their own life or to ask for a physician or other medical professional to assist a person in hastening their own death . In fact many state 's even make it difficult to allow a person who has no higher motor function (i .e . is brain dead ) to be allowed to die once . One reason for this is an interpretation of the Hippocratic Oath that prevents

the physician from bringing harm to someone , even if they want it . The ancient HYPERLINK "http /www3 .medaccess .com /consumer /doctor /h_oath .htm " Hippocratic Oath enjoins physicians to "neither give a deadly drug to anybody if asked for it , nor make a suggestion to this effect " The oath was written at a time when physicians commonly provided euthanasia and assisted suicide for ailments ranging from foot infections and gallstones to cancer and senility (Emanuel , 1997

A year ago , in France , it was argued that choosing whether or not to live is a fundamental right . 'Every person shall have the right to die with dignity this right shall include the right to choose the time of one 's death and to receive medical and pharmaceutical assistance to die painlessly . No physician , nurse or pharmacist shall be held criminally or civilly liable for assisting a person in the free exercise of this right (Sokol , 2007 . This is the principle being touted by organizations like Compassion and Choice , which grew out of the centuries old Hemlock Society . The Hemlock Society grew out of the fact that Socrates was believed to have used poison hemlock to end his own life

Ethically the question for the medical professional hinges on their personal interpretation of the Hippocratic Oath and personal moral beliefs as well as the law . Most people die in hospitals or institutions where the staff makes a valiant effort to keep patients alive until there is no reasonable chance of recovery . For many people that 's exactly what they want : a no-holds-barred effort to fight off death as long as possible . For others facing terminal illness , however there may come a point where the fight no longer seems worth it . Those patients may find their wishes and those of their families overlooked as physicians juggle medical , legal and moral considerations . In most cases , medical professionals have considerable discretion in deciding when additional efforts to sustain life are futile and a patient should be allowed to die . (Public Agenda , 2008 . The question then becomes who determines if the patient should be able to choose to die , when their mental facilities to make such a decision are suspect and who makes the decision when the patient is incapable of deciding for themselves

In recent years , most notably with the Terry Schiavo case in Florida the courts have allowed the person who is authorized to make medical decisions for the patient , a...