Monday, December 1, 2014

The Right to Die or the Instinct to Live

 

 


This article involves the debate over people with terminal dieses can have the chose to end their life earlier. The main focus of this article is about a woman named Brittany Maynard. Brittany was scheduled to end her life on Nov 1 and had some doubts about whether or not to take her own life. How genetics plays into this is; that we are genetically set up to live and fight against death. We as a species want to instinctively want to hang on against any odds that come against us. There are only five states that have laws that passed saying that a person can legally take their own life; Oregon, Washington, Montana, Vermont and New Mexico. Making a decision like this goes against our nature, but some people if they chose to die with dignity should have their wish. The article goes into further detail saying that genetic testing should take place earlier in a person life to discover if they have terminal disease that could end their life in a very painful fashion. In finding out this information a person could chose to end their life earlier or have a chance to cure the disease if they had an opportunity. The article also discusses how another young lady who has a family that Alzheimer’s is a dominant gene; her father and aunt both have the disease. The young lady went for genetic testing to see if she carried the disease and wanted to know so she can prepare herself for down the road. There are ways to keep your mind sharp to delay the effects of Alzheimer’s.



I enjoy this article because it really asks the question, “If you have the opportunity to find out if you have a terminal disease in your genes, would you find out?” I think that I wouldn’t find out if given the option. To further discuss the article I think people should have the chose to end their own life. They should only be able to end their own life after psychological exams and all testing have been completed. Everyone knows someone who has been diagnosed with some type of awful painful disease that will take their life eventually. I think people should live with less pain and die with dignity so those who remember them remember them who they were before they began to die. 






       

4 comments:

  1. I saw the story of Brittany Maynard on the news and it completely shocked me. To think that someone would choose to end their own life especially at the young age of 29 is terrifying. Of course as you said it is completely the choice of the person, everyone is entitled to their own decisions but as for me, I believe it is morally and ethically wrong. Thousands of people die daily without warning, so to choose to take your life to me is like taking life for granted and robbing your loved ones of possible time and memories. This is a very controversial topic and I hope possible counseling and other options can be encouraged before such drastic measures are taken.

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  2. If I went for a genetic test that concluded that I had a disease that would lead to my death I would be terrified. I would then hope that the test was wrong but being scared I would dedicate my life trying to cure that disease.
    This is a controversial topic but as someone who worked in a nursing home for a long time I would not want to suffer if I were dying from a terminal illness. I also cant imagine what I would do in that situation because life is very precious.

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  3. This reminds me of a scrubs episode, where a patient has Huntington's disease and they ask the son if he wants to be tested because it is hereditary. The son declines the test because he doesn't want to let it rule his life, he wants to make his life his own. If he found out he had the disease, he feels he would try everything to get cured and end up wasting his life.
    JD (the doctor) is on the other side of the argument, saying he should have been tested. His reasoning is so he could know for sure and plan accordingly, and maybe even be treated earlier (even though there is no cure). JD thinks it would only help to be informed.
    I personally would want to know, so I can make sure my family and loved ones know. I would not let rule my life, in fact it would motivate me to get the most out of life. However, I still see the son's point of view and wanting to be completely free.

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  4. This is a very controversial topic, but I did see the story in the media and I do know a little bit about the topic from my own research, I know the patient must receive at least two doctors consenting that the disease is terminal, and that they are in the right state of mind to make such a decision for taking their own life, I think everyone has the right to choose and the right to end their life peacefully and safely instead of being in pain and suffering and trying to take their own life, with the risk of failing and causing more injury to oneself. I think what she did was amazing and I think it was what she needed to do to end on her own terms. I have that instinct to fight and to live but I also do not have a terminal illness so it is hard to say until you are in that position.

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