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legalization of physician assisted suicide essay
assisted suicide and the right to die essay
legalization of physician assisted suicide essay
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Oregon's Measure 16 For Assisted Suicide
In passing the legislation known as Measure 16 in the state of Oregon, were there deceptions involved? Did the media play along with proponents of assisted suicide, denying media coverage to opposing viewpoints? What did proponents do immediately after passage of Measure 16? This paper will seek to satisfy these questions and others.
The "centerpiece" of the campaign to pass Measure 16 was a 60-second television ad featuring Patty A. Rosen (head of the Bend, OR chapter of the Hemlock Society and a former nurse practitioner). In it, Rosen urged the public to "Vote yes on 16" and gave an emotional personal testimonial to the illusion of slipping away peacefully after taking pills:
"I am a criminal. My 25-year-old daughter, Jody, was dying of bone cancer. The pain was so great that she couldn't bear to be touched, and drugs didn't help. Jody had a few weeks to live when she decided she wanted to end her life. But it wasn't legally possible. So I broke the law and got her the pills necessary. And as she slipped peacefully away, I climbed into her bed and I took her in my arms [Rosen's voice cracks with emotion] for the first time in months...." (1)
A statement signed by Rosen also appeared in the Oregon Voters' guide, distributed just prior to the vote on Measure 16: "She [Rosen's daughter] took the necessary medication herself and I was there when she fell asleep for the last time." (2) But it turned out that Rosen's account was different than an earlier version of this "true story" which was so effective in promoting a "pills only" measure to the voters. (3) Two years earlier, during the campaign for California's ballot initiative -- which allowed for both pills and a lethal injection -- Patty Rosen, then Patty Fallon, told a far different version of her daughter's death:
"So she went to sleep. I didn't know about plastic bags. I wish I had. Because...It seemed to be back firing. And I was fortunate enough at the very last to be able to hit a vein right.... [B]efore I could do that, the one son came into the room.... took his hands and held her veins for me.... I said, 'Oh God, she's startin' to breathe again.' And [the other son] said, 'I'll take a pillow.
The birth of an eastern circus woman attracted no attention at all in mid-millennium year 500. No one could ever imagine that this baby would grow up to be one of the most remarkable women in history of the World. She was the daughter of the bear keeper, a public performer,wife of Justinian, Empress of the Byzantine Empire and a natural beauty whose name became the one name in the voluminous annals of the Byzantine empire known to almost everyone; Theodora. Once the former show girl settled down to respectable married life, she touched every branch of life in the Empire. She had her finger on everything including military campaigns, architectural developments, and government policy and law reforms. With her intelligence and charm and her indomitable willpower she became the backbone of Justinian by being the partner in power. Her supremacy and authority over Justinian and her role in the empire made her a significant woman in the history and the empress of one of the great civilizations of the world. She brought Justinian a stabilizing influence and helped him shaped his policies and became the foreground of every picture of the period. For all the long series of masterful empresses none is as astonishing and stunning as the consort of Justinian. This essay will analyze the dynamic of the marriage between Justinian and Theodora and it will argue the importance of this marriage for the strength of the Byzantine Empire.
On October 22nd, 1962, President John F. Kennedy delivered the famous "Cuban Missile Crisis Address to the Nation" speech in response to Nikita Khrushchev’s act of placing nuclear and flying missiles on the island directly south of the United States: Cuba. The purpose of the speech was to alert the nation of the situation and inform them on how it would be handled. This speech successfully won the attention and respect of the American and Russian people through the use of multiple rhetorical devices.
In 1619, slaves from Africa started being shipped to America. In the years that followed, the slave population grew and the southern states became more dependent on the slaves for their plantations. Then in the 1800s slavery began to divide America, and this became a national conflict which lead to the Civil War. Throughout history, groups in the minority have risen up to fight for their freedom. In the United States, at the time of the Civil War African Americans had to fight for their freedom. African Americans used various methods to fight for their freedom during the Civil War such as passing information and supplies to the Union Army, escaping to Union territory, and serving in the Union’s army. These actions affected the African Americans and the United States by helping the African Americans earn citizenship and abolishing slavery in the United States.
During the fourteenth century, Europe faced one of the worst tragedies of its time. A mysterious plague claimed millions of lives, cutting Europe’s population into half of what it was. Historians today call this catastrophe the Black Death. Many people know little about the Black Death but to understand its significant role in history, one must know its early origins, rapid spread, painful symptoms, and devastating effects.
The bubonic plague in the 14th century was known to be one of the most horrendous events that took place in Europe. A common name for this time period was the ‘Black Death’, however this term was not coined until the 17th century. The Black Death claimed an estimated 75 to 200 million people’s lives in all of Europe.
The reader of this paper will learn how the Right to Life movement is getting involved in a dramatic way in the assisted suicide battle in the state of Oregon. The NRLC(National Right to Life Committee), as well as the state RTL group, is participating in the court battle resulting from Oregon's November, 2001 judicial challenge to Ashcroft's decision -- initiated to keep assisted suicide practices functioning smoothly in Oregon.
The Cuban Missile Crisis began with a set of photographs taken over Cuba by an American pilot.2 These photographs showed that Russians were building missile bases in Cuba and placing missiles and atomic weapons there that were easily within range of the United States. President JFK and Robert Kennedy were both stunned. From this point a board of advisors was created and called the Ex Comm, who met every day during those thirteen days and debated the various courses of actions, and consequences of each, that the president could take. Kennedy emphasizes the making of this board as a lesson for future government officials because he believes that it "proved conclusively how important it is that the President have the recommendations and opinions of more than one...point of view."3
In her paper entitled "Euthanasia," Phillipa Foot notes that euthanasia should be thought of as "inducing or otherwise opting for death for the sake of the one who is to die" (MI, 8). In Moral Matters, Jan Narveson argues, successfully I think, that given moral grounds for suicide, voluntary euthanasia is morally acceptable (at least, in principle). Daniel Callahan, on the other hand, in his "When Self-Determination Runs Amok," counters that the traditional pro-(active) euthanasia arguments concerning self-determination, the distinction between killing and allowing to die, and the skepticism about harmful consequences for society, are flawed. I do not think Callahan's reasoning establishes that euthanasia is indeed morally wrong and legally impossible, and I will attempt to show that.
When the black death mysteriously and suddenly hit Europe, it spread at an unbelievable speed leaving almost no city untouched. The citizens of fourteenth century Europe were unsure of how to cope with half the population being wiped out in such a short time span. What had caused this “great mortality”? Who was really to blame for their suffering? How were they to overcome it? While being overwhelmed with sickness and a number of dilemmas stemming from it, many societies became weak and eventually fell apart.
Cotton, Paul. "Medicine's Position Is Both Pivotal And Precarious In Assisted Suicide Debate." The Journal of the American Association 1 Feb. 1995: 363-64.
This essay explores the views of doctors, of the general public, and of the original Hippocratic Oath on the practices of euthanasia and assisted suicide. Considerable reference material is employed - from professional sources.
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a major event in U.S History that almost led to nuclear destruction. It was over a period of thirteen days in which diplomats from the U.S and the Soviet Union were trying to reach a peaceful resolution so that they wouldn’t have to engage in physical warfare. The crisis was the hallmark of the Cold War era which lasted from the 1950’s to the late 1980’s. The Cold War was a power struggle between the U.S and Soviet Union in which the two nations had a massive arms race to become the strongest military force. The U.S considered Communism to be an opposing political entity, and therefore branded them as enemies. Khrushchev’s antagonistic view of Americans also played a big role in the conflict. The Cold War tensions, coupled with a political shift in Cuba eventually lead to the military struggle known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Cuban Missile Crisis was the point of most tension and near collapse causing the Cold War to almost shift from a passive and underground struggle to a violent and catastrophic one.
The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, marks the day that WWI descended into armistice. However, the involved countries reached an agreement as to the events following the war on the 28th of June, 1919. The famous Treaty of Versailles was known for its role in ending war. But it was not known for being a double-edged sword, as the ending of war came with the consequence of causing future war. The Treaty consisted of uncontested biases due to Germany's unconditional surrender. The Allies held a gun to Germany's head, with their trigger finger tense. Each article of the Versailles Treaty only made Germany more restless, until 1933 when Hitler produced his own gun and pointed it at the Allies. The Treaty had a series of unproportional effects upon Germany and its people. It caused a rift between the two sides because of the alliances that it formed, brewing tension. The punishments enforced upon Germany were unrealistically huge and it increased the wish among the Germans for the nullification of the Treaty. Finally, the accumulated hatred amongst the people gave birth to potential for a revolution. The Treaty of Versailles is, therefore, an indirect cause to World War II, because of the alliances it caused, the punishments it enforced, and the hatred it developed.
Life is essentially a constant victory over death. Although this feat seems ideal, there is a category of society that wishes to lose. Some of these people turn to assisted suicide in order to fulfill their ultimate desires. Oregon, Washington, and Vermont are currently the only states that allow this act to be carried out. Commonly assumed to be synonymous to euthanasia, the most palpable difference between to two is who performs the task. In euthanasia, a physician will administer a lethal dosage of medicine, while assisted suicide is characterized by the patient administering it to him or herself. As the issue of legalization gains more momentum, a general argument has formed for the most popular opinions. Supporters believe in “death with dignity,” while the opposing side views assisted suicide as the gateway to physicians killing their patients. Being the first state to legalize assisted suicide, what views did Oregon consider when making the decision?
The Cuban Missile Crisis was one of the most important events in United States history; it’s even easy to say world history because of what some possible outcomes could have been from it. The Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 was a major Cold War confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union. After the Bay of Pigs Invasion the USSR increased its support of Fidel Castro's Cuban regime, and in the summer of 1962, Nikita Khrushchev secretly decided to install ballistic missiles in Cuba. President Kennedy and the other leaders of our country were faced with a horrible dilemma where a decision had to be made. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara outlined three possible courses of action for the president: