Dear Future President:

While the problem may seem small now, euthanasia is a major issue in the United States. Euthanasia laws have been legalized in five states in the U.S., which are Oregon, Washington, Vermont, Montana, and California. Since 2014, in those states, more than two thousand prescriptions have been written to people who filed for euthanasia (PAS Fast Facts 1). Euthanasia is viewed as a form of “painless death for those who are terminally ill.” However, the process of euthanasia can be abused or used for the wrong reasons.

Supporters of euthanasia argue that people have the “right to commit suicide” and that people who are suffering should not be forced to stay alive (Euthanasia Facts 3). On the other hand, opponents of euthanasia argue that the “treatment” would not only be for people who are “terminally ill”. They also argue that euthanasia could become a means of health care cost containment for the doctors who are prescribing these lethal drugs to patients (Euthanasia Facts 4). People suffering an immense amount of physical or emotional pain should not be euthanized, but should be treated with love and kindness to nurse them back to a good state of mind. Nevertheless, the Hippocratic Oath proclaims: “I will keep [the sick] from harm and injustice. I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect.” By mandating euthanasia laws, doctors are directly defying the Hippocratic Oath by prescribing drugs to the people who have filed for Euthanasia (Anderson 1). Doctors who choose to prescribe these medications often do this without knowing the real problem.

Many people believe that people with terminal illnesses or mental disabilities who personally request to end their lives have the right to give themselves a peaceful end. Diane Coleman, President of Not Dead Yet, says otherwise. She states:

"…a big part of what we are saying is that people who say they want to take an action to end their lives should be treated equally and receive suicide prevention that genuinely addresses the concerns they face, including pain relief and not a streamlined path to suicide for some people." (Bender 1)

Opponents of euthanasia are trying to spread the message that euthanasia devalues human life and that no human, especially a doctor, should be involved in directly causing a death.

In 2015, the Knights of Columbus sponsored a Marist poll given to the U.S. From the poll results, the organization found that six in ten Americans do not support a doctor prescribing or administering a lethal drug dose (Walther 1). Euthanasia and physician-assisted-suicide has poisoned America’s thoughts of suicide and “peaceful death.” What many organizations that disapprove of euthanasia are trying to express is that there is hope for the people that seem or believe they are “hopeless.” Euthanasia is one of the ever-growing social problems in the United States of America, and something must be done to prevent more states from establishing laws that mandate euthanasia. Also, I strongly believe that every clinic and hospital in the United States should be called into separate meetings to discuss the problem of euthanasia and how it can negatively affect people and the loved ones that care for them. Please take my evidence into consideration.

Sincerely,

Ryan Ly