by Veena Krishnan

Created on: March 24, 2010

Every person has the right to die with dignity. But very few countries have legalised this option and put in place the process by which a patient can avail of it. It is commonly called Physician Assisted Suicide. Lots of discussions would have gone into legalising and finalising the process. The procedure has to be foolproof enough to prevent fraudulent practices occurring. However one cannot underestimate the vigilance required by the people involved in a Physician Assisted Suicide.

 Because of possible inheritance issues on the death of the terminally ill patient strict rules have to be followed to prevent the beneficiaries from coercing the patient from taking this option. The state of Oregon, US requires at least 2 witnesses to the patient’s request for the lethal medicine. It further stipulates that one of the witnesses cannot be related, a beneficiary or working in the care facility. The third stipulation essentially prevents carers from coercing the patient into taking this option as caring for such a patient can be very stressful. In my opinion there should be at least 5 people involved in the process of assisted suicide two of whom can be family and the remaining three have to be independent people totally unrelated to the patient. The more number of independent people involved less chances of foul play occurring.

Physician Assisted Suicide is an option that can be exercised by a patient who has been declared to have a terminal illness and is in a position to make this decision. What about those patients who are in coma and living on life support. Who makes the decision for them? What about patients whose condition has deteriorated so much that they are dependent on others for everything. They are not on life support, they are not completely bedridden but their quality of life is far from what they have been used to. My mother was in such a situation in the last 2 months of her life. A very active and independent lady throughout her life she was unable to walk up to the bathroom without assistance. Those of us who took care of her felt her pain when she would reach out to us for help. What option did she have to end it all? Could her family have taken the decision for her and been within the legal requirements? Luckily for her and those caring for her, her pain didn't last long.

More countries need to legalise this option and that can happen if only more people discuss the issue and are convinced about it. Also the laws need to include patients in situations that are not covered by the existing laws.  

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