Should we really force those who are terminally ill to continue to suffer for as long as we can force them to? This is an ethical and legal question that people have been asking for years. When people ask to die, they should not be denied the right simply to prolong life because this simply prolongs suffering. There are many reasons why legislation should be passed to allow those who are terminally ill to be given the right to die.One example of a case in which the right to die was granted was the one discussed in Barbara Huttman’s essay, “A Crime of Compassion.” In the essay, she told the story of a cancer patient who she, as a nurse, watched deteriorate and suffer for six months. Nurses had to push a button to call a “code blue” in the hospital each time he stopped breathing. Every time, a team rushed to him to resuscitate him, and this happened 52 times in a single month. By this time, his weight had dropped to a mere 60 pounds, and he had to be fed through tubes, breathe through an oxygen mask, and take IV solutions in his veins. It was at this point that he begged her, “Mercy . . . for God’s sake, please just let me go.” One day he moaned to her, “Pain . . . no more . . . Barbara . . . do something . . . God, let me go.” As she injected his pain medication, she told him she would stop. He held her hand and muttered, “Thanks.” This time, when he began to slip away, she waited until she knew that it was too late for him to live before pressing the button. This is one example of someone who deserved to be given the right to die.Another time when terminally ill patients should be given the right to die is when they become “vegetables,” or in other words fall into permanent comas where they cannot perform simple tasks on their own. In this state, only their vital life signs are operating. Their hearts beat, they can breathe, and digest, ...
