Prohibition: United States and Suicide Essay

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Prohibition Paper
There are so many “problems” that we are currently facing as a country. Everyone has different opinions on these issues and from Republicans to Democrats and Independents, as Americans we love to take a stance and fight for what we believe in. But no matter how much we voice our opinions, create signs and yell at the top of our lungs or run around covered in buttons and stickers for a political leader, the government has ultimate say and if they feel dramatic steps are necessary to control one of these problems then we as a country must accept this. Another big downfall that many of us as Americans have is the fact that we don’t always like to be told what to do so how much control does the government really have over us?
One big topic that has been continually controversial to our country over the years in assisted suicide. Currently there are three states in the United States where assisted suicide is legal; Oregon, Washington and Vermont. There are certain conditions in the states of Oregon and Washington before a physician will commit to helping a patient. In both Oregon and Washington the conditions are basically the same and are simply there to make sure the patient is one hundred percent sure this is the only option they would like to pursue and that if in the future the family of the patient becomes upset the physician is protected and cannot be sued. Majority of the patients that seek assisted suicide are terminally ill and feel this is the best solution for them.
There are debates both for and against legalizing assisted suicide many of which are based on moral, religious and legal stances. But in any debate there will always be a counter argument for every point made both for the legalization and against it. A few arguments people have for instance would be; every human has the right to life and what if the person is mentally unstable when they make this decision, it cannot be taken back. Another argument from a religious point of view would be that only God should be able to make the decision as to when life ends. Finally from both a moral and legal point of view doctors are suppose to be those people who help save and bring lives into the world, should they be helping people take their own lives when it is not necessary?
Since this topic is so controversial and has supporters on both sides it is hard to pinpoint exactly where the change should be. Assisted suicide is currently illegal in the majority of the United States but there have been instances where people who are very desperate have flown over seas to where it is legal and there are no stipulations for physicians to have this procedure done. If it stays illegal in the United States there is really no way to prevent anybody from taking their own lives but there could be a way to prevent
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