Still working on my bioethics agenda. What do you think so far?

I’m writing an entire political manifesto that covers everything from national security, to the abolition of the penny to better social programs to how emerging technologies can create a utopia in the future. Even though euthanasia is a section of the manifesto, it’s very important. I still got a lot to write on euthanasia including the right to die for the mentally ill. Here is what I got so far (prob about 10% complete on tthe euthanasia topic)………………

The Bioethics Agenda

EUTHANASIA
Denying the right for terminally ill people to choose to end their own lives by peaceful means is one of the biggest human and civil rights catastrophes facing America today…unfortunately; this major issue is put on the backburner in our society despite the pleas of many. Policy makers and millions of voters in America, many inspired by religious fundamentalism, continue to demonize and reject any death with dignity legislation proposals. What should be considered a constitutional right for all is instead deemed a criminal act in a vast majority of U.S. states. Unlike many in this country and around the world, I do not value human life based on a beating heart or a functioning brain stem. I value human life based on an individual’s personal experience, level of comfort, consciousness, their potential, and most of all – there freedom of choice!

The first time I heard about euthanasia was in 1998 when I was just 14 years old. My grandmother and I were watching a 60 Minutes episode about Jack Kevorkian, an American physician and right to die advocate who helped 100s of terminally ill patients end their own lives voluntarily and though peaceful means. The news special focused on a video diary made by Dr. Kevorkian himself, documenting a man named Thomas Youk, who was suffering immensely from the final stages of Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS), a terminal illness. Mr. Youk had no quality of life and was on the verge of facing his biggest fear – chocking to death. In the video, Youk provided a consent form to Kevorkian, expressing his will to have the doctor assist him in his own suicide. Jack Kevorkian then proceeded to give Thomas Youk a lethal injection. The entire procedure was surprisingly quick and painless.

After the episode was over and the ending credits were rolling, I heard my grandmother sigh. Under her breath she uttered “all that suffering” and shook her head. I knew who she was thinking about – My grandfather Carl (her husband) who died in 1995 after a slow and very agonizing death from a lung disease he contracted in the early 1980s after breathing in asbestos while working at a chemical plant. He was forced into early retirement. I looked at my grandmother and said “Jack Kevorkian is right”. I still didn’t know how she felt about euthanasia since she was a very religious Mormon. I then asked her “do you believe in assisted suicide”? Grandma responded “after watching Carl suffer for all those years, I think it should be a choice”. I responded “me to” and gave her a hug. It was a very emotional moment for the both of us. Because we both personally witnessed the needless suffering and painful loss of a loved one, we could both relate to Thomas Youk’s will to die and Jack Kevorkian’s crusade to legalize assisted suicide.