Public Agenda Issue Guide: Right to Die

Citizens

are confronted with serious issues every minute of the day. Grasping the underlying issues from the headlines is a difficult task. Give us ten minutes a day and we will help bring clarity to the chaos of the news, policy and issues.

ON THE AGENDA

Momentum For National Standards On Education

Scott Bittle
Jul 22, 2010

The drive for national education standards is gaining steam, with 27 states and the District of Columbia already signed up. Public Agenda's research has found Americans like the idea of standards – but low standards are not their most pressing concern about schools.

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Poll Says Public Favors Deficit Over Stimulus: The Key Question is Why

Scott Bittle
Jul 20, 2010

For the first time, the Pew Research Center survey reports reducing the deficit is a higher priority than spending to stimulate the economy – but that may say more about public attitudes toward the stimulus than it does about the deficit.

As recently as February, the Pew survey found the public evenly split on reducing the deficit versus spending more to help the economy (47 percent each). Now the deficit comes out ahead, 51 percent to 40 percent.

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ISSUE GUIDE: Right to Die

OVERVIEW

Right to Die

The process of dying has become far more complicated than it once was.

A century ago, most people died at home of illnesses that medicine could do little to defeat. Today, a hospital, nursing home or hospice is a far more likely setting, but the place of death is not the only thing that has changed. Technology has created choices for patients and their families - choices that raise basic questions about human dignity and what constitutes a "good death."

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CONSIDER THE CHOICES

Recognize the right to die with dignity, with a physician's assistance

Focus on giving comfort and recognizing the patient's preferences

Reaffirm the commitment to preserve life

While life must be protected, we must also permit people to have a humane death. Individuals have a right to determine the time and circumstances of their death. When people are near death and in unbearable pain or anguish, they should be free to seek medical assistance in ending their lives. It has long been recognized that patients have a right to refuse life-support technology, or to have it withdrawn when efforts to extend life are futile. By the same token, individuals should be permitted to seek a physician's assistance in dying when they choose to do so.
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The debate over physician-assisted suicide has arisen largely because health care professionals routinely overlook patients' preferences, or fail to provide palliative care. Hospital patients often die in great pain, despite the fact that medications are available to ease their suffering. As physicians focus on taking every possible medical measure to keep patients alive, they often fail to relieve the pain and depression patients experience. Recognizing the patient's right to control the treatment they receive is a far better solution than encouraging physicians to supervise suicides.
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By condemning the practice of physician-assisted suicide, and reiterating why it must remain illegal, we affirm the unconditional value of human life. Society as a whole must reaffirm the commitment to preserve life whenever possible. Except when patients explicitly decline further treatment, physicians must make every effort to sustain life. Any compromise in the commitment of medical professionals to protect and extend life would undermine the public's faith in the medical profession.
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