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"FINAL EXIT" (DEREK HUMPHRY).   Term Paper ID:19410 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Critical analysis of controversial work on aiding suicide of terminally ill people.... More...

10 Pages / 2250 Words 4 sources, 22 Citations, APA Format $40.00 Return to List of Papers

Paper Abstract: Critical analysis of controversial work on aiding suicide of terminally ill people. Paper Introduction: In the summer of 1991, a controversial book entitled Final Exit appeared in bookstores across the country. According to its cover, this book, written by Derek Humphry, deals with "the practicalities of self-deliverance and assisted suicide" for the terminally ill. A review in Time magazine more bluntly called it "a manual for committing suicide or helping someone else to do so" (Henry, 1991, p. 55). The text of Final Exit includes advice for killing one's self as painlessly and effectively as possible. Because of the book's content, many people were shocked by its publication. Some people argued that the information contained in the book could be abused if it fell into the wrong hands. For example, Burke Balch of the National Right to Life Committee urged booksellers to boycott the book by claiming: "We would call upon those in a position to foster dissemination of this loaded Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. For example, he does not feel that a person shouldcommit suicide as a result of being depressed. (1991, July 12). AsHumphry claims, the role of the modern doctor should be to provideprofessional help in times of dying as well as life. Final exit: The practicalities of self-deliverance and assisted suicide for the dying. In such cases,giving the person the option to terminate his or her own life is often "theonly compassionate thing to do" (Humphry, 1991, p. Because of the book's content, many people were shocked by itspublication. Furthermore, this part of the book iscontroversial because active euthanasia is currently illegal throughout theUnited States. B1). According to its cover, thisbook, written by Derek Humphry, deals with "the practicalities of self-deliverance and assisted suicide" for the terminally ill. Eugene, Oregon: TheHemlock Society.----------------------- 12 Final Exit is also controversial because it urges doctors and othermedical practitioners to assist in the suicide of terminally ill patients.Many people feel that the doctor's role in society is to save lives ratherthan to terminate them. By extension, thelaws should permit doctors to assist in carrying out the choice once it hasbeen made. The information in the book covers such topicas Living Wills and Power of Attorney, as well as discussing their role inguaranteeing the rights of terminally ill persons. The fact that Final Exit was amassive best-seller when it first appeared provides further evidence thatthe attitudes of people are changing. The bag will cut off the person's breathing, thereby helping toinsure a quick and efficient death. Theperson should insist on stronger sleeping pills until the doctor providesthe ones that are needed for the suicide. Therefore, althoughthe decision to die must be that of the terminally ill person alone,medical professionals should nonetheless be available to assist in theprocess once the decision has already been made. B1). References Ames, Katrine, Larry Wilson, Ray Sawhill, Daniel Glick, and PatriciaKing. The book is also controversial because many people fear that itsexplicit instructions for causing death might be misused by those who areunstable. Related to thisidea, Humphry suggests the use of a plastic bag as well as lethal drugs incommitting suicide (Humphry, 1991, p. This controversy was centered around the fears that people stillhave regarding the topic of death. Humphry, Derek. However, out of compassion, medicalpractitioners often help suffering patients to end their own lives. In addition to theevidence that attitudes on euthanasia are changing in general, there isevidence that opinions regarding the doctor's role in euthanasia are alsochanging. B1). Humphry's goal is tochange the perceptions of people regarding the rights of the terminallyill. 55). Usually, thedoctor is willing to provide painkilling drugs to terminally ill patients.The important thing for ending one's own life is to obtain enough of thesepills in order to do the job effectively. In recentyears, the idea of passive euthanasia for the terminally ill has becomeaccepted by many people, including those in the legal and medicalprofessions. However, there may be cases inwhich a doctor will refuse to provide the necessary drugs. If a person is determined to commit suicide or kill another,the necessary information on how to do so can be obtained from a variety ofother existing sources. Humphry also provides advice on how to properly store the drugs oncethey have been obtained. Any person who administers drugs or otherwise acts to cause thedeath of another person is liable for criminal prosecution. He or she will certainly not want to repeat the trauma ofthe experience by having to try again at a later date. For this reason, he advises those who areconsidering suicide to give advance warning to their loved ones. 13 ).Thus, if a patient is suffering with a terminal illness, that patientshould be given the choice to end his or her suffering. (1991). According to Neuschatz: "The role of themodern physician should consist in prolonging life, not death. Furthermore, Humphrydenounces the use of "bizarre ways" for killing one's self. They feel that terminally illpeople should be given the option to end their own lives in order to avoidthe pain, suffering, indignity, and financial burden of remaining alive.In fact, there is a great deal of evidence to show that attitudes on thisissue are changing over the course of time. He emphasizes the importance of not allowing thedrugs to deteriorate in quality. Derek Humphry, the author of Final Exit, has a background injournalism which he acquired in his native homeland of England. Final Exit is largely concerned with the ways in which a person canterminate his or her life as painlessly and effectively as possible. 114). There isalso evidence that the attitudes of the medical profession are changing.In Final Exit, Humphry cites the opinion of Long Island physician Joseph J.Neuschatz regarding this point. The text of Final Exitincludes advice for killing one's self as painlessly and effectively aspossible. Thus, anentire chapter of the book is devoted to describing the problems with suchtraditional methods as hanging, carbon monoxide poisoning, or shootingone's self. As noted by Alan Meisel, director of the Center for MedicalEthics at the University of Pittsburgh, "people are very worried that theirdying is going to be prolonged and painful" (Henry, 1991, p. Because of this, active euthanasia is consideredto be a serious crime throughout the United States. Henry again provides a rebuttal for this fear by pointing outthat it is already relatively easy to commit murder if that is one'sintention. Henry, William A. In this regard, "Humphry argues that he will not makesuicide easier - just more reliable, less painful, less messy and above allless solitary" (Henry, 1991, p. In fact, it is possible that the future role of the doctor willinclude helping people to face death when necessary as well as helping themto stay alive. 179). All of these methods are needlessly painful as well asunreliable. Suicide manual for terminally Ill stirsheated debate. In the mid-197 's, only 41percent of the respondents in a national poll said they believed that aterminally ill person with a hopeless condition should be allowed to commitsuicide. Final Exitrepresents the ways in which opinions on euthanasia are changing over time. According to Susan M. Thus, "Humphry distinguishes between 'rational'suicide, undertaken by the irreversibly handicapped or the terminally ill,and 'emotional' suicide by those who are depressed, of which hedisapproves" (Henry, 1991, p. 41). However, asnoted by William A. This is the use of professionalswithin the medical community for assistance in the termination of life. (1991, August 26). 4 -41. The dying person willcertainly not want to wake up from the experience and have to go through itall again at a later time. It is recommended that the dyingperson place a plastic bag over the head after self-administering thedrugs. However, the actual termination of life itself cannot beassisted by another person under current law. 99).Nevertheless, Humphry is against the idea of shocking family and friendswith an unexpected suicide. 55). Cox, Meg. Still other criticsargued that murderers would be able to use the book's lethal dosage chartsfor their own evil purposes. B1). is a society in which guns can be obtained withless paperwork than automobiles, and almost every kitchen contains somelethal cleanser" (p. Promotinghealth and happiness, not pain and suffering" (Humphry, 1991, p. However, this role should be different in the case ofterminal illness. Most people agree that the doctor's role is to help save livesin most cases. This chart is clearly intendedto serve as a guideline for people who wish to kill themselves. In this regard, it can be seen that Humphry'sarguments in the book are not those of a raving lunatic who is out to makedeath more attractive to the average person. In addition, it provides an important guideline for those who must dealwith this difficult subject in their own personal lives. 55. This wasthe most controversial part of the book when it was first published becausepeople were afraid that it might be abused by those who are depressed orotherwise mentally unstable. As Humphry notes, there are certain cases in which peoplehave no hope for relieving their suffering short of dying. In fact, Humphry argues that "it is preferable if the personwanting deliverance does it alone" (p. Humphry advises the terminallyill person to tell the doctor that sleeping has become difficult. 18). The concept of death is troublingenough for most people, and the idea of killing one's self is even moretroubling. In order to be sure that the patient acquires the proper amount of therecommended drugs, Humphry provides a chart in Final Exit which shows thelethal doses of various prescription drugs. The doctor has an obligation to provide pain-killing drugs to aterminally ill person who is suffering. Thedecision to terminate one's own life is undoubtedly the most difficult thatanyone can ever make. It is very important for theperson attending the suicide to remember not to touch the person who isdying. In such cases,Humphry advises the patient to seek out a new doctor (Humphry, 1991, p.83). The ultimate decision to end lifein the case of terminal illness is that of the individual alone.Subsequently, the act of dying is also ultimately the responsibility of theindividual alone. By 199 , "that figure had risen to 66 percent" (Ames, Wilson,Sawhil, Glick and King, 1991, p. Because it is an illegal practice, doctors almost never make apublic issue of this fact. In addition, they can be very disturbing to the loved ones whomight discover the body. Once the doctor provides aneffective drug like Seconal or Nembutal, Humphry recommends obtaining andhoarding "at least 4 (6 is best) in a cool, dry place" (Humphry, 1991, p.94). Henry in Time, the book is filled with warnings againstirrational suicide. Thus, according to Susan M. Thus, "the U.S. 99). Rather, Humphry provides wellreasoned arguments which pertain specifically to the special circumstancesof those who are facing their own deaths anyway. In Final Exit, Humphry makes it clear that he is opposed to suicidefor emotional reasons. A large portion of the book consists of specific advice on how tocarry out one's own death. In addition toFinal Exit, Humphry has written three other books on the topic ofeuthanasia. However, it is obvious that all of thesethreats continue to exist with or without the publication of a book likeFinal Exit. Humphry currently lives nearEugene, Oregon, where the Hemlock Society is also based. Humphry recommends the use of prescription drugs whichcan be obtained from the terminally ill person's physician. Various polls regarding this topic have shownthat attitudes are changing over time. Final Exit sparked a heated controversy when it was first publishedin 1991. Derek Humphry's rebuttal to this isthat doctors are already assisting terminally ill patients in suicideanyway. When the book was first released, many critics were afraid thatmentally disturbed people might abuse the information contained within it.Other critics were concerned that adolescents or children might gain accessto the information and thereby do harm to themselves. Oncethe difficult decision has been made to terminate one's own life, theperson will want to do the act and get it over with. One reason for Final Exit's controversy is the fact that it advocatesthe use of active euthanasia. When the choice to end life is voluntary on the part ofthe patient, then the doctor should be legally permitted to help incarrying out the procedure. Many people have come to this opinionby asking what they themselves would do if faced with a hopeless terminalillness. 55). In the summer of 1991, a controversial book entitled Final Exitappeared in bookstores across the country. 55). Perhaps the only exception to this should be the onewhich Humphry argues for in his book. 32). After that, he founded theHemlock Society, an international organization advocating humane euthanasiafor people suffering with terminal illnesses. Newsweek 118: pp. 179). Many people consider thisto be a form of murder. B1+. This point of view is indicated in Humphry's claim that"part of good medicine is to help you out of this life as well as help youin" (Henry, 1991, p. Active euthanasia, however, is another matter altogether. Inorder to better serve the needs of this special group of patients, doctorsneed accurate information on the subject such as that which is provided byFinal Exit. Suchpeople should inform their family and friends that they plan to end theirlives soon in order to bring an end to their suffering (p. As noted earlier in this paper, helping anotherperson terminate his or her life is illegal throughout the United States.In Humphry's words: "Assistance in suicide, no matter how compassionate andhow sincerely requested, remains a crime for now" (Humphry, 1991, p. 55). In contrast to active euthanasia, passiveeuthanasia simply involves removing a terminally ill person from life-support systems which prolong life by extraordinary means. In contrast to suicide for emotional reasons,Humphry argues for suicide only in the case of those who have a hopelessterminal condition (Humphry, 1991, p. Other critics of the book have expressedconcern that its contents might make it easier for murderers to kill theirvictims. However, he alsostrongly urges against the direct involvement of family members in theactual act of suicide. In contrast to terminalillness, depression is something that can be cured. With these credentials, it is obvious that Humphry hasestablished himself as an authority on the issue. It is reasonable to expect thatthe dying person may want the company of a friend or relative during thiscrucial time. Once the decision has been made, the person willwant to be sure that the process of death takes place smoothly and that theact is final. 55). Wolf: "It's improper toencourage physicians to assist in suicide because that is encouraging themto break the law" (Cox, 1991, p. Specifically, he believes that such people should have theopportunity to end their suffering by seeking a termination of their ownlives. Wall Street Journal, p. Humphry warns that extreme discretion must be used if a relative orfriend is directly involved in the suicide. Just asthere are many who are opposed to the information and ideas in Humphry'sbook, there are many others who have praised it. It is obvious that people want to beinformed on euthanasia, regardless of how disturbing the topic may be on apersonal level. Perhaps this is appropriate,since death is such a personal matter. In Humphry's words, "the practical reality is that doctorsphone me at least once a week asking for the dosages" (p. An increasing number of people today agree with Humphry's view thatterminally ill people should be given the option to end their own lives.This feeling is particularly strong in those cases which are hopeless andwhere a great deal of pain and suffering is involved. (1991, August 19). Many people feel that thelaws regarding euthanasia should be changed. In 1975,Humphry helped his first wife Jean to die "when her cancer becameunbearable to her" (Humphry, 1991, p. Such acts,even if the dying person requests them, are all "actions which prosecutorscould use to enforce the laws against assistance in dying" (Humphry, 1991,p. Some people argued that the information contained in the bookcould be abused if it fell into the wrong hands. A review in Timemagazine more bluntly called it "a manual for committing suicide or helpingsomeone else to do so" (Henry, 1991, p. In fact, Final Exit is not designed for those whoare mentally disturbed but rather for that small, special group in societywho must face the difficult decisions which are associated with their ownterminal illnesses. 95). For those who have decided toterminate their lives, Humphry further argues for the use of clean andpractical methods. Wolf, an expert on medical ethics: "Thetroubling possibility is that people may get a hold of this and killthemselves when they're in the throes of a reversible depression or someother state for which they could get help" (Cox, 1991, p. Because of this fact, any person who helps a relative or friend todie should be very careful in terms of not talking about the incidentafterward. Itdiffers from passive euthanasia in that it involves taking active stepstoward the termination of another person's life. Do-it-yourself death lessons.Time 138: p. Humphry encouragesfamily involvement in the decision to end one's own life. For example, Burke Balchof the National Right to Life Committee urged booksellers to boycott thebook by claiming: "We would call upon those in a position to fosterdissemination of this loaded gun potentially in the hands of children andurge them to seriously consider refusing to carry it" (Cox, 1991, p. They must retain their potency in orderto insure that the act of suicide is quick, painless and effective. Last rights. The first and foremost concern, once thedecision has been made, is obtaining the drugs which are needed forterminating life. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.