Problem
"It is my personal opinion that everyone should maintain their own "right to die". However, should a person wish to undergo euthanasia, or a physician assisted death, certain requirements should be met to protect both the patient and the provider. In keeping with the state of Oregon's Death with Dignity Act, I believe a terminally ill patient who wishes to be euthanized with the assistance of healthcare professionals must be of sound mind to provide informed consent, be educated on all other alternative options such as pain management and palliative care, and the patient's request must be consistently verified by more than one physician (Taylor & Stanton, 2021). If at all possible, I do not think a person should be in physical or emotional pain at the time when the decision is made--while at the same time I understand that this cannot always be the case.
I believe Kübler-Ross's Five Stage Theory of Death should be taken into consideration when determining state of mind. While Kübler-Ross's theory is not infallible, it is thought to best encompass the emotional stages of grieving oneself and allows for both scientific concern and respectful sensitivity around the feelings of one's own death (Taylor & Stanton, 2021). A person who is in the stage of anger, bargaining, or depression should not be considered of sound mind to make the decision to end their life due to the emotional charge of a decision they might otherwise not solidify. Assuming that someone in the denial stage of dying would not be interested in ending their life prematurely, that leaves us with acceptance. If a person has accepted and made peace with the inevitability of their death and wishes to end their own suffering at this point in the emotional progression of dying, I believe this wish should be honored.
As of 2019, eight states had codified similar Death with Dignity legislation (Taylor & Stanton, 2021). As of 2021, New Mexico became the ninth state (tenth jurisdiction--Washington D.C.) to officially enact a Death with Dignity statute, ratified as House Bill 47 - Elizabeth Whitfield End-of-Life Options Act (Armstrong, et al., 2021). New Mexico District Court Judge, Elizabeth Whitfield spent the later years of her career in office as an advocate for the states' Death with Dignity efforts, and when she herself became diagnosed with terminal cancer, she became the face of New Mexico's pending bill (Judge Elizabeth Whitefield: A life of good work and end-of-life advocacy, 2022). Unfortunately, despite her battle for the bill, it did not pass until after Judge Whitefield had succumb to her illness. She is quoted as saying, "cancer has stolen everything from me; my ability to work, my ability to eat, my ability to drink. Don't let me die without dignity. I implore you to give me the choice that is right for me" (Judge Elizabeth Whitefield: A life of good work and end-of-life advocacy, 2022). In the case of New Mexico's Death with Dignity laws, hindsight is 20/20.
Health psychologists are in a unique position when it comes to working with terminally ill patients who may wish to end their own lives. The most common mental health issues that set in following a terminal diagnosis are anxiety and depression (Taylor & Stanton, 2021). Health psychologists can not only guide a patient through the anticipatory grief they and their families will face, but they can also help explain palliative care versus physician-assisted-suicide in a physiologically helpful way as well as how the options may relate to the patient's specific condition."