Research Question:

Should a lethal dose be administered to a patient if he or she has a terminal, or excruciatingly painful condition?

Girsh, Faye."Death With Dignity: Choices and Challenges." USA Today (Magazine) March 2000: 62-64. SIRS Researcher. SIRS Knowledge Source. Edina High School. 7 December 2008 http://www.sirs.com

Faye Girsh is the executive director of a right-to-die organization, known as Hemlock Society USA. He clearly supports a person's right-to-die, and discusses scenarios and statistics having to do with the controversial issue to allow a doctor to assist a victim's suicide. He argues that a many patients of "terminal conditions" suffer greatly and wish to end their lives with dignity. He also says that the friends and family members of the victim go through much pain seeing their loved ones dying. Girsh provides data of euthanasia, in the only state that it is allowed: Oregon. The data shows that 15 of 23 people studied, took their lives. Girsh uses this data to support the idea that a person should be able to choose to avoid pain.


Whitehorn, Katharine."How to Die the 'Oregon Way'."The Guardian 13 October 2008: 4. SIRS Researcher. SIRS Knowledge Source. Edina High School. 8 December 2008 http://sirs.com

Katharine Whitehorn describes the different countries which are fighting over legislations to legalize euthanasia. Currently it is classified as second degree murder in all states except Oregon. Whitehorn continues to provide history of the first country to legalize euthanasia. She says that euthanasia in the United States would be too commercialized, and doctors would use euthanasia to relieve over crowded hospitals. She also gives the example of Dr. Jack Kevorkian who assisted in killing 103 people, and got out of jail a year later.