Legalize Physician-Assisted Dying in Minnesota

 

The purpose of this bill is to legalize physician-assisted dying in Minnesota. Since the first proposal of using

anesthetics to end a patient’s life in 1870, there have been many debates about whether or not assisted dying should be

legal. As of now, assisted dying is legal in a dozen countries worldwide and in 11 US states, with certain guidelines,

of course. Physician-assisted dying is for patients who are terminally ill and/or are in hospice and have a life

expectancy for 6 months or less.

 

In 2022, a bill promoting legalizing physician-assisted dying was introduced to the Minnesota legislature after a

terminally ill cancer patient said “If there are no more treatment options, I deserve more death options. I am not

afraid of death, but I am afraid of how I will die.” A poll found 73.2% of Minnesotans in favor of this bill, more than

2/3 of the poll takers. Unfortunately, this bill did not pass.

In the contrast, many would argue that physician-assisted dying is something unethical and morally wrong, and it

degrades the dignity of humans, even though it is the exact opposite. Assisted dying is not an option for people with an

open-ended lifespan; all patients are terminally ill or in hospice and they want to end their suffering sooner. On top

of that, it is always the patient who administers the drug on themselves.

The morally wrong part is that by outlawing physician-assisted dying, terminally ill patients have to suffer until the

very end of their lives. Forcing a dying human to stay alive is inhumane and torturous, and it is incompatible with the

values of 21st century medicine.

Patients deserve to have a right to end their pain and suffering earlier if they are going to die anyways. The right to

die is intrinsically tied to the tight to bodily anatomy, one of the basic rights that define what it means to be human.

Without a compassionate law, the decision will not lie in the hands of who it affects most.

 

Physician-assisted dying/assisted dying: when a patient ends their own life with the help of a doctor or physician.

Terminal illness: an incurable and irreversible condition that will ultimately lead to death, with a life expectancy

that can be measured in days, weeks, months, or sometimes a year or more.

Hospice: a home providing care for the terminally ill.

 

Either the assisted dying is covered by insurance, or it is funded by the patient, the family of the patient, an/or and

organization willing to fund the procedure. Federal funding is not used for physician-assisted dying.

 

A patient is qualified for the option of physician-assisted dying if:

- they are 18+ years old

- they are terminally ill and/or in hospice

- they have a life expectancy of 6 months or less

Any doctor who refuses to assist in the dying of a qualified patient must refer the patient to another physician or

service that can evaluate the physician-assisted dying request.

 

This bill will go into effect 2 months after it passes.