By Mai Takeshita
Today, the medical technique is getting better and more sophisticated in the world. People can live healthier and longer thanks to the developed medical care, and it is called “The 100-year time period” today. However, there are many diseases that even the medical technique today cannot treat, especially “terminal illness”. There are some arguments in the world whether patients with a terminal illness should be able to request medically-assisted suicide or not. Actually, in Japan and many countries, assisted suicide is considered illegal, even if it is “medically-assisted”. Followings are the three reasons that medically-assisted suicide should be allowed in case of patients who are in terminal-illness: physical suffering, mental and social distress, and respecting the patients’ intention.
The first reason that medically-assisted suicide should be allowed is physical suffering of patients. According to Hoshino (1996), an emeritus professor in Kyoto University, patients are suffering from mainly four pains physically: the symptom from the disease, therapeutic drugs, surgical operation and examination, and other sufferings that are different from pain. Here is an example of physical suffering in terminal cancer. For the symptom from the disease, in case of terminal cancer, patients are struggling from the pain at their internal organs which the cancer have spread. The patients feel severe pain. For therapeutic drugs in case of cancer, the anticancer drug treatment is common. But the drugs have side effects. Hosokawa (2016), a professor in Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, explained that some of the side effects of the drug are numbness and pain. The anticancer drug damages the peripheral nerve, and those numbness and pain appear. It is called “Chemotherapy Induced Peripheral Neuropathy.” Patients are struggling from something that is different from pain. According to Hoshino, patients are struggling from general malaise, sense of fullness in the abdomen, difficulty in breathing, etc. Patients are suffered from those unimageable pains, and patients in terminal-illness should not struggle with them anymore.
Secondly, medically-assisted suicide should be allowed for the reason of mentally and social distress. According to Clinic C4 (Clinic for Comprehensive Convincing Cancer Care) (n.d,), there are many types of mental and social distress that patients face. For instance, economic distress, working distress, and family distress. In addition to physical sufferings, patients are strongly stressed by these distresses. For the patients who are in terminal illness, they no longer have to suffer from these stresses. They should be given a choice of medically-assisted suicide.
Third reason that medically-assisted suicide should be allowed is respecting the patients’ intention. There was a Japanese who chose euthanasia in Swiss in 2021. SWI Swiss Info.ch closely covered him from him visiting Swiss to euthanized. He had suffered from motor neuron disease, which is very similar to ALS, from 2016. He decided to be euthanized three years ago, in 2018. He answers the doctor’s question why he chose to euthanize, “Since I cannot contribute to society anymore because of the disease, I’m now worthless. I will never depend on ventilator after I lose ability to move. I don’t want to be alive with losing human dignity.” His parents hoped to keep him alive whatever way he uses. However, he said that that idea ignores the patient’s suffering and dignity. Just before he took the drip by his own to die, he told his doctor and parents “Now, I’m going.” His mind to die was very determined. As the example shows, patients will choose medical-supported suicide with not temporary feeling, but very determined. Therefore, doctors and families should highly respect patient’s significant decision.
Medically-supported suicide is now illegal in Japan, and families of patients who are in terminal-illness hope the patients will stay alive. However, medically-supported suicide should be allowed in case of patients who are in terminal-illness for these reasons above. Patients are suffered from physically pain, and mentally and socially stress that general people and even doctors will never experience and understand. Medically-supported suicide should be allowed as one of the choices for patients.
