History of Euthanasia in America :: Free Euthanasia Essay

History of Euthanasia in America 1973- The American Medical Association issues the Patient Bill of Rights. The groundbreaking document allows patients to refuse medical treatment. 1976- The New Jersey Supreme Court rules that the parents of Karen Ann Quinlan, who has been in a tranquilizer-and-alcohol-induced coma for a year, can remove her respirator. She dies nine years later. 1979- Jo Roman, a New York artist dying of cancer, makes a videotape, telling her friends and family she intends to end her life. She later commits suicide with an overdose of sleeping pills. 1985- Betty Rollin publishes "Last Wish," the story of her mother's battle with ovarian cancer. The book reveals that Ida Rollin killed herself with a sedative overdose. 1990- Dr. Jack Kevorkian performs his first assisted suicide, using a homemade machine, to end the life of Alzheimer's patient Janet Adkins. Meanwhile, after protracted legal wrangling, the parents of Nancy Cruzan, who has been in a coma for seven years, are allowed to remove her feeding tube. Friends and co-workers testify in court that she would not have wanted to live. 1991- Hemlock Society founder Derek Humphry first publishes "Final Exit." The controversial suicide "how-to" book later becomes a national best seller. 1994- Voters in Oregon pass a referendum making it the only state in the country that allows doctors to prescribe life-ending drugs for terminally ill patients. The hotly contested law was not put into effect until last year. 1995- George Delury publishes "But What If She Wants to Die?" a diary chronicling his wife's long battle with multiple sclerosis. The book describes the couple's agonizing decision to end her life with a drug overdose. Delury served four months in prison for attempted manslaughter for his role in her death. 1997- In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court rules that the Constitution does not guarantee the right to commit suicide with the help of a physician. The decision upholds laws in New York and Washington state making it illegal for doctors to give lethal drugs to dying patients. 1998- In November, Michigan voters defeat a measure that would have made physician-assisted suicide legal. Michigan Poll On Dr. Kevorkian and Euthanasia22 1. After watching that segment which showed Jack Kevorkian administering a lethal injection of drugs, do you think it was appropriate or not appropriate for "60 Minutes" to show that scene on television? 56%Appropriate 35% Not appropriate 10% Undecided/Don't know/Refused 2. Did the experience of watching Dr. History of Euthanasia in America :: Free Euthanasia Essay History of Euthanasia in America 1973- The American Medical Association issues the Patient Bill of Rights. The groundbreaking document allows patients to refuse medical treatment. 1976- The New Jersey Supreme Court rules that the parents of Karen Ann Quinlan, who has been in a tranquilizer-and-alcohol-induced coma for a year, can remove her respirator. She dies nine years later. 1979- Jo Roman, a New York artist dying of cancer, makes a videotape, telling her friends and family she intends to end her life. She later commits suicide with an overdose of sleeping pills. 1985- Betty Rollin publishes "Last Wish," the story of her mother's battle with ovarian cancer. The book reveals that Ida Rollin killed herself with a sedative overdose. 1990- Dr. Jack Kevorkian performs his first assisted suicide, using a homemade machine, to end the life of Alzheimer's patient Janet Adkins. Meanwhile, after protracted legal wrangling, the parents of Nancy Cruzan, who has been in a coma for seven years, are allowed to remove her feeding tube. Friends and co-workers testify in court that she would not have wanted to live. 1991- Hemlock Society founder Derek Humphry first publishes "Final Exit." The controversial suicide "how-to" book later becomes a national best seller. 1994- Voters in Oregon pass a referendum making it the only state in the country that allows doctors to prescribe life-ending drugs for terminally ill patients. The hotly contested law was not put into effect until last year. 1995- George Delury publishes "But What If She Wants to Die?" a diary chronicling his wife's long battle with multiple sclerosis. The book describes the couple's agonizing decision to end her life with a drug overdose. Delury served four months in prison for attempted manslaughter for his role in her death. 1997- In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court rules that the Constitution does not guarantee the right to commit suicide with the help of a physician. The decision upholds laws in New York and Washington state making it illegal for doctors to give lethal drugs to dying patients. 1998- In November, Michigan voters defeat a measure that would have made physician-assisted suicide legal. Michigan Poll On Dr. Kevorkian and Euthanasia22 1. After watching that segment which showed Jack Kevorkian administering a lethal injection of drugs, do you think it was appropriate or not appropriate for "60 Minutes" to show that scene on television? 56%Appropriate 35% Not appropriate 10% Undecided/Don't know/Refused 2. Did the experience of watching Dr.