Medical Professionals and the Right to Die

            
             As humans, we often question the amount of control that we have over our own lives; do we make all the decisions, or is our life in the hands of somebody else? The Right to Die Movement addresses this idea through the belief that individuals should ultimately control the time and circumstances of their own death. The movement fights for the opportunity of both assisted suicide, and euthanasia – two different forms of death, built upon the same concept. The Right to Die Movement is fairly new, and relies on the support of many different parties of individuals, the most influential ones being medical professionals. The influence of medical professionals on the success of the movement can be analyzed through the lens of the relative deprivation theory and resource mobilization theory. With the use of a relative deprivation lens, it is argued that medical professionals feel deprived in the ability to fulfill the wishes of their patients, as well as in the ability to open their own private practices. Additionally, the use of a resource mobilization lens allows medical professionals to be viewed as the most influential resources of the Right to Die movement. .
             Research Question.
             1. How does the influence of medical professionals impact the success of the Right to Die movement? .
             In order to answer this, I will use the relative deprivation theory to explain how medical professionals feel deprived, as they are not able to carry out the wants/needs of their patients and are also deprived of the ability to open private practices. Additionally, I will use resource mobilization theory to explain how medical professionals serve as the most influential resources to the success of the Right to Die movement. .
             Description of the Social Movement .
             Summary of the Right to Die Movement .
             The Right to Die Movement has been around for nearly a century, but was not well known until recently. It is a movement in support of the free choice for terminally ill persons to determine the circumstances in which they want to end their suffering.