Does this mean that a .
terminally ill person has to live their life to the bitter end, no matter how ill they are? No, it shouldn't. The .
Due Process Clause and the liberty interest includes a person's right to make their own decisions about .
matters that are important to them and to make choices that are central to their personal dignity. The .
constitution was written a long time ago. The constitution was not meant to be a static, unchanging .
document. It was meant to change with an ever changing society. It was meant to adapt to the people, .
and for the people who live by it. .
The ways in which people die have changed greatly over time. Years ago, pneumonia and .
contagious diseases brought a quick death to many. Today, with all the medical and technological .
advances, people are more likely to suffer through longer lasting and agonizing conditions, such as heart .
disease, progressive renal failure, and cancer. These illnesses inflict horrible pain and suffering without .
bringing about a swift death. Living under these circumstances is asking a person to live a life he or she no .
longer finds worthwhile. By denying a terminally ill person assistance in dying, we are taking away the .
control they have over their own life and the liberty which is guaranteed in the Constitution. .
.
Another group of people believe that assisted suicide is unethical. They say that assisted suicide is .
unethical because it violates the the hippocratic oath that requires physicians to protect the lives and .
welfare of their patients and "keep them from harm and injustice". Because doctors are healers, the .
American Medical Association believes that doctors should not hasten death (Issues and Controversies: .
Assisted Suicide Update n.p.). A huge amount of trust exists between the patient and doctor. The patient .
trusts his doctor to do what is best for him. But what about the terminally ill patient who has been .
suffering for months.