{"id":230757,"date":"2020-09-15T16:43:17","date_gmt":"2020-09-15T21:43:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=230757"},"modified":"2020-09-16T13:59:26","modified_gmt":"2020-09-16T18:59:26","slug":"terminal-illness-claim-need-assisted-suicide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/terminal-illness-claim-need-assisted-suicide\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a ‘terminal illness’, and why do some claim we need assisted suicide for it?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For advocates of assisted suicide, there is a reason often given for why it is supposedly needed: so people with terminal illnesses<\/em> can have the ability to kill themselves, rather than suffer painfully until they die. Eight states, along with Washington, D.C., have legalized assisted suicide for people with terminal illness, as have numerous countries around the world, like Belgium, Canada, and the Netherlands. New Zealanders will be voting next month<\/a> on a referendum legalizing euthanasia. But what really makes an illness “terminal”? And why do assisted suicide advocates insist that it be legal for these types of illnesses?<\/p>\n

Simply put, a terminal illness<\/a> is a disease which cannot be cured, and which is expected to cause the death of the patient at some point. But it is important to note that there is no time limit on when<\/em> the terminal illness is expected to cause death<\/strong>. Before insulin was discovered, Type 1 diabetes<\/a> was considered a “terminal” disease. HIV is now considered a chronic disease<\/a>\u00a0rather than a terminal illness, thanks to antiretroviral therapy. Without antiretroviral drugs, HIV will develop into AIDS, which is<\/em> a terminal illness. Most people who are diagnosed with HIV in the United States are able to manage the disease, and therefore, do not develop AIDS. However, for those that do, life expectancy is generally three years<\/a> after AIDS develops.<\/p>\n