2
Rough Draft
TPOLS 480
The Relationship Between Party Affiliation And Approaches To Medical Aid In Dying
Introduction
Most individuals do not want to actively discuss or evaluate the idea of end-of-life suffering since it can bring about negative feelings regarding the finality of life and the potential struggles associated with ultimately dying. However, although end-of-life suffering is a complicated topic to discuss and examine, it remains essential within the scope of the healthcare industry. More specifically, end-of-life suffering helps influence and shape some of the most critical underpinnings embedded within healthcare innovation and development. Further, the idea of how politics has influenced the decision to end life is of great concern, as nowadays, your political affiliation can decide your right to end-of-life suffering. Evidence from Democratic and Republican States, including Oregon and Texas, respectively, explain the theory that political or party affiliation influences end-of-life suffering and show that local partisan policy-making dramatically affects the potential medical application of MAID practices. As a result, it is essential to discuss end-of-life suffering and the different ways healthcare products and services can potentially reduce the struggle associated with death and terminal illness.
Unlike in many other parts of the world, where end-of-life care is almost entirely normalized, such services and healthcare options remain highly controversial in the United States. End-of-life care is often falsely perceived in many parts of the United States as an unethical practice that closely resembles an act of suicide, also referred to as physician-assisted suicide. A closer examination and assessment of other end-of-life care ultimately show that such offerings are highly controversial, significantly impacted, and influenced by the trajectories of partisanship. In the context of the United States’ two-party system, partisanship refers solely to the process through which individuals and groups will shape their views, understandings, beliefs, values, and ideals in alignment with their supported political party. Thus, partisanship not only serves to polarize approaches in healthcare development but also undermines the possibility of inter-party negotiation and discussions, which significantly reduces the potential for meaningful advancements in the healthcare industry.
Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) is one of the more commonly-discussed and utilized end-of-life care options in the United States, even though it is not legal in all American states. Although MAID is a highly controversial approach to end-of-life care, it is also generally considered more ethical than many other globally-utilized end-of-life options. This is because MAID ensures unlimited amounts of agency and control on the part of the patient. In this regard, it cannot genuinely be considered a form of self-afflicted or physician-assisted suicide. For example, according to Compassion & Choices (2022), a US-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) is an unharmful and reliable method of medical implementation that allows the near end of life patients but still mentally active, to take prescribed medicines which can bring about a peaceful death. Nonprofit organizations, such as Compassion & Choices, often emphasize that Medical Aid in Dying is not assisted suicide, suicide, or euthanasia because it allows for complete forms of agency and control.
In this research, we will look to find the relationship between party affiliations and the approaches to MAID in line with the respective associations in the United States. Medical aid in dying (MAD) has been debated for many years. The United States is politically divided into two major political parties, Democratic and Republican. Both parties have opposite views on MAID, which affects terminally ill people. Since congress has left the decision to states, the importance of MAID is discussed to determine the reasons for its adoption in some states while also looking at its critics, as this to why the Democratic party protects the right to die, while the Republican party opposes it. To illustrate the debates, the research presented will come from Texas. This republican state is against the right to die by diving into the possible angles of their corresponding affiliation on implementing MAID.
An Overview of Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) and its Importance
Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) is a generally supported end-of-life solution that can be offered to individuals suffering from terminal illness and death. The practice helps provide such individuals with peace of mind and comfort during an incredibly challenging period, which impacts them and takes a severe toll on family and loved ones. There is plenty of evidence suggesting that MAID, even in the states where it is legal, is not generally used by most people. However, a tiny group of people may often choose the end-of-life option, which promotes it as the most prominent and meaningful example of genuine person-directed healthcare. By allowing for the possibility of MAID, healthcare institutions would be respecting their patients’ ultimate wishes and, at the same time, allowing patients to assert their personal beliefs within the scope of their approach to death.
Debates and discussions that examine and evaluate the numerous advantages and disadvantages associated with MAID will often be heavily influenced and shaped by the prevalence of evidence-backed information (Dugdale, Lerner, & Callahan, 2019). In this regard, examining closely and understanding how evidence validates or rejects MAID’s undermining arguments can better assess how party affiliation affects the topic and its proponents/opponents. In other words, by carefully analyzing some of the core academic literature addressing MAID, a more effective assessment can be developed about how party affiliation serves not only to impact one’s position but, even more so, their willingness to engage and interact with different forms of misinformation in hopes of propping-up their position against others.
Dating back in time, the origin of the right to die is reflected in a case by the Quinlans in 1975; in the case presented to the New Jersey supreme court, Quinlans the parents to a victim daughter, Karen, who had been in a coma for quite some time, demanded to the court that the respirator used to support Karen’s life be removed and help end her life as she was in too much pain. The supreme court first ruled against the case, but later after the parents appealed, it ruled that Karen had the right to end their life and be removed from the respirator (Parver 2006). Regarding political influence, the republicans and democrats did not engage more on this matter during this time, and a similar ruling was also witnessed later in 1983 in the Cruzan case.
Advocates of MAID argue that there are several benefits and advantages associated with MAID, including the fact that it ultimately protects patients from numerous forms of suffering, which can impact the individual and the family. Furthermore, MAID provides patients suffering from a terminal illness and impending death with the respect, agency, and sympathy that must be offered to all individuals during such periods. Finally, it remains imperative to understand that practices such as MAID can significantly assist in alleviating some of the financial costs, pressures, and workload burdens associated with caring for patients suffering from a terminal illness and inevitable death. Healthcare institutions spend a considerable number of resources taking care of patients with terminal illnesses, which not only places a burden on financial help but also severely impacts the workload of the facility’s staff (Simoens et al., 2010). Therefore, there are several reasons MAID can be promoted positively, and many of these revolve around the fact that it is incredibly respectful of the patient’s wishes, desires, and interests. Finally, implementing MAID in healthcare institutions costs almost nothing, even though it can help alleviate much of the stress associated with caring for terminally ill patients. Also, a pro of the implementation of MAID can be looked at as the respect it has towards a patient’s autonomy; according to (Dugdale, Lerner, & Callahan, 2019), autonomy, in this case, is argued as the rights of a patient to choose what to undergo or avoid with regards to self-participation in medical research and making decisions over their preferences. Lastly, as presented by this argument, MAID implementation can be looked at as a way to end a patient’s suffering, thus providing relief; these are cases where the patient is diagnosed with a terminal ill disease, and hell is refractory.
However, the significant advantages perceived by MAID, which are more of the reasons democrats consider them, also express disadvantages that elevate republicans towards rejecting its legalization. First, it is iterated that a spike in suicide deaths from implementing MAID would ultimately lead to an overall public surge in fatalities. This brought about the term suicide contagion, as explained by Philips, referring to the 1970s. Secondly, it is reported that opponents of MAID continue to point out the number of calls for euthanasia.
Although MAID relies entirely on consent and self-control, it remains a highly controversial topic, particularly in the United States. Currently, all forms of euthanasia are completely and comprehensively banned throughout the United States. This is a federal ban. Unlike euthanasia, however, MAID is authorized in ten US States, plus Washington DC (Procon.org, 2022). Although MAID is particularly useful for patients with minimal time to live, mental clarity, and terminal illness, it remains limited in its application and legalization process. According to Care & Compassion, “Medical aid in dying is fundamentally different from euthanasia… Euthanasia is a deliberate act in which the medication is administered by someone other than the dying person. Throughout comparison, medical assistance in death necessitates the patient to be able to administer the prescription themselves and thus maintain control.” Thus, it is imperative to carefully study how American politics, particularly partisanship, impact the legalization process and application of MAID practices. Moreover, it is essential to evaluate how partisanship and party affiliation influence individual, group, and state approaches to either banning or legalizing MAID practices. By more closely understanding the relationship between MAID practices and party affiliation, broader and more forward-thinking assessments can be developed about how political ideology and affiliation either promote or stifle scientific discovery and innovation.
Republican Affiliation Influencing MAID- Texas
In light of finally making arguments to this paper, on the different sides taken by other political parties, in research about the definitions of right-leaning republicans, the question answered by the article ‘Who Favors Legalizing Physician-Assisted Suicide? The Vote on Michigan’s Proposal B’ by (Strate, Kiska, & Zalman, 2001) outlines the political side that favors on legalization of medical aid for dying. This research, therefore, outlines that republicans have been at the forefront of rejecting any claim of introducing the use of MAID practices by stating some of its disadvantages, thus posing them as right-leaning. Therefore, left-leaning arguments tend to suave in support of the implementation of MAID practice which the otherwise Democrats represent. The statements herein thus show how Texas state has opposed the ideas o MAID practices referring to them as right-leaning.
To understand the party affiliation and political influence in Texas, we briefly view its history and evolution to party affiliation. In the modern day, Texas is known to be a republican party stronghold. Data by Pew research shows that majority of the active political population is republican. However, this was not the case in the early days, and for the last 100 years, the republican party did not have that much influence in Texas. It is even stated in a study on the history of Texas politics that back in those days, the African American community was known to have the majority of influence in Texas republican support; they as much are given credit for aiding in the foundation of the Texas republican influence. Texas would then elect its first republican governor in 1978 after a period of near collapse. With growing influence, Texas would later raise its republican president, George W Bush (texasgop.org, 2020). To this day, the tremendous Republican power in Texas has so far ensured that decisions on party-affiliated matters align with the Republican party accords.
To determine how different political affiliations can ultimately influence MAID, Virginia Hammerle’s article looks into the Texas view of Death with Dignity. Eventually, the author tries to express that a person’s residence may help determine how they die because different regions have different party affiliations. The party affiliations have different views concerning MAID. The Republican party has had a different perspective on health care reforms than the Democrat party. In the health care act, Treating the Terminally ill, the republican party has held its ground opposing euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide or MAID and any other non-consented failure of treatment to a patient for any reason. The republican party believes that instead of allowing for euthanasia and aiding in suicide, efforts to research the illness of the respective patients should be made to try for treatments or ultimately reduce pain to the patient. The republican health care act believes these patients should also be given appropriate care, so they live the rest of their lives much better. Texas has long been a republican state-affiliated. To ensure they fulfill the needs of their party, they have been in the spotlight for refusing to put into law the Aid in Dying. Texas State has put measures ensuring all acts of suicide are illegal, including killing by mercy and allowing actions to end one’s life. In Texas’s view, however, necessary steps should be taken to ensure you die by natural death. To bring out this argument, Virginia Hammerle states that two possible scenarios might arise so that the Texas laws proceed with allowing natural deaths. First, in case a patient has been diagnosed with an incurable disease that will ultimately enable the patient to make decisions as the infection grows worse; secondly, when a pati is diagnosed with a life-ending illness that finally assures death, then for the two cases (Hammerle, 2022), a patient can give instructions to a physician allowing for terminal death.
To further look at the roles of political affiliation in making decisions about assisted suicide, an exciting area of abortion is considered. The consequent ruling of abortion can be used to critique the relationship again of political affiliation in MAID. In a supreme court ruling in 1973 on the case of Roe vs. Wade, the discussion was about whether to allow abortion. Roe, in that case, was mainly against the right to abortion, with his political influence used to affect the supreme court ruling, which upheld his claim. In light of this, democrats for this period curtailing the 1990s to the 2000s continued to endure the decisions against the right to abortion. Also, in the 1997 ruling on the Vacco vs. Quill case, it was ruled that the supreme court does not have the amendments of the right to die, another blowback to the democrat affiliations. Considering these rulings on abortions can also be implied in the MAID case, given both refer to the right to death and are influenced by party affiliations (Paver 2006). Just like the supreme court ruling on abortions, MAID has also seen unbearable efforts in the quest to allow for the right to death in many states. Texas has adopted these rulings and implemented them to date; whenever Texas citizen wants to have an abortion, they are forced to move out to another state that allows for abortion. The theory of laws of abortion can be used in this case to reflect on the medical aid in dying bills. Texas considers such threats to human life or any course that might lead to death as illegal practices, and they have ensured to cultivate them all.
Further, to assess the rate of political influences and affiliations in Texas towards their formal decision-making, we look at (Paver 2006). In this article, the author tries to bring out some of the religious influence and its rise to political participation. There has been increased spiritual power influencing political decisions in Texas. According to data sources from Pew Research, religious importance is perceived as more critical by the majority of republicans in Texas than by democrats. Religious involvement in politics can be traced back to the 1920s when they still had little influence, as denied by then-president Franklin Roosevelt. However, in the 1960s, the rulings by the supreme court on social cultures and moral perceptions saw the rise of religion to politics as they were more involved than before. The influence was so significant that, as mentioned in the article, democrat Jimmy Carter became president of the United States because of the federal participation of religion. By then, President Carter was a fond member of the Baptist church. This surge in power reached the point that religion could influence rulings such as the Roe vs. Wade abortion case. Even recently, they have impacted orders on health care with a specific focus on assisted suicide. Texas is a republican driven state, and more of their views are related to religion; as we saw above, most of the republicans in Texas perceive religion as necessary. This factor has shaped individual ideas on medical aid in dying implementations.
Conclusion
In today’s highly politicized and polarized sociopolitical environment, discussions and debates on MAID remain incredibly controversial. The arguments that shape and influence discussions on MAID are greatly affected by partisanship, and there are clear patterns for how different parties tend to either justify or delegitimize the medical practice based on party ideology. For example, in the study, medical aid in dying (MAID) has been debated for many years. The United States is politically divided into two major political parties, Democratic and Republican. Both parties have opposite views on MAID, which affects terminally ill people. With the power to influence the decision on whether to use MAID lately solely on the authority of states, a keen look at the republican state, Texas, has expressed different views on the matter, politically.
Party affiliation dramatically impacts and influences the trajectories and contours of MAID practices in the United States. Evidence from the Republican States in Texas confirms this statement and shows that local partisan policy-making dramatically affects the potential medical application of MAID practices. Nevertheless, MAID provides patients suffering from a terminal illness and impending death with the respect, agency, and sympathy that must be offered to all individuals during such periods.
However, the revealing benefits and advantages that can result from the practice of MAID are also significant, including the fact that it ultimately protects patients from numerous forms of suffering, which can impact the individual and the family. Furthermore, MAID provides patients suffering from a terminal illness and impending death with the respect, agency, and sympathy that must be offered to all individuals during such periods. Other studied benefits are the rights of a patient to choose what to undergo or avoid concerning self-participation in medical research and making decisions over their preferences. Finally, as presented by several arguments in the study, MAID implementation can only be looked at as a way to end patient suffering, thus providing relief; these are in cases where the patient is diagnosed with a terminal ill disease and suffering is refractory.
The Republican party has had a different view of health care reforms than the Democratic party. In the health care act, Treating the Terminally ill, the republican party has held its ground opposing euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide or MAID and any other non-consented failure of treatment to a patient for any reason. The republican party believes that instead of allowing for euthanasia and aiding in suicide, efforts to research the illness of the respective patients should be made to try for treatments or ultimately reduce pain to the patient. The republican health care act believes these patients should also be given appropriate care, so they live the rest of their lives much better. Texas has long been a republican state-. To ensure they fulfill the needs of their party, they have been in the spotlight for refusing to put into law the Aid in Dying. Texas State has put measures ensuring all acts of suicide are illegal, including killing by mercy and allowing actions to end one’s life. Further political involvements in Texas are observed through interferences by religious organizations who have proven their way in the political heritage, as found in the study. Also, an evident influence in Texas’s decisions to uphold or draw away claims of MAID is the rulings by the supreme court in American law to help shape the findings into the correct life matters, including abortion and MAID. MAID is greatly influenced and affected by party-based bias and affiliation. To ensure moving forward, clear directives on MAID are implemented, the democratic and republican party affiliates need to join together and solve the issue by coming up with better laws to guide the healthcare sectors into matters of medical aid in dying.
References
Abdel-Razig, S., Anglade, P., & Ibrahim, H. (2022). Deconstructing Bias in Academia: Retracted Publications on Gender and Medicine. The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, 363(3), 279-280.
Barry, C. L., Sherman, S. G., Stone, E., Kennedy-Hendricks, A., Niederdeppe, J., Linden, S., & McGinty, E. E. (2019). Arguments supporting and opposing legalization of safe consumption sites in the US. International Journal of Drug Policy, 63, 18-22.
Compassion & Choices. (2022). Our issues medical aid in dying. Compassion & Choices. Retrieved November 28, 2022, from https://www.compassionandchoices.org/our-issues/medical-aid-in-dying
D;, D. (2019). Pros and Cons of Physician Aid in Dying. Retrieved December 7, 2022, from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31866790/
Dugdale, L., Lerner, B., & Callahan, D. (2019, December 20). Pros and Cons of Physician Aid in Dying. Retrieved December 7, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6913818/
Hammerle, V. (2022, July 17). Directive to Physicians: The Texas Version of ‘death with dignity’. Retrieved December 7, 2022, from https://www.dallasnews.com/sponsored/2022/07/17/directive-to-physicians-the-texas-version-of-death-with-dignity/
Parver, C. (2006). The politics of dying: how the religious right has come to
influence the right-to-die debate. Temple Political & Civil Rights Law Review, 15(2),
449-474.
Procon.org. (2022, July 07). States with legal physician-assisted suicide – euthanasia – procon.org. Retrieved December 7, 2022, from https://euthanasia.procon.org/states-with-legal-physician-assisted-suicide/
RepublicanViews.org. (2018, February 03). Republican Views on Health Care: Republican Views. Retrieved December 7, 2022, from https://www.republicanviews.org/republican-views-on-health-care/
Strate, J., Kiska, T., & Zalman, M. (2001). Who Favors Legalizing Physician-Assisted Suicide? the vote on Michigan’s proposal B. Politics and the Life Sciences, 20(2), 155-163. doi:10.1017/s073093840000544x
Texasgop.org. (2020, August 18). Overview and history. Retrieved December 7, 2022, from https://texasgop.org/overview-and-history/
Final Paper grading criteria
Criteria
Things to Work On
Current rating
Makes a coherent argument, has a clear structure with a logic that is easy to follow.
This is the key thing you need to work on; what is your research question and thesis. Right now it is not very clear. It’s also not clear whether you are doing an argumentative essay, or just an expository essay. If the latter, then your research question should be something like ‘how does party affiliation influence state laws on MAID?’ If you are focusing on only the Republican party, state that right from the outset.
1/3
Cites minimum of 10 relevant, peer-reviewed scholarly sources in Chicago style
Until you have made your research question clearer, it is hard to evaluate how relevant your sources are. See my comments in the text – there are lots of places where you need to provide more citations to support your claims, or to explain what a thing (e.g. an Act) is.
1/2
Uses direct quotations judiciously
In your final version, bring in some direct quotes to support your position, but focus first on the logic of your argument.
.5/2
Meets the minimum length requirement of 4000 word
1/1
Is generally free of formatting, typographical and grammatical errors and is well polished
Some sections are much better grammatically than others. I’d recommend using the writing center to help get things consistent.
1/2
4.5