Societal Expectations and The Traditional Role of Women

An important component to consider as one explores physician assisted suicide and euthanasia in the elderly is the affect that gender has on an individual during the aging process. This issue is important because societal expectations, which differ drastically between men and women, could perhaps impact whether an individual of either sex might opt for one of these procedures. In this entry I will be focusing specifically on women and how their decision regarding physician assisted suicide might be influenced by traditional societal expectations.

            Traditionally, the role that women have fulfilled in families is that of caretaker and nurturer. While it’s true that this role has begun to change as women have transitioned towards the pursuit of career, and begun to share the role of homemaker with men, in the generation previous to ours this was generally not yet the case. It is this generation (the one previous to ours) that accounts for the current elderly population, and so, these traditional roles could be influencing the current rate of those of advancing years who opt for physician assisted suicide. Many women who have held the role of caretaker throughout their life feel high levels of pressure to continue to act out this role even late into life (Wolf, 282). Many women also report feeling as though they have failed in their duties when they are no longer able to care for others (Parks, 30). Additionally, for those who have spent their lives in the role of nurturer it may feel wrong, or even shameful, to be the recipient of caretaking as they age. A sense of chagrin could affect a terminally ill elderly woman’s decision regarding physician assisted suicide if she believed that opting for help in ending her life would be a means to avoid being an ongoing burden on her family (Parks, 30). Societal expectations could lead an elderly woman to pursue this course of action as a means of avoiding this role reversal (McCredie, 25). This is a conflict that is likely unique to women because they, and not men, have typically identified with the role of nurturer and caretaker and would experience the greatest anxiety at having this role reversed. While men might also consider physician assisted suicide it seems clear that, in terms of societal expectations, different dynamics might influence their decision than those affecting a woman’s decision.           

McCreadie, C.. (2008). Public Attitudes to Euthanasia. Working With Older People, 12(1), 24-26.  Retrieved February 29, 2012, from Health Module. (Document ID: 1448406071).

Parks, Jennifer A. "Why Gender Matters to the Euthanasia Debate." The Hastings Center Report (2000): 30. Print.

S. Wolf, “Gender, Feminism, and Death: Physician-Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia,” in Feminism & Bioethics: Beyond Reproduction. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996. P 282-317. Print.

Euthanasia and Physician Assisted Suicide in Asian Culture

        As previously noted, the majority of people who have opted to undergo physician assisted suicide in the state of Oregon have been of Caucasian decent. Following the Caucasian population, the next most common racial group to undergo this procedure are those of Asian decent, who have accounted for 1.3% of all patients who have chosen to end their lives with the help of a medical professional (Oregon Health Authority, 2011). Statistically, individuals of Asian decent make up a mere 3.7% of the population of the state of Oregon, indicating a discrepancy of only 2.4% when compared to the entire population pool where physician assisted suicide is concerned (U.S. Census Bureau, 2012). This is not a very large difference, and one might theorize that whatever religious or cultural factors that limited the use of physician assisted suicide in Hispanic ethnic groups, offer no such constraints for those of Asian decent. In a previous blog the issue of all suicide, from a Roman Catholic perspective, was examined. The conclusion was reached that within the American Hispanic community physician assisted suicide was rejected on moral grounds. Perhaps the higher rate of Asian Americans opting for this procedure indicates a different religious or moral perspective. To understand whether or not this is the case it becomes necessary to look at how this procedure is viewed in Asian countries, and whether these views might be carried over into Asian American culture.

         In China, while physician assisted suicide and euthanasia are not common practices, there are recorded instances of both taking place. There are more than a thousand recorded cases of either euthanasia or physician assisted suicide --being performed between the years of 1989 and 1995. These practices have only become more common in recent years (Qui, 161). The commonality and acceptance of these procedures would likely have an influence on Chinese-Americans, who are in direct contact with family members, or friends, who remain in China. As these practices have become more accepted and utilized in China, more Chinese-Americans could potentially begin to feel more culturally comfortable with the procedures. The presence of these practices in Chinese culture may be due, in part, to the widely held opinion that the Confucian religion, which is one of the predominant religions in China, does not directly oppose these practices (Ping-cheung, 55). In Japan, another country that feeds directly into the Asian American population, statistics show that fully 70% of the population supports the use of either passive or active euthanasia in terminally ill or elderly patients (Tanida, 339). The support of these practices in Japan could also carry over into Asian American culture making physician assisted suicide and euthanasia for the elderly seemingly more acceptable to this ethnic group.

Ping-cheung, Lo. "Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide from Confucian Moral Perspective." Springer Science+Business Media B.V., 14 Jan. 2010. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://www.springerlink.com.libproxy.usc.edu/content/mr71046632341748/fulltext.pdf>.

Qui, Renzong. Philosophy and Medicine. Vol. 80. Norwell, MA: Kluwer Academic, 2004. 161-65. Print.

Tanida, Noritoshi. "The View of Religions toward Euthanasia and Extraordinary Treatments in Japan." Journal of Religion and Health. Springer, 2000. Web. 25 Feb. 2012. <http://www.jstor.org.libproxy.usc.edu/stable/27511486?seq=5>.

Oregon Health Authority. Public Health. Oregon.gov. 7 Jan. 2011. Web. 29 Jan. 2012. http://public.health.oregon.gov/ProviderPartnerResources/EvaluationResearch/DeathwithDignityAct/Pages/index.aspx.

United States of America. U.S. Census Bureau. Oregon Quick Facts. 17 Jan. 2012. Web. 29 Jan. 2012. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/41000.html