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.