Assisted Suicide: A Sociological Perspective

Julie Arsenault 1031575

Karen Taylor
Norquest College
Sociology 1000
March 17, 2015

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The Huffington Post, in a recent article on assisted suicide, asked a very interesting
sociological question: Who is in charge of our lives? This question is one with countless
answers, opinions, and perspectives. Specifically, the question of assisted suicide has become a
very controversial subject that is igniting a fierce debate. This paper will discuss the subject of
assisted suicide from a sociologist perspective. In sociology, there are different perspectives;
that is, different ways to approach and analyze a situation. Sociologists with a functionalist
perspective view our societal structure as necessary in order to teach societal norms, values,
expectations, and the like. A sociologist with a conflict perspective; however, views situations as
determined by class. They fight against a society whose law is moulded by a small group of
higher elite. One such law, the legalization of assisted suicide, is a widely controversial
phenomenon. Assisted suicide is most commonly depicted as an individual who wishes to die
and requests the help of another person either through advice or through providing the individual
with the tools to perform the act itself. A functionalist will argue that assisted suicide must
remain punishable by law, as these laws are essential to the maintenance of a safe and structured
society. Meanwhile, a conflict theorist will argue that elite discourses, such as the law prohibiting
assisted suicide, should give way to individual autonomy and their right to choose.
In order to understand the arguments of a functionalist versus a conflict theorist on the
elite discourse of the legalization of assisted suicide, one must first appreciate the foundational
ideas behind the two perspectives. Functionalism is described by Symbaluk and Bereska (2013)
as seeing the world through rose-colored sunglasses (p.11). That is, order is maintained by each
and every structure in society: law, politics, education, economy, family, religion, social
programs, business, development, and so forth. All play a part in maintaining balance. A
functionalists overriding concern is how equilibrium is maintained should something go

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awry with one of the structures, the entire social order is at risk of collapsing (Symbaluk &
Bereska, 2013, p. 11). Emile Durkheim, a sociologist who gave rise to the functionalist
framework, coined the term anomie. He stated that in time of dramatic structural change, we face
a risk of the population feeling a sense of normlessness- anomie- and in response, people react
with deviant behaviours and succumb to impulses which are encouraged by the lack of societal
rules/structure. In summary, the functionalist perspective views elite theories and societal
structures as necessary in maintaining peace and order in the world. While a functionalist
supports societys structures, another perspective, the conflict perspective, fights these same
societal structures.
According to the conflict perspective, our world is structured in order to have a small,
powerful elite group of people create our laws, build our social structure, and control our
resources. In doing so, they hold authority over the larger remaining powerless population below
them. According to Symbaluk and Bereska (2013), a conflict theorists perspective can best be
appreciated as observing society through dark sunglasses (p. 12). The conflict perspective
emphasizes the division in society between the powerful elite on top and the powerless masses
on the bottom. Perhaps the most famous of the conflict theorists was Karl Marx. Marx
consistently emphasized societal structures as determined by a constant competition over scarce
resources. Those at the top control the resources, and hence, have a vested interest in creating
laws and structuring society in such a way as to keep the large group of powerless people at the
bottom; to allow more people to reach the top would mean having to share their own resources
with them (Symbaluk & Bereska, 2013, p. 12). A conflict theorist would push away existing
social structure and its resulting laws in order to enable the powerless masses to rise up in society
and take control of their own lives. A conflict theorist would encourage the masses to pursue

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social movements in favor of reformative change. They would encourage the public to appeal to
the government in order to fight the current social structure which would encourage a true
consensus and group involvement. One such social movement, although highly controversial, is
that of physician assisted suicide.
Suicide has been practiced for as long as humans have lived. It is a convoluted,
controversial, and calamitous act that is incredibly unthinkable, even to those who have lived or
studied the experience. Unfortunately, some who struggle with depression, mental health
disorders, finances, relationships, or different life pressures may act on their thoughts because
they see suicide as their only way out. Individuals with physical and fatal diagnoses have fought
in court for their right to assistance in committing suicide when they are unable to do so
themselves. The Supreme Court of Canada has recently struck down the law prohibiting assisted
suicide. The Canadian government must rewrite a new law within the next year in order to make
this change; consequently, there has been much debate whether this is something that should
pass. It is important to stipulate the parameters of assisted suicide for this study. This study will
discuss assisted suicide in that it is of the individuals own will and of their consent. They must
be over eighteen, suffering a terminal illness and experiencing irrepressible pain. This decision
must be approved by a doctor, and often with a second doctors opinion. For obvious reasons,
this phenomenon is highly debated with as many fierce reasons why to support as there are why
to fight this law. From a sociological perspective, it is important to emphasize and evaluate the
law and each individuals part they have to play in the development of this rising movement.
Legalizing assisted suicide puts us at risk. Rhonda Wiebe, co-chair of the Council of
Canadians with Disabilities, speaks out against assisted suicide. The CCD opposes government
action to decriminalize assisted suicide because of the serious potential for abuse and the

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negative image of people with disabilities that would be produced if people [were] killed with
state sanction (Council for Canadians with Disabilities Online, 2013). Of all the reasons assisted
suicide is opposed, this argument is one of the most frequent. That is, if we legalized assisted
suicide for those suffering from terminal illness, what is to come next? In the book Social Ethics:
Morality and Social Policy, Mappes, Zembaty and DeGrazia (2012) coin the term slippery
slope in order to emphasize the danger in legalizing assisted suicide. The slippery slope
argument is a major consideration when searching to understand a functionalists perspective on
this topic. According to functionalist theory, social structures serve to keep society working in
harmony; therefore, it would be argued that laws and punishments against assisted suicide are
necessary to maintain a peaceful, stable society. Without these structures the legalization of
voluntary active euthanasia would lead us down a slippery slope to the legalization of nonvoluntary (and perhaps involuntary) euthanasia (Mappes, Zembaty, & DeGrazia, 2012, p. 63).
Emile Durkhiem, mentioned earlier, states that suicide [is] wrong because it violate[s] the
fundamental principle upon which societies [are] grounded- the sacredness of the individual
(Tierney, 2010, p. 380-381). In agreement, others adopting this same framework argue for the
necessity of these structures in order to prevent condemning vulnerable populations the poor,
disabled, and the less articulate: from pressure to accelerate their death (Odone, 2012, p. 102103). A functionalist will argue that the slippery slope will be a result of the lack of structure
and norms felt by society; that is, anomie. It is these norms or in this case, laws, that hold our
society together.
While a functionalist argues that law and structure are necessary to a well-designed
society, a conflict theorist will contest that it is the small number of corporate elite who develop
society and construct our laws, selfishly, in order to maximize personal gain. A conflict theorist

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would encourage individuals to stand up and push back against these established structures and
laws. There are courageous individuals who stand up to established norms and regulations every
day. One such example is the case of Brittany Maynard. Brittany Maynard was a twenty-nineyear-old American citizen, diagnosed with glioblastoma multiform, a brain cancer which gave
her only months to live. She has become the newest face for the Right to Die campaign.
Following her diagnosis, she and her family moved to Oregon where physicians are permitted
to write prescriptions for a lethal dose of medication for people [with] six months to live and
whom have reached the age of maturity (Richmond, Yakunina, & Werth, 2012, p. 154). An
article on the Huffington Post online website reported that on November 1st, Maynard selfadministered her medication in the bedroom of her Oregon rental surrounded by her family
and her closest friend. The same article, published by the Huffington Post, eerily echoes that of a
conflict theorist in urging thinking people to stand up and fight for issues in which they
believe. Those in power brainwash us to believe [that] we need their laws, dogma, and
leadership to live our lives so they can exert their control (Seibold, Huffington Post, 2014).
Brittanys legacy lives on through those who support her cause. People are moved to action by
her story without realizing that they are part of such a sociological phenomenon. It has pushed
people to stand up for what they believe in. unknowingly using their sociological imaginations..
They argue their wishes and propel their movement by asking a question of politicians, leaders,
corporate executives, the public, of all of us: who is in charge of our lives? (Seibold,
Huffington Post, 2014).
Who is granted the right to determine our laws and make our choices? The Council of
Canadians with Disabilities depicts a functionalist perspective by arguing that the legalization of
assisted suicide would open the way for non-voluntary and involuntary euthanasia. Our

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government and related social structures are, consequently, necessary to the maintenance of
public safety. On the other side of the movement is the face of Brittany Maynard. Maynard
represents the conflict perspective in that she fought the system. She challenged the government
by asking why they have the right to make choices for us all. Whose decision was it to take her
power away? Sociology asks us all to think with a sociological imagination: always searching for
associations between individual actions and beliefs and the macro-level and micro-level
structures that act as driving forces.

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References
Council of Canadians with Disabilities. 2013. Euthanasia/Assisted suicide. Retrieved from
http://www.ccdonline.ca/en/humanrights/endoflife/euthanasia
Haerens, M. (2012). Global Viewpoints. Suicide. Farmington Hills, MI. Greenhaven Press - Gale
Cengage Learning.
Mappes, T. A., Zembaty, J. S., & DeGrazia, D. (2012). Social ethics. Morality and social policy.
(8th ed.). New York, NY. McGraw-Hill Companies.
Shrivastava, A., Kimbrell, M., & Lester, D. (2012). Suicide from a global perspective.
Vulnerable populations and controversies. New York, NY. Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
Siebold, S. (2014). Keep Brittany Maynards legacy alive and legalize physician-assisted suicide.
The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-siebold/keepbrittany-maynards-le_b_6062914.html
Symbaluk, D. G., & Bereska, T. M. (2013). Sociology in action. A Canadian perspective.
Toronto, ON. Nelson Education.
Tierney, T. F. (2010). The governmentality of suicide: Peuchet, Marx, Durkheim, and Foucault.
Journal of Classical Sociology. Vol. 10, 4. P. 357-389. DOI:
10.1177/1468795X10379677