Should we be allowed to choose if we want to die?

by Austin Petersen

Paralyzed Man Chooses To End Life Support

DECATUR, IN- Doctors removed the ventilator tube of Timothy “Tim” Bowers at his request after he suffered a debilitating injury while deer hunting in the woods of Decatur, Indiana. Tim was paralyzed after he fell from a deer stand and suffered a major spinal injury. He was unable to move or breath on his own and so his family asked doctors to bring him out of sedation so they could ask him what he wanted to do with his options. They told him that he could have surgery to fuse his vertebrae but he wouldn’t be able to walk or live outside of a hospital ever again. His sister Jenny Schultz said, “We just asked him, ‘Do you want this?’

Bowers shook his head. He had this discussion with his family before and indicated he didn’t want to spend life in a wheelchair. Doctors questioned him repeatedly on whether or not he wanted the tube to be removed. He responded the same. He didn’t want to stay. “I just remember him saying so many times that he loved us all and that he lived a great life,” Schultz said. “At one point, he was saying, ‘I’m ready. I’m ready.'”

Director of the Charles Warren Fairbanks Center for Medical Ethics in Indianapolis Dr. Paul Helft said that cases in which the patient makes the decision are those which compromise the body, but leave the mind intact. “We give patients autonomy to make all kinds of decisions about themselves,” he said. “We’ve recognized that it’s important that patients have the right to self-determination.”

Bowers was married just this August and left behind a pregnant wife, stepson and “Baby Bowers”.

Should anyone be allowed the right to choose to die if they wish? Leave your comments and thoughts below. 

Austin Petersen is a homegrown Missourian with a lifelong passion for liberty. He grew up on a horse farm in Peculiar, Missouri and went on to attend Missouri State University, graduating with a degree in the Fine Arts. After developing a career in media in both New York City and Washington, D.C., he returned to Kansas City, MO, the city he now calls home. In 2016, Petersen appeared on the national stage as a candidate for president of the United States. He took second place in the crowded Libertarian primary behind Governor Gary Johnson and ahead of cyber security maverick John McAfee. During his campaign, Petersen earned many high-profile conservative endorsements, including Mary Matalin, Erick Erickson and Leon Wolf of RedState.com. Petersen also brings decades of professional experience in a wide variety of fields, from content production and media to business and political activism. He is the owner and chief executive of Stonegait LLC, a consulting firm specializing in photo and video services. He was also the director of production at FreedomWorks and an associate producer for Judge Andrew Napolitano’s show “Freedom Watch” on the Fox Business Network. Additionally, Petersen has a national following as a commentator and professional pundit. He is the founder of The Libertarian Republic, a powerful online news source for the public that receives an average of 1 million unique visits monthly and whose podcast, The Freedom Report, receives an average of one million monthly downloads. He is also a frequent contributor on television, appearing on Fox News, Fox Business, CNN, MSNBC and on dozens of local radio shows.

5 comments

James Tappan November 6, 2013 at 1:06 pm

Yes. Your body, Your life, Your decision.

Rafał Trąbski November 6, 2013 at 1:47 pm

Axiom of self-possession says that you are only person who can decide about your life or death, nobody else. If anyone (person or government) want to decide that, breaks non-aggression principle.

Sarah-Kate Glenn November 6, 2013 at 5:01 pm

If you don’t want to be alive that’s your decision and no one else’s business. You don’t need a reason, other than the fact that it’s your life and your choice.

Inconsistencies November 6, 2013 at 10:17 pm

I’m surprised you don’t need a permit.

Patricia Scott November 7, 2013 at 3:39 am

After reading the book final exit, years ago it is obvious the law wants to manage all decision or make the death on their own call. People have the right to live a dignified life or pass away in a dignified manner. It should not be up to the government to make that call.

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