What do you do when a person’s dying wish is to end the pain they suffer from each day? Does a patient suffering from a terminal illness have the right to decide to end their life? What happens when all treatment options are exhausted and living becomes a daily battle with chronic pain?

A typical American girl may be thinking of going to school or hanging out with friends, but a 14-year-old from Appleton, Wis. battled the decision to end her life.

Jerika Bolen, who ignited a nationwide debate in recent months over the right to die, passed away on Thursday after she stopped her medical treatment ending her lifelong fight against Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 2.

According to the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 2 is “a genetic condition which affects the nerves that control muscle movement – the motor neurons.”

The disease is so named because it affects the nervous system by disabeling the motor neurons, and as a result of no stimulation they eventually atrophy or become essentially non-functional.

Fox News reported that Jerika had almost no control of her muscles and required a wheel chair to get around. She had undergone 30 surgeries and was in pain every day. If Jerika were to have continued the fight, she would have been facing more surgery and recovery which would ultimately increase her pain and simply postpone the inevitable.

Death with Dignity laws allow qualified terminally-ill adults to voluntarily request and receive a prescription medication to accelerate their death. At the current time, California, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington have Death with Dignity laws. Physician-assisted dying is legal by State Supreme Court ruling in Montana.

Jerika’s decision to remove her ventilator has been questioned by many people, especially because she’s only 14 years old. However Washington Post reports that, “The alternative: She would lose the ability to control her hands and to speak, while experiencing more crushing pain and surgery along the way to an inevitable death.”

Jerika’s battle with Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 2 started a needed conversation about right-to-die laws.  Her story made me see that a patient should have the right to die in certain situations, especially when they suffer from chronic pain that only gets worse.

First of all, sometimes death brings a patient to the end of their pain and suffering. They can end their pain when there is no hope for relief. Right-to-die laws give patients the chance to arrange for final goodbyes with their loved ones.

Patients should have an opportunity to die with dignity, without fear of losing their mental or physical capabilities. Physician assistance helps patients have a better chance of experiencing a less traumatic death.

Medical intervention has enabled life to extend past what nature might have wanted, but sometimes that’s not always in the best interest of a patient who’s suffering with no hopes of recovery.

Those against the right to die say that physicians make mistakes that the patient may ease their suffering or could potentially be cured if the patient were to seek a second opinion or different course of treatment. Physician’s assistance in dying violates the Hippocratic Oath. The argument could also be made that choosing to take one’s own life disgraces the value of human life.

A patient’s pain and suffering could be relieved through palliative care. Those who are against the right to die say that if the right to die becomes prevalent in the United States, palliative care would no longer be available.

Some disabilities rights advocates pleaded with Jerika to rethink her decision due to her age. Because she’s 14 does it really mean she’s any less able to accept that she has to life he life in an immense amount of pain?

Carrie Ann Lucas, executive direction of Disabled Parents Rights told USA Today, “A child doesn’t have the capacity to make those types of decisions, and under the eyes of the law, this is a child.”

To me, Jerika made the decision that was best for her, regardless of her age. Jerika’s decision makes sense to me given that her days are filled with pain. But what do you think? Should Right-to-die laws be implemented at the federal level?

Liz Kacher is an opinion writer for The Dakota Student. She can be reached at [email protected]