CNN’s Role in Public Policy Debate on Physician-Assisted Suicide

The Role of Media in Public Policy Debate

The debate on whether media act in a contributory or a conduit role during public policy debate is a salient central point in scholarly work. The public policy debate in this research will focus on whether or not a critically-ill person can be given right to choose at what time and location of his or her demise (Silverman, 2017).

Debate on the Right to Choose

Every individual has a journey on this planet from the time they are born to the time of their ultimate death. The debate on whether an ill person can be within the legal framework to obtain help from a physician to terminate his or her life. The debate has been going on almost longer than six decades in the U.S. Only a small number of citizens have lived in a state where this kind of policy was legalized such as the state of California (Silverman, 2017). Death through assistant by a physician in California was legalized in October the year 2015. The media house that covered and assisted in this public policy debate is the CNN.

The Media’s Influence

Through the media shedding some light to the vast audience on how the process is carried out, many people have been able to grasp the facts on the issue and its significance. Practically, more states in the United States have been looking forward to legalizing the procedures. CNN has promulgated the process of physician-assisted suicide in several ways during their broadcasts. CNN has shared policies which are similar to the core with coalitions and disseminates news such as policy core beliefs which shape outcomes of the policy. The media further assisted in reflecting the ongoing arguments in the policy area and this aided in showing what was going on about the policy being debated (Sung, 2016).

References

McCombs, M. (2014). Setting the agenda: Mass media and public opinion. John Wiley & Sons.

Silverman, A. (2017). Physician-Assisted Suicide: Removing Residency Requirements in the US to Comport with an International Right to Health. San Diego Int’l LJ, 19, 193.

Sung, C. (2016). Deciding with Dignity: The Terminally Ill Patient’s Right to Information About the California End of Life Option Act. Hastings Const. LQ, 44, 89.