Assisted Suicide in Oregon...what do you think?

[Zero]

Originally posted by Tuomerehu
If people constantly demand to be able to kill themselves, they should be allowed
to do so. However, we should check very carefully that this emotion isn't just
temporary desperation and bitterness.

As long as the invididual owns it's body, it should be allowed to do it whatever
it wants. OTOH, we should, as in other cases, inform them properly
if we do think that the action what it is going to do is stupid, to be really
sure that it's really what it want's.

Small OT-quiz: Count the grammar and spelling errors in this post.

I agree. We should make every effort to advise people agst suicide, because most of the time its really a bad choice. But to take away the freedom from an individual that owns the right to their own life by forcing them to live on is ridiculous.

[SlowwHand]

Suicide is mostly cowardly; however, in a case of terminal cancer, for instance, where the patient is in agonizing pain, I'm for it.
Besides, the sawbones have gotten there share, time to let the ghoul morticians feed their families.

[pg]

i don't see how you can be against this unless you have some wacky religious perspective. most of the costs of health care come in the last months of life, and the pain and suffering is usually very bad for all involved. from personal experience one of my grand parents was literally kept alive for ~1 yr or so as just former shadow of who he was. he couldn't bath himself, his mental capacity had vanished yet they probably spent a small fortune keeping him alive for no point whatsoever except to prolong his suffering, and ours. it was obvious he was not going to get better and did not want to live. i can't understand why this happens so much.

[pg]

Originally posted by Stuie
I knew a man that ended up shooting himself because of his pain and suffering and the complete loss of any sort of quality life. He committed suicide because there was no other option for him. The unfortunate side-effect was that his wife (a friend of my wife) had to find him with his brains all over the floor.

If assisted suicide had been an option, maybe she could have participated in a more constructive way rather than being left with the bloody mess.

someone people are just condemned. i think i'm one of them.

[Stuie]

Originally posted by pg


someone people are just condemned. i think i'm one of them.

Not sure what you're saying there....

But I'll take the opportunity (since you quoted my post) to say that by saying "If assisted suicide had been an option, maybe she could have participated in a more constructive way rather than being left with the bloody mess..." I'm not saying it was right for the guy to kill himself. I think it was wrong not to seek some counseling and involve his family in the decision. Maybe suicide was ultimately the only option, but since it's "illegal", he couldn't involve others in making that decision or seek sound medical/psychological advice in making the determination. It was really rough going to the funeral wondering if something else could have been done.

[Ben Kenobi]

I voted for the personal affront to God.
Way to skew the poll.

Suicide is mostly cowardly; however, in a case of terminal cancer, for instance, where the patient is in agonizing pain, I'm for it.

Ever hear about palliative care, Slowwhand? There are ways to reduce the pain and suffering of terminally ill patients.

One problem with assisted suicide is the conflict for doctor's ethics. If one believes that the doctors must first do no harm, then how does one justify giving even a terminally ill patient drugs to kill himself?

Secondly, how can one justify ranking pain with the value of one life? All life consists of pain in one form or another, unless we can objectively measure pain, why limit assisted suicide to the terminally ill?

[SuperSneak]

My grandmother is a good example of why assisted suicide is a decent idea (although being a devout Catholic, she probably would have passed). In the last couple of years of her life, she had a stroke and was reduced to a very child-like state of mind. She didn't recognize my father and alternated between calm and chaos. Due to diabetes, she had to have both of her legs amputated at the knees. Some life, eh?
I tell you...if that was me, I'd want someone to put a pillow over my face and finish me off.

[SlowwHand]

My brother and I have a pact.
No worries for me in that regard.

[SuperSneak]

How many of you would want someone to "put you down" if you were no longer living a decent life?

And, more specifically, what constitutes "quality of life" to you? I don't know if I could even deal with life as a paralysis victim myself...what are your limits?

[Shi Huangdi]

Personally I would consider such a procedure to be morally wrong, but I don't think the government should be able to ban it.

My only real concern with Assisted Suicide laws is the possibility of cases where the "patient" isn't completely consenting. This happens sometimes is the Netherlands where Euthanasia is legal where Euthanasia is performed without full consent given. I don't if any of you have been around terminally ill people, but often when attacked by debilitating disease they are weak and are extremely reliant on their family. It is also puts an incredible toll on the family taking care of people with terminal diseases that is really hard to understand unless you have had to do it. SOme families might take advantage of this law to place pressure on the would be "patient" to undergo the procedure. ALso, under some advanced stages of the disease, it becomes next to impossible for the person to communicate. In such a case a family could have him euthanized without the person able to get out that he/she doesn't want to undergo the procedure.

[Jac de Molay]

Ever hear about palliative care, Slowwhand? There are ways to reduce the pain and suffering of terminally ill patients.

There are many, many instances where palliative care is just plain cruel in cases where people are in unbelievable amounts of pain.

My mother, in her last stages of cancer, was on the strongest opiates out there, transdermal Fentanyl, and still had constant, excruciating bone pain. Fortunately, she died before she could be moved to a hospice, which would prolong the agony.

I'm for the legalization of it because allows a much better oversight of who's killing themselves and who's doing the killing.

When Jack Kevorkian started out, he was considered a godsend in the movement. But, after a while, he was literally dropping bodies out of the back of his van at various Detroit hospitals. I would like to think there would be a lot less of this it were legal.

[RGBVideo]

What is morally wrong with suicide, btw?

My only real concern with Assisted Suicide laws is the possibility of cases where the "patient" isn't completely consenting. This happens sometimes is the Netherlands where Euthanasia is legal where Euthanasia is performed without full consent given. I don't if any of you have been around terminally ill people, but often when attacked by debilitating disease they are weak and are extremely reliant on their family. It is also puts an incredible toll on the family taking care of people with terminal diseases that is really hard to understand unless you have had to do it. SOme families might take advantage of this law to place pressure on the would be "patient" to undergo the procedure. ALso, under some advanced stages of the disease, it becomes next to impossible for the person to communicate. In such a case a family could have him euthanized without the person able to get out that he/she doesn't want to undergo the procedure.

to your opinion.

[Jon Miller]

I wouldn't commit suicide

I would ust go for an extended journey in the andes or cascades or something with inadequent provisions

Jon Miller

[Zkribbler]

Originally posted by Japher
Cop assisted suicide is the best!

Not true. Suicide by cop really f**ks up the cop. They have to go through the rest of their lives knowing that they've killed someone. I've heard from cops of their buddies quitting the force after such shootings.

[Ben Kenobi]

How many of you would want someone to "put you down" if you were no longer living a decent life?

And, more specifically, what constitutes "quality of life" to you? I don't know if I could even deal with life as a paralysis victim myself...what are your limits?

I take it a day at a time.

Quality of life? I can still breathe.

Detroit Dave:

There are many, many instances where palliative care is just plain cruel in cases where people are in unbelievable amounts of pain.

My mother, in her last stages of cancer, was on the strongest opiates out there, transdermal Fentanyl, and still had constant, excruciating bone pain. Fortunately, she died before she could be moved to a hospice, which would prolong the agony.

We need better painkillers? How will assisted suicide help us to make better painkillers that can deal with this type of pain?

I would like to think there would be a lot less of this it were legal.

Rather than dropping in the back of vans, they'll drop in hospitals, tucked away from everyone else.