Euthanasia

It's a topic missing on this forum I think. Personally, I would have to say that it's your life, nobody elses, and especially if you have a terminal disease that is leaving you in great discomfort, why should you be kept alive against your wishes and who has the right to do this?

I often hear the argument, God is the only one with the right to give and take life. Thing is, I don't believe in God, and if he leaves me in such pain as the unfortunate people that get these illnesses, then I don't want anything to do with him if he keeps me alive.

I hope this will spark an interesting debate.

 

Well, simply put, I agree with you. If I am suffering and my fate is set, I cannot imagine why one would make a law forcing me to accept a long, slow and painful death.

However, I do struggle with this. Say I am in an accident that leaves me in a coma and on life support. Half my family wants to pull the plug and the other half wants to wait and see. What is done? Chances are I will never wake and spend several years wasting away in a hospital bed. Or, I could simply snap out of it as many have done in the past. If I have no legal documentation covering this circumstance, and many do not, how do we proceed?

-Castle

 

A coma (whilst a terrible thing) is alright compared to a slow, painful death from a terminal disease. In a coma you can't feel the pain, you don't think about your impending death. In a coma, you just lie there, and the pain is with your family. If theres a chance you're going to wake up though, why not go for it?

I just don't want someone telling me that I have to sit there with my lungs filling up with fluid and my heart failing in the name of their religion and its views on the sanctity of life.

 

There are different degrees of coma. Some are very deep. Some are not. People who have recovered from coma can quote conversations that took place around them while they were comotose. So who knows what a comotose person is suffering.

Euthanasia is a slippery slope. I am comfortable with the withdrawal of life support. Sometimes. I am a retired nurse, and I have cared several times for people who were in a "permanent vegatative state." That is a medical diagnosis. I am not even certain what it means. The diagnosis is so narrow that hardly anyone can fit into it. This subject is very complicated, and I don't think most people understand that. I will try to elaborate on that later.

 

If you no longer want to live, then you have the right to kill yourself. Put a bullet into your brain, or eat poison, or step off a tall building if you can be sure you won't fall on someone else. I don't believe, however that you really have the right to expect for someone else to do it for you.

 

Okay, I do believe in God, but I don't know why some people suffer horribly and others don't. I have an aunt who was a devout Christian and died from Lou Gehrig's disease. While I know that many in our family were hoping the suffering would end, SOON, she, her husband and children all appreciated every day. She lived long enough to see one granddaughter marry, and another one have graduate Valedictorian in her class. She lived long enough for my uncle to finish reading some books to her that she'd hoped to read for herself.

My cousin Linda said that they all hated to see how much pain she was in, but her spirit and love were so strong that they savored every minute. A long goodbye may not always feel good, but it can still be wonderful.

Euthanasia is a very slippery slope. First, I really am against the idea of our medical professionals who are forsworn to preserve life to be in the business of ending it. And I'd hate to see another whole industry springing up to serve the purpose.

Much as many things should be in the hands of states instead of the federal government, I think this is something that should be left in the hands of the individuals.

For example, you don't believe in God. If you want your life terminated at any point you cannot speak for yourself, possibly a living will or similar document should be able to serve the purpose of a close friend, loved one, etc. being able to put you out of your misery without repercussion. If you are cognizant, you should be able to petition the court for the right.

And if you don't have anyone to designate your "authorized executioner?" If you have a strong faith in God and trust your life in his hands, it's no problem. If you don't, I guess you'd better keep at least one good, trusted friend to act in your behalf.

 

My thoughts;

A) If you are suffering and have the ability to voice it, then it is your choice. Problem is, there are laws against 1) assistance and 2) suicide (yep it's ILLEGAL!)

B) If you have a DNR (signed and such) stating no efforts to save you be used, it's covered by law and must be followed. I've a friend with Do Not Resuscitate tattooed across his chest. He's a bit nuts though.

C) If you have no DNR, nothing legal signed, then noone should have the right to decide for you to terminate you life, the Schaivo case in point. I don't believe anyone should have the right to choose for you, in the case you didn't choose first. This has too many options for abuse and not enough protection. Even though doctors say you won't recover, many people have outside statistical assumption

 

If you have a DNR and the EMTs are called they will ignore it. Doesn't matter if you are ninety and have cancer everywhere. The rescusitate everyone.
If it is self-inflicted, it is suicide and it is not illegal everywhere. But they may put you in a mental ward for 72 hrs. If it is something someone does to you, it is euthanasia and it is illegal everywhere.

I don't think this country is going to go down the slippery slope of euthanasia very soon. That means someone else gets to decide when it is time for you to die. Even if you left instructions, how does anyone know that you haven't changed your mind. If you are comotose, you won't be able to stop them.

If you start contemplating who is living a worthwhile life, it really gets complicated. Most of us think if we had been in Christopher Reeves shoes, we would have preferred death. He said he would too. But two months after his accident he said he was glad he was alive. He lived several years. And he found a cause. Would he have been better off dead?

 

Most of the people who are in nursing homes are very senile. They don't seem to know what planet they live on. They don't interact with anything or anyone. They don't recognize their families. They won't feed themselves. They are incontinent of bowel and urine. Some life huh? Should we give them all cyanide? They cost us about 30,000 dollars a year to keep alive. Does that make you more inclined to think cyanide is a good idea?

 

If you can't physically kill yourself, you should have the right to allow someone else to.

 

To be perfectly honest, cyanide does sound pretty good there. With the baby boomers getting old, we'll have a lot of trouble supporting them. The only problem is that people will probably still want to live, so we need to find an alternative solution.

Back to euthanasia, I think if people are in an incredible amount of pain and they choose to die, it's fine. I don't think we should make an industry out of it though/

 

So Palerider, I have a termial disease. I'm in huge pain, slowly dying. Watching myself waste away, not being able to move a muscle. If I could kill myself, I would... but I can't...

 

Palerider is going to see that you don't get that choice. Who ever gives you the drug is going to have to be willing to go to prison, so it won't be done. You wouldn't ask that of someone.

And if you are able to take it yourself, Palerider is going to see to it that you can't get the RX from your Dr. Boy, aren't you glad that he/she is in control of your life. Otherwise, you'd do something sinful.

 

Assuming you can't move a muscle, you can't speak, write or exercise any other communication, correct? So that would mean that someone, no anyone, should be able to make a decision to put you out of your misery.

As we continue to devalue the essence of human life, it will be easier and easier to find arguments for the final solution. And where does it end? We've already had mention in this thread of the expenses of those worthless vegetables in nursing homes...

 

I gotta tell ya! I've never liked the idea of tattoos, hating needles the way I do. But having DNR across my chest is a great idea! Maybe your friend is a bit nuts, but that leaves NO room for doubt!