I might of asked this question before but anyway should euthanasia be legalised?

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I might of asked this question before but anyway should euthanasia be legalised?

Should people be allowed to die with dignity yes

94% (35)

Or no.

5% (2)

Total Votes : 37

(last vote on : 2/4/2008 3:42:26 AM)
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I might of asked this question before but anyway should... - 2/20/2007 4:26:19 PM

seekstofasn8adom

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As i strongly beleive that someone who is dying of an incurable disease,should at least be given the option.Whether he or she,would like to end their lives.And to put an end to all of that needless suffering that they will endure but what do you all think now about this?

< Message edited by seekstofasn8adom -- 2/20/2007 4:31:02 PM >

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RE: I might of asked this question before but anyway sh... - 2/20/2007 4:31:37 PM

BlkTallFullfig

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As I don't think there is a clear line where one can do this safely, and be morally covered on the righteousness of it, so, I would rather it not be legislated...
I also don't want Dr Kavorkian indicted/jailed for helping desperate people end their curses if that is what they choose to do with their last days. M

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(in reply to seekstofasn8adom)

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RE: I might of asked this question before but anyway sh... - 2/20/2007 4:46:01 PM

MasterFireMaam

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I feel the question is worded poorly. It's very biased. I suggest:

Assisted Suicide:
Should be legal and I'd choose it
Should be legal but I'd never choose it
Shouldn't be legal but I'd still choose it
Shouldn't be legal and I'd never choose it

This gives us two variable with all it's combination without trying to "lead the witness".

Master Fire

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RE: I might of asked this question before but anyway sh... - 2/20/2007 4:50:32 PM

RobertCloud

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Having known people that were diagnosed with supposedly incurable diseases that were later cured and having known people that were mentally ill that have truly felt life was not worth living yet one day things did improve for them and they now enjoy life I can say I am against euthanasia.

The only problem I see and it is one I suffer with is the innocents that are forced to live with the trauma induced on them by those that constantly are seeking or desiring to end their lives even when there is no real reason for such. I have lived for over 15 years with someone that has at least once a week and sometimes as much more often has ranted and raved about wanting to commit suicide, wanting to die, that life has no purpose or pleasure for them and that they see no hope and no future that looks any better.

Living with this every day is traumatic and I do wish that there was a clause or law that would allow me to just walk away from it easily after all this time I have put into it but there is not and it will be even more stressful and the end result may indeed result in the person taking their life. Yet, I cannot stay living in a life with this kind of stress any longer either. So I see both sides of the issue, yet I still vote no, and I will do everything in my power to prevent this individual from taking their life.

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RE: I might of asked this question before but anyway sh... - 2/20/2007 5:07:11 PM

RosaB

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I've worked with hospice patients, most fought till the end, some not even knowing they were fighting a losing battle, (the not knowing at families request). I did come across a few that wished to be put out of their misery. They were, upon thier physicians orders, administered by the nurses, given morphine drips to relieve pain. I can honestly say I'm able to see this from both sides of the coin and I lean more towards feeling it should be a legal option in some instances.

< Message edited by RosaB -- 2/20/2007 5:12:31 PM >

(in reply to RobertCloud)

Post #: 5

RE: I might of asked this question before but anyway sh... - 2/20/2007 6:01:03 PM

MadameDahlia

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If someone is diagnosed with something that means they'll suffer a slow, exhausting and painful death... sure. Let them go.

If someone does not want to struggle against their ailment, pay through the nose for treatment and medication that may or may not work and end what could be the beginning of a very depressing end to their life... sure.

I'm of the opinion that it's better for them to be allowed to simply go to sleep than it would be for them to swan dive off a building or wind up half splattered across a wall in their bedroom. Not dignified. Not pleasant. And a royal pain in the rear regions to clean up.

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RE: I might of asked this question before but anyway sh... - 2/20/2007 7:30:00 PM

ownedgirlie

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I think your question is skewed, in that it implies one can't die with dignity without euthenasia.

I prefer MasterFireMaam's options.

Regardless of that...Isn't it often the case that one's belief about something might change when circumstances hit home. I was never a proponent of euthenasia until I watched my Dad suffer horrifically in his final days with bone cancer. Watching him suffer like that gave me a whole new understanding and empathy for those who want that for themselves. It has been six months since his death and the memory of his pain still makes me cry more than my pain for missing him.

(in reply to seekstofasn8adom)

Post #: 7

RE: I might of asked this question before but anyway sh... - 2/21/2007 1:54:14 PM

HouseofBear

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I believe in cases that are incurable and the person themselves no longer feel they have any quality of life (intense suffering) that it should be an option

(in reply to ownedgirlie)

Post #: 8

RE: I might of asked this question before but anyway sh... - 2/21/2007 2:25:42 PM

twistedwillow

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I strongly believe that euthanasia should be legal.
We have this belief currently that death is a bad thing, and that everyone should want to live forever, regardless of their mental\physical trauma\pain.
Personally id rather live a happy full life, and when i'm ready to die, i want the option of being able to die on MY terms.
Preferably pain and stress free with my loved ones around me.

twistedwillow

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Post #: 9

RE: I might of asked this question before but anyway sh... - 2/23/2007 6:31:06 PM

seekstofasn8adom

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From: colchester/essex.
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quote:

ORIGINAL: twistedwillow

I strongly believe that euthanasia should be legal.
We have this belief currently that death is a bad thing, and that everyone should want to live forever, regardless of their mental\physical trauma\pain.
Personally id rather live a happy full life, and when i'm ready to die, i want the option of being able to die on MY terms.
Preferably pain and stress free with my loved ones around me.

twistedwillow

Yes i agree with you a 100%there with everything you've said there,you make perfect sense to me Twistedwillow.

(in reply to twistedwillow)

Post #: 10

RE: I might of asked this question before but anyway sh... - 2/23/2007 9:30:38 PM

Sinergy

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quote:

ORIGINAL: RosaB

I've worked with hospice patients, most fought till the end, some not even knowing they were fighting a losing battle, (the not knowing at families request). I did come across a few that wished to be put out of their misery. They were, upon thier physicians orders, administered by the nurses, given morphine drips to relieve pain. I can honestly say I'm able to see this from both sides of the coin and I lean more towards feeling it should be a legal option in some instances.

I feel loss of life is a tragedy, but I support a person's right to decide to cash in their chips and leave the table.

It is not my place to render judgement on their reasons.

Sinergy

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(in reply to RosaB)

Post #: 11

RE: I might of asked this question before but anyway sh... - 2/23/2007 9:52:02 PM

SusanofO

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I agree with the OP in theory, but was raised such a staunch Catholic I just can't bring myself to say I'd do it, or want it legal. Besides, if it was ever legalized, I'd want it's implementation so closely monitored it would probably be impossible to implement anyway.

It's been legalized in Denmark (among other places in Europe), and there is supposedly a problem now with some folks bribing doctors to euthanize grandma (even though she isn't necessarily deathly ill, but still very sick, in a temporary coma, say) because she's worth millions the relatives stand to inherit, for instance, and her care is just eating up their inheritance. And sometimes they're succeeding, too, even though that is not the intent of the Euthanasia law, or even legal since it's been enacted.

It sounds slimey, but it happens more often than people would probably like to believe. Especially when the sick person in question is not in a position to make their own medical decisions, and-or has not appointed a trustworthy person to make them if they are unable to do so. But, it's happening even sometimes if they have, and if they are.

Enacting the law, even though it's intent was noble, has apparently made some immoral people feel more free to operate within boundaries that now appear to them to be fuzzy (in their favor) re: What's acceptable, as far as determining when someone is really needing (or wanting to be) to be euthanized - regardless of the fact that this was never the law's intent. Who knows why, really? But it is increasingly happening - even if it's not supposed to be happening (or so I've read).

And (IMO) maybe part of the reason for this is because it's implementation appears to not be monitored well enough to catch some of the people who really do want to use the newer and fuzzier boundaries re: What constitutes a justifiable instance of euthanasia, for their own, obviously immoral, ends - whether those people are doctors with extra anestethetic that will put someone to sleep forever on their hands, and-or a relative who just wants a hard-to-deal-with relative to "go away" - forever. Needless to say, these folks don't really care much about grandma, regardless of the fact that her care is probably costing a lot.

Potential moral quandaries like this one, that are bound to arise (and already are arising), are what concern me, regardless of the fact that I do see the inherent usefulness of the reasons for being pro-Euthanasia that others have pointed out.

**I'd like the option to have DOR (do not resusitate - sp?) put on my chart if I am hospitalized, and am brain-dead, and trying to keep me alive or revive me would possibly leave me a "vegetable", or otherwise have only a slight chance of success, or for some other reason cost my family tons of money just to keep me hooked up to machines. I don't think that's the same thing as Euthanasia. It's just the option to not be revived, once determined brain dead, or something.

Isn't it?

- Susan

< Message edited by SusanofO -- 2/23/2007 10:43:49 PM >

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Post #: 12

RE: I might of asked this question before but anyway sh... - 2/23/2007 10:20:35 PM

SusanofO

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I do think this is just an excellent conversation topic, btw.

- Susan

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That perches in the soul,
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And never stops at all". - Emily Dickinson

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Post #: 13

RE: I might of asked this question before but anyway sh... - 2/23/2007 10:33:32 PM

juliaoceania

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During the famous Terri Schivo case (you guys in other countries can google it) I had fights with my siblings over this... highly emotional topic. I was the one taking care of a very ill elderly person that I deeply loved (our stepfather, and my siblings were not close to him at all). We ended up agreeing to the morphine drip to ease his way at the end of his life. He died being at peace, without pain, loopy and high as a kite.. there is nothing dignified about dying in my mind.. it is like any other part of life, we all do it. I do not see any reason for us to make someone stick around if they are in tremendous pain.

We put animals down all the time to ease suffering, are animals more valuable than people?

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(in reply to seekstofasn8adom)

Post #: 14

RE: I might of asked this question before but anyway sh... - 2/23/2007 10:42:50 PM

SusanofO

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As I recall, Terri Schiavo made it clear to her husband what she wanted to do (let her life end), didn't she? Or, that's what he said.

But - there was a huge, protracted court battle, since his loyalty to her was in question (she'd been brain-dead for years, and he'd gotten re-married in the interim, or was planning to), and her parents wanted her to be continued to be kept alive via machines that helped her breathe - because she was in a supposedly "hopeless"coma, But -

Since a few doctors, and the occasional visitor, (and one of her parents) thought they saw her eyes moving from side to side, and some flickers of interest in her face as far as maybe recognizing people's faces, who visited, occasionally, it was thought that she might not be brain dead after all...

Her parents had exhausted almost all of their financial resources keeping her alive (and her husband had spent a lot of money as well. Her parents were willing to keep doing that, and suppposedly her husband was not. That Terri Schiavo?

I guess theoretically, it sounds like a nice idea (really).

As a society, I see some real problems with defining the boundaries that would justify its

1) Use - and I definitely see real potential problems with monitoring for potential corruption in it's

2) Implementation

- Susan

< Message edited by SusanofO -- 2/23/2007 10:58:54 PM >

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"Hope is the thing with feathers,
That perches in the soul,
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And never stops at all". - Emily Dickinson

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Post #: 15

RE: I might of asked this question before but anyway sh... - 2/23/2007 10:44:51 PM

MistressDoMe

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Yes people should be allowed to die with dignity.

(in reply to seekstofasn8adom)

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RE: I might of asked this question before but anyway sh... - 2/23/2007 10:57:30 PM

Craftsman

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Euthanasia is a thorny question, isn't it? As I understand it, the word 'euthanasia' implies an active killing or taking an action that causes death. That is why it is considered manslaughter in Alaska for one state, among others. The Oregon law is the only one in the United States that I'm aware of that permits physician assisted suicide, and that has not been used nearly as much as one might think.

In Europe, as already mentioned, the use of euthanasia has gotten out of hand. I read that almost half of all 'mercy killings' in the Netherlands and Switzerland were 'not with the consent' of the one to be euthanized. That makes that version murder, in my opinion.

I agree; it is a very good, timely topic.

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RE: I might of asked this question before but anyway sh... - 2/23/2007 11:01:24 PM

SusanofO

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"Not with consent" would definitely be murder in my book, too. That's what I mean about fuzzy boundaries. It scares me. I'm gonna be old someday. I don't want my nephew bumping me off, just because he's tired of visiting me in the Nursing home.

It's a slippery slope, because I see it as effectively eventually legitimizing all forms of suicide - erasing a taboo that has existed in every culture for centuries.

It is currently practiced legally in the Netherlands, and also in Russia and Switzerland (and the Supreme court in the U.S. will hear a case next year re: Whether physician-assisted suicide can continue in Oregon later this year. It has been legal there for well over a year).

There is active and voluntary Euthanasia (a doctor actively helps a person end their life, with medication or some otjer treatment - or in some cases (Switzerland) a person who is not a physician, assists in a person's suicide.

There is also what is called "passive Euthanasia" (popular in Russia, where a doctor just doesn't intervene and help a patient, for example, by giving a medicine or a treatment, and then they just die).

There are also non-voluntary forms of both of these types of Euthanasia.

To me, especially with regulated pysician-assisted suicide, as legalizing it would mean, the question of who and how "quality of life" is ultimately determined definitely and clearly comes into play - yet the resolution to this question still does not. I am not sure "qaulity of life" from a spiritual standpoint can be defined in mere clinical terms.

I envision people who are merely very unhappy with their lives, and no longer see life as a gift (for whatever reason) perhaps being able to simply just end it, because the taboo will gradually be erased and it will become more of an acceptable thing to do.

It might be worth noting that pain and suffering aren't always non-valuable conditions, from a spiritual perspective. Personally, I've learned more (and perhaps taught other peopel more, for all I know) form stuggling with adversity than I think I may have learned from times my life was going extra easily and I had no problems to deal with. I guess my basic question then is - what is the definition of "quality of life?"

Because if people are going to talk about terms like ending "pain" and "suffering", then they're goingto have to define what contitutes those concepts pretty definitively (IMO), especially when enacting a Euthanasia law.

It's easy to see where this is an easy decision (a child born with huge and painful birth defects with no hope of the pain ameliorating, ever) - but eventually, I see the line continually blurring as we ease into just accepting it's an okay thing to end your own life, even in cases where the hopelessness of a situation isn't so easily measured. And I find that kind of disturbing, since it negates the idea (for me) that life is a gift.

If these questions can be resolved, then I'd be a lot happier with the whole idea.

- Susan

< Message edited by SusanofO -- 2/24/2007 12:02:09 AM >

_____________________________

"Hope is the thing with feathers,
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all". - Emily Dickinson

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Post #: 18

RE: I might of asked this question before but anyway sh... - 2/23/2007 11:48:27 PM

Lordandmaster

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Since I don't believe the State has any right to keep you from killing yourself (either morally or constitutionally), I'm all in favor of euthanasia in theory. The question becomes hairy when it involves the assistance of a doctor, because then it's no longer just one person killing himself (or herself); it's someone helping someone else, and there's the possibility of misunderstanding, which could, of course, have pretty disastrous results. And therefore the State has a legitimate interest in overseeing what happens.

So...as long as there is some sort of legal procedure to make sure that the person is of sound mind and his or her desire to die is not being misconstrued, I'm in favor of doctor-assisted suicide under any circumstances, not just terminal illness.

(in reply to seekstofasn8adom)

Post #: 19

RE: I might of asked this question before but anyway sh... - 2/24/2007 1:24:10 AM

SusanofO

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Well I see some terms (and there are probably more) that need definition for a constructive discussion of whether Euthnasia is, as far as implementation is concerned, able to be successfully implemented.

Define "Pain and suffering"

Define "Quality of Life"

Also: Who decides when "quality of life" has eroded to the point that life is determined to no longer be a desireable thing - the person's doctor? The patient? Both? The patient's family? When?

Envsion any potential circumstances where someone is making these decisions who might not supposed to be?
I sure can.

- Susan

< Message edited by SusanofO -- 2/24/2007 1:50:01 AM >

_____________________________

"Hope is the thing with feathers,
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all". - Emily Dickinson

(in reply to Lordandmaster)

Post #: 20

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