Quoted: Quoted: Suicide and murder are both sins. So don't 'pull the plug' in any case you are exposed to.  But don't speak for me...

Ok.  Murder is a crime.  Suicide is self-murder.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: If anyone has ever had to watch someone die of cancer the answer would be clear. No offence meant, but that sounds more like the well want to end their suffering, noit the suffering of the ill. SGatr15 No offense taken at all. My comment was directed at the entire thread, not at anyones reply in particular. All I'm saying is that it should be up to the individual to decide how much they can endure...

they will endure as much as they can...then they will pass.

Life and death should be a personal choice. Now if it's due to a terminal illness, I agree. If someone's clinically depressed and wants to kill themselves at, say, 25 or whatever, obviously, that's treatable....and death is not the solution.

Quoted: It is illegal to euthanize someone, BUT.......... .......you are allowed to STARVE someone to death by denying them food if they are in the final stages of soem disease or sickness.  WTF is with that?  My best friend just had to make that decision 3 weeks ago with his father.  Several years ago another friend had to make the decision to have the feeding tube removed from his mother.  She died shortly after. Why can we starve people to death, but cannot euthanize them? Are there any medical or legal professionals out there that can answer that question?

Raises hand as medical professional that has worked on an oncology unit for 7 years.

The feeding tube is an artificial means by which life is extended. Significant # of studies show that refusing food is a natural part of the dying process and that, at the end stages of life, there isn't hunger pains as you, the healthy, would experience. Forcing someone to take food when they normally would refuse it; only extends the period of time that they suffer. When someone has the paperwork previously done to cover these instances, they are provided a quiet and relatively painfree exit.

The whole goal of hospice care is to provide an exit with dignity and without pain.  Euthanasia has too much potential for abuse and, I'll have to get back to the hospital to get the reference to cite if you need it, the example of the 30 year old woman that choose euthanasia because she was depressed too often is the case that really highlights this point.

My 2¢,

wganz
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Suicide and murder are both sins. So don't 'pull the plug' in any case you are exposed to.  But don't speak for me... Ok.  Murder is a crime.  Suicide is self-murder.

I guess dying of Lung Cancer from 50+ years of smoking is self manslaughter, and every day of smoking until death was criminal neglegence.  

There are a lot of things we could do for the termianlly ill, not the least of which is to allow the use of heroin for the end stage.  The fact that we still have this ridiculous prohibition against it because we "don't want to send the wrong message" is crazy.  

My mother took a year to die of bone cancer.  Mercifully, it finally hit her brain before she got really bad in terms of pain...but she was "lucky".  Others aren't....there comes a time when we should be able to allow these people to end their life when they want to...not prolong it for some our OWN reasons.  

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Suicide and murder are both sins. So don't 'pull the plug' in any case you are exposed to.  But don't speak for me... Ok.  Murder is a crime.  Suicide is self-murder. I guess dying of Lung Cancer from 50+ years of smoking is self manslaughter, and every day of smoking until death was criminal neglegence.

If you are willfully poisoning yourself with the goal of killing yourself - then yes.

If you are addicted to the drug nicotine and can't help yourself - then no.

If you are diabetic and eat yourself into a coma with the goal of dying then it's suicide.  You chose to pick an example that is more long-term and thus more impractical.

Quoted: Quoted: If anyone has ever had to watch someone die of cancer the answer would be clear. No offence meant, but that sounds more like the well want to end their suffering, noit the suffering of the ill. SGatr15

I don't think he meant it that way at all.  You would have to have gone through the experience yourself to understand.  Certainly you don't want to see someone you love suffer and know there is nothing you can do for them.  But I can understand why someone would want to end their life when they are suffering and they know that the suffering will only end with their death.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: If anyone has ever had to watch someone die of cancer the answer would be clear. No offence meant, but that sounds more like the well want to end their suffering, noit the suffering of the ill. SGatr15 I don't think he meant it that way at all.  You would have to have gone through the experience yourself to understand.  Certainly you don't want to see someone you love suffer and know there is nothing you can do for them.  But I can understand why someone would want to end their life when they are suffering and they know that the suffering will only end with their death.

Well, I will say this.  I had a friend who's mother died of cancer, she was 80 and the matriarc of the family.  I visited her a few times with my friend.  In that hospital troom I say a woman in intense pain that I myself was familiar with.  All around her was her family and she was holding "Court" so to speak.

It was probably one of the most spiritual experience I have ever seen.  So I can not understand why anyone in their right mind that would ever want to kill themselves.  Fighting for survival goes against everything a human can stand for IMHO.  

So my conclusion is that only a "distrubed" person will ever choose suicide.

Sgatr15

Sgatr15