User Panel
Posted: 9/21/2004 9:11:09 PM EDT
I think it is ridiculous that a person, who is dying and is in terrible pain, is denied the opportunity to die with some dignity due to the backwards beliefs of others. If a person wants to die, they should be allowed to, who are we to tell them they can't?
Well, where do you fall? |
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If I was in that situation I expect I would want to get it over with.
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I always support the youth in Asia.
But seriously, if abortion is to remain legal in this country, I see no reason why euthanasia should be illegal. At least it is always used with compassion in mind, not just convienence. |
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You have the right to life. Be Constitutional law it's your life. Do what you want.
And if I had one of those terrible cancers where you're going to die and it's nothing but pain, then do it. It's their life, after all. |
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Of course euthenasia should be legal - with reasonable safeguards in place.
I'd think the only people opposed to it would be liberals/democrats - who always seem to think they know what's best for people, and don't trust people to make their own choices. |
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I think it should be legal. If I knew I was going to have a blindingly painful deathe, with no option, I would rather end it my way, when I want to.
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it's the hardcore religous who are stopping it, not anyone else. their argument is that all life is precious and that it would be 'a sin' to go out with some dignity. it's ridiculous. i think it was either oregon or washington that was considering legalizing it but ashcroft and company stepped in and tried to squash it. |
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I know - I was trying to (poorly, apparently) point out the irony |
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Of course,
I want to go on a slow morphine drip, at 100y/o. I'll turn the drip on myself, or my wife can do it if I'm unable. Why should that be controversial? |
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no it should be illegal because theres too much room for abuse of this. "Well he wanted to die, so it wasn't murder..."
now, assisted suicide with enough witnesses, that would be ok in my book. If they really want to off themselves, hand them a gun and let them do it themselves. |
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Yes.
I also think we should kill the mentally ill, the handicapped, the blind, the deaf, blacks, Jews, Arabs, kids, whites, baptists, Chinamen, Russians, Protestants, all illegals, and the Irish. DId I miss anyone? SGtar15 |
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this isn't about others choosing who shall live and who shall die, it is about the individual making their own choice about their own life. what's so wrong with that? their dying does not affect the liberty or pursuit of happiness of anyone else. it violates no one else's rights, so it should be legal. backwards 'morality' needs to get out of politics. |
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Prediction: Next topic post by poink will be about Abortion.
Any talers? |
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Yes.
If you are of sound mind you should be able to make the choice as to when and how you exit this world. Too much of medicine today is not about prolonging LIFE it's about keeping you alive to the maximum possible age. That's not what LIVING is about. Too many people don't know the difference between alive and living. I do. |
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euthanasia is different than abortion, since it is the choice of the individual to end THEIR OWN life. but yes, i am pro-choice in cases of it putting the woman's life in jeopardy, rape and incest; not as a form of birth control. |
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Yes...terminally ill people should be able to die on their own terms, with dignity. There is no reason to prolong suffering. There are practical aspects to consider, too...for example, if one is dying of brain cancer, it would be better to end one's life before the brain is destroyed, and be placed in cryonic suspension, in hope of a future revival and cure.
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exactly! there is a difference between living and existing. |
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I agree with the assisted suicide rules here in Oregon. I would not make that decision for someone else, nor would I allow someone else to make such a decision for me.
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Kinda a poll thread
Anyhow, yes. Vote no and you need a visit to a hospice center. |
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Not really. Because it would be exposed to abuse. You could have family members who stated the person said that when he may have not. You have the problem of durable power of attorney who have the legal rights to make decisions for the person in question. There is a whole can of worms that would pop up. Just imagine cases like the Karen Quinlan/feeding tube case which though somewhat different still exposes the problems with terminating life. There is nothing right now that says you cannot be made comfortable in hospice care with a nice sedative and pain relief drip in place. |
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they have DNR orders and they aren't abused. why can't they have the same thing for voluntary euthanasia? why do you want to reduce a person to just a piss and shit factory? let them go out with some dignity. |
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As a person who has suffered thru years of chronic pain I can tell you that sometimes a patient is not the best one to make descision for themsleves. Sgatr15 |
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You know, after giving this topic just an actual second of serious thought, who cares? I mean seriously? If you are terminally ill and want to kill yourself, does it matter if there's a law against it? I mean what are they gonna do, send you to prison afterwards? People kill themselves everyday for all sorts of reasons. Law or no law, it's gonna continue. So I have no reason to spend my time worrying about whether or not we should have a law when that law in completely un-inforceable to begin with. |
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If the person wishes to leave I don't know how someone else can force them to stay.....
Suicide being illegal is ridiculous...unless you want to put a corpse on trial. MT |
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I had to put my dog down last year. He was my best friend. I hope somebody cares enough for me to do the same if I ask.
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I hope if I get in that situation I will have the ability to off myself in the quickest way possible if I choose to.
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I don't think it's right to kill yourself in any manner but, I do think we should have the right to.
You know in some places it's illegal for you to kill yourself... If someone wants to die they could just as easily put a gun to their head and it would be just as painless as euthanasia - but I've never tried it, so don't take my word for it. Now you don't want to have a closed casket at the funeral if you know what I mean and I'm sure the ill person doesn't exactly want that either. They could overdose or slit their wrists or any of the many other ways to remove themselves but, a lot of them aren't very fun. So yes, if it's set up properly with precautions, etc. taken I'm for it. |
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Yes..
We euthanize animals if the suffering is to great, a person suffering shouldn't be any different. |
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If someone wants to end their own life, why is euthanasia required. They could commit suicide. Count me against |
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Depends, is stupidity an illness? Then I'm all for it. Hell, I'll help.
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No shit, somebody finally got it right. If I were ill with no hopes of survival and costing my family a lot of money, there isn't a law in the country that would make any difference. |
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I agree with you. The temporarily well folks should not tell the terminally ill ones how to end their existence with some dignity. |
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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? |
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first off, how can you say DNR orders are not abused and what makes you such an authority? Having served on ethics committees in hospitals I can tell you that you do indeed see funny stuff sometimes with DNR orders. You get families and patients that change their minds at the last moment and decide they want everything done. You get families fighting with each other over DNS orders. Did you know that physcians can decide to make a person a DNR, at least here in So-Cal under certain circumstances? Secondly, DNR and euthanasia are two totally different things. One is natural and the other is pro-active. You have the same problems with withdrawling life support. I have seen too much to trust the system from abusing the concept. |
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Ever watch those cartoons futurama?
Suicide booths. If you are at the point of killing yourself, do it. If not fight on. We need to find some way to bring back that whole darwinism. Trim the fat so to speak. |
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One step at a time. We'll get there sooner or later. |
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actually both examples would be euthanasia. Letting a person starve to death would be withholding care or otherwise known as passive euthanasia. You are allowing the person to die by not treating them. Assisted-suicide or allowing a person to euthanize you would be considered active euthanasia. An action was required to terminate that person’s life. Passive euthanasia could be considered shortening a persons life while active euthanasia is simply killing a person. My personal feelings are that I don't care one way or another if a person decided to end his life. I myself would not, based on my religious beliefs. The problem I have with making it legal is to look at examples where voluntary euthanasia was made legal. In some cases voluntary euthanasia soon led to involuntary euthanasia. Lord Walton, Chairman, House of Lords Select Committee on Medical Ethics looking into euthanasia, 1993: “We concluded that it was virtually impossible to ensure that all acts of euthanasia were truly voluntary and that any liberalisation of the law in the United Kingdom could not be abused. We were also concerned that vulnerable people - the elderly, lonely, sick or distressed - would feel pressure, whether real or imagined, to request early death.” Now lets just assume you are a patient of a large HMO. The HMO is all about cutting costs and rewards their physicians who are able to save them money. A 1998 study showed that physicians who are cost-conscious and 'practice resource-conserving medicine' are significantly more likely to write a lethal prescription for terminally ill patients. Seeing as how I am a member of Kaiser health insurance I can very will believe see that happening. |
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While I don't believe suicide is right, I have to say that if I became terminally ill I would consider it. After watching my husband die of cancer, my father from Alzheimer's and now my mother is dealing with Parkinson's I do not wish that suffering on anyone. I never want to be in a position that I would be a burden to anyone and I do not want to live if I do not know what I am doing (as with Alzheimer's). When I was a kid my mom would tell me when I said I didn't want to get old that you have two choices: get old or die young. Now that I have seen what the elderly go through, I prefer to die young.
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DId you people ignore my post about Cronic pain?
People in pain and with illnesses are not always in their rights minds, so how can they make this descision? SGtar15 |
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haha...+1 on the sarcasm |
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If anyone has ever had to watch someone die of cancer the answer would be clear.
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So don't 'pull the plug' in any case you are exposed to. But don't speak for me... |
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No offence meant, but that sounds more like the well want to end their suffering, noit the suffering of the ill. SGatr15 |
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I'm with ya dude. My Dad was in extreme pain with pancreatic cancer. His mind was clear to the end. Greatest and strongest man I ever knew. He toughed it out to the end and never complained. I have such disdain for pussies....... |
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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... |
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