Assisted Suicide

[WDRacing]

Are you for or against it and why.

I'm for it, because I don't believe the Gov should have any say so in the matter of how you choose to die. I'm not just talking about people in the later stages of a terminal disease either. I mean anyone over the age of 18 that wants to off his or herself. That may appear callous, because it is.

Lets say we have a program set up that will detail all of the options each of us has available, which for the record, are many. If after presented with possible solutions and or assistance with whatever is plaguing them, they still choose death, then by all means let these people go. A nice morphine drip will put a person down effectively and in relative peace. That way this person doesn't drive there car into on coming traffic, or put the business end of a shotgun in their mouth and force family to deal with the clean up. Or perhaps they don't want to burden their family with costly medical bills, or force them to watch as they wither away from Alzheimer's. I watched my Grandfather die from that ugly disease, it took a proud man and stripped him of all his faculties. He died alone in a hospital...

We can arrange for funeral options, the whole shebang. The departure from life can be made far less of a burden if we actually implement a system that allows for it.

WD

[OriginalWheelman]

I'm for it. If you decide it's time to go, who is to tell you otherwise? IMO it's cruel to tell someone they MUST suffer with a terminal illness.

*EDIT* Added

I feel I should note than I did a debate on this in high school. While I can not remember the name of the country, there is one in Europe that has legalized euthanasia. The process requires the consent and presence of the primary physician, and is generally prescribed for the elderly and the terminally ill. To some people it is preferred, as it gives an opportunity to celebrate a life and part it in peace.
Modified by OriginalWheelman at 12:12 PM 11/21/2008

[hachiroku781]

i totally am for it. I would hate to see my father wither away from a disease like that. As to the other end of assisted suicide, people are against it because of what they see on tv's such as a cop shooting someone. that too is assisted suicide if the person wanted to get shot.

[adrianfromthecastle]

I'm kinda against it. and heres why.

there are other options that a lot of people don't even consider because they are ignorant to them. Don't get me wrong, I'm a pro-choice type of guy, but when a person can die naturally without pain, why not? Suicide is illegal and killing is illegal. Then why should assisted suicide be illegal then?

Options such as Hospice is a great way, not only for the patient themself, but for the family to help cope and understand that an end stage terminal illness has taken place and will eventually take the life of the patient. Under hospice, they have pain management (drugs), home health aides (for cleaning and feeding help), nursing (for clincal purposes obviously), social work (for help with any family issues that may come), chaplains (for religious purposes), and medical directors (the doctors). Their main purpose of this whole organization is to comfort not only the patient, but the family as well. and guess what, this is all paid for by Medicare...

the sucky thing about this, is not every physician know about this or considers it.

[adrianfromthecastle]

its pretty apparent i'm only saying this because I work in the field and I know exactly how its operated...

but let me just say, with my 4-5 years of working in healthcare, I've seen super depressed/suicidal patients that want to end themselves (finding out you're gonna die is pretty depressing)... but after they've gone under the care of Hospice, their outlook on life has drastically changed. Hospice goes far beyond just clinical stuff, they offer pet therapy (where they have a dog come and cheer them up) and volunteer work where people can come and read books or just talk to the patients and keep them company, especially if they don't have any family members.

suicide shouldn't be the only option

[Ilvemynissan]

My Grandad also sufferd from alzheimers. He didn't even remember who I was most of the time. He wanted to leave this earth sooner than he did, he was living in pain. Finally he decided to stop taking his medicine so he would pass quicker, we had all the family say there goodbye's, a day later he was gone.

I am for it, granted the person is in a healthy state of mind and has a terminal illness and is living in pain. But first I would like to see them go through some therapy to see if this is actually the route they want to go.

[WDRacing]

Like I stated in the OP Adrian, they need to have all the options laid out for them. Hospice is not cheap my friend, especially a good facility. I've volunteered at retirement homes since I was 13. My Mom has been and RN for the VA or some sort of retirement home for the last 42 years. So I've been around old death most of my life.

If everyone could afford to be on happy drugs and live in a quality Hospice unit life would be good, but that is so far from reality it's not worth talking about. In fact, I just had a guy move out of his Hospice unit into my apartments because he couldn't afford to stay there anymore. So he moved in here to die...alone. He's a Vietnam Vet that was exposed to Agent Orange and is now dying from it. He did 3 tours in the Army SOF and was shot 4 times...if anyone is deserving of free Hospice, he does. I visit him 4 times a day and bring him coffee and BS about Politics and life. The sad thing is I'm going to be the one that finds him after he passes, cause he has no family.

He chose to sick it out, we talk about death sometimes, this dude isn't afraid of anything. He says death is gonna have to come kick his *** before he goes, God bless him.

Point is, it should be the persons choice and we should back whatever they decide.

WD

[adrianfromthecastle]

I see what you're saying...

and you're right, Hospice isn't cheap..

but if you're over 65 you automatically qualify for medicare part A, which pays, if not in full, about 80-90% of all fees (assuming you're a tax payer). And Hospice itself isn't necessarily a place, because families can choose to have the patient reside at home. In coordination with a medical supply company, they can set up respiratory machines and hospital beds right at the patient's home for convenience, which is (and should) be paid for all by Medicare. And actually, about 75% of all Hospice patients actually choose to have Hospice services at home. Its the Skilled Nursing Facilities, board and cares, and assisted living facilities that are expensive as f*ck.

as far as VA stuff... I dunno, [our] Hospice doesn't deal with VA issues. That's all paid for by the gov't and handled seperately by the gov't. My uncle used to work at the local VA hospital while he was interning (now a specialized cardiologist in Pheonix, AZ), and he told me that his orders were just to make the VA patients happy and give them what they want. And all they want is drugs.. which isn't necessarily a good thing because a lot of them become addicts... but that's another story.

[mcheddadi]

suicide is fail, goes against the purpose of life itself.

i'm not killing anyone to make them feel better, they can kill themselves if they want to so bad.

[dusred]

I'm kinda with Adrian on this one.

I'm kinda for it and I'm kinda against it and here's why:

The Religious side of me is against it because I believe it is wrong to kill anyone including yourself. So I am against meaning I don't agree with it and wouldn't condone it.

However, I'm for it in because I believe we all should have the right to make our own decisions about life. If you decide you want to die I believe that it is your right to kill yourself in whatever way feel you should. Also I don't think the Government should be able to decide whether you can die. In other words the Government shouldn't be able to force you to live.

All in all, I'd say that I'm Neutral in the matter.

[480sx]

This is my take on this situation. People are going to kill themselves regardless of any laws, in any way imaginable if they are of the mindset. If assisted suicide were legal, at least family members wouldnt be left nearly as hurt as they would be if for instance.. If they found their loved one after the suicide themselves. Theres not much that could soften the blow of losing a loved one to suicide. But if an organization of Kevorkians were to approach a family and explain to them what happened, sharing the departed's reasons for wanting to end their life. Whatever that person set out as their last wishes. It would be much more beneficial to the living than some deranged suicide note written in a horrible state of mind, or better than nothing at all.

Honestly, going through a due process of assisted suicide 'screening' might be helpful to those people who are in that state of mind. It could change their opinions on life and might steer them clear of that road.

Its also a lot easier to give organ transplants this way..

[themadscientist]

It is each individuals decision what they do with the life they have include ending it. Government should get the hell out of it.Pulling the plug on someone who is in a coma is a much more sticky argument; a person who is not impaired, deciding they have had enough of whatever pain they are dealing with is well within their rights to say "no mas".

[ishkabibble]

It is each individuals decision what they do with the life they have include ending it.

I agree.

A person's physical condition can make life unbearable.

Where I'm moving (OR), assisted suicide is legal.

[ADDirishboy]

I'm against it when they make it legal for DOCTORS to give you a drug to kill yourself. Doctors take an oath to never do that sort of thing. WA just slapped that oath in the face.

But if a person wants to kill themselves but doesn't have the means to do it themselves (completely paralyzed for example.) Then I think it should be legal for a willing family member to do it for them.

[heliochrome85]

I'm against it when they make it legal for DOCTORS to give you a drug to kill yourself. Doctors take an oath to never do that sort of thing. WA just slapped that oath in the face.

But if a person wants to kill themselves but doesn't have the means to do it themselves (completely paralyzed for example.) Then I think it should be legal for a willing family member to do it for them.

in two years when i take this oath, i will be reading this...http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/d....html

my take:1.) government has no business forcing those who are in terminal illnesses to continue living in pain and miser.2.) doctors should be able to help ailing patents end their life with dignity.

Geoffrey: You fool! As if it matters how a man falls down!Richard: When the fall’s all that’s left, it matters a great deal.-The Lion in Winter

[smockers83]

Anyone can commit suicide. If someone is terminally ill and able to get to the doctor to talk about assisted suicide can commit suicide themselves. Assisted suicide helps in the way that committing suicide is something the Bible is against. For some, that is a major issue, so assisted suicide, in that a doctor administering a pill or shot is not outright suicide. Suicide is also looked down upon in society, so to go out that way for a person who wants to die would not be viable option.

We already have assisted suicide if you think about it. Life support keeps a person alive so to speak, but when you pull the plug that person dies.

I am for it if a person is terminally ill, nothing else is able to be done, and the person no longer wants to fight.

[HashiriyaS14]

I'm for it, I consider it an individual liberty.

I personally think that suicide is a cowardly, despicable act, but I also think that gamb|ing away your kid's college fund is a despicable act. People should be able to do both, but you won't see me doing either.

I'll think that you're a tool if you kill yourself, but that doesn't mean it should be illegal for you to do it. What business is it of the government's?

[ishkabibble]

I'll think that you're a tool if you kill yourself

If you had a demyelinating disease, metastasized cancer, etc., you might sing a different tune. Some things are worse than death, IMO.

[HashiriyaS14]

If you had a demyelinating disease, metastasized cancer, etc., you might sing a different tune. Some things are worse than death, IMO.

Yeah, that's probably true, I was more just expounding on my view of suicide in general, the vast majority of which don't fit into any of those circumstances.

But again, to reiterate, I'm all for it being legal.

[liquid_cool]

Assisted suicide for the for terminal people...but not if it is court orderd!..by no means should a court ever be the deciding factor in someones life that is innocent of no crimes...as for someone just wanting to off them selves....i then point them to the vast wilderness that we have in this country and let em feed the animals with there rotting carcuss....see ya!

thats my 2 cents.

[Armelius]

I say we set up suicide squads in the military. It will make the enemy cringe.

[wawazat8402]

After just seeing my grandma die of ovarian cancer, I think its despicable that our pets are offered more dignity in dying than our fellow humans. I think its ridiculous that anyone here can look a loved one in the eyes that is in that much pain and their only defense against ending it with a drip or pill is that its against their beliefs. I damn near had a nervous breakdown from sitting with my grandma and seeing a woman who was proud and VERY self-reliant only a month before withered into the shell of someone 40 years older.

Thats my .02. I think the government needs to GTFO. I also think a doctor's obligation is to the patient no matter what. If that patient is in that much pain with no options for recovery, the doctor should be compassionate enough to grant them a wish to end the suffering and humiliation.

[nissangirl74]

I watched both of my parents wither from strong, independent, larger-than-life people to shells of their former selves. They died without their dignity and that was so difficult to handle. I steadfastly believe that people should have the option to end their life if they feel they can no longer fight the battle. That might not be the politically correct moral or ethichal stance. However, I have personally seen how truly devastating it is to watch people i love struggle to be brave when they can't even feed themselves or walk to the bathroom to pee.

[breadbox]

Futurama Style Suicide Booths?

Anyone can commit suicide.

That kind of seems like everyone can ride a bike, some are better at it than others. I say it could also be sketch once collusion between a family member and an assisted suicide provider is a profitable action.

[Jacko3]

Are you for or against it and why.

I'm for it, because I don't believe the Gov should have any say so in the matter of how you choose to die. I'm not just talking about people in the later stages of a terminal disease either. I mean anyone over the age of 18 that wants to off his or herself. That may appear callous, because it is.

Lets say we have a program set up that will detail all of the options each of us has available, which for the record, are many. If after presented with possible solutions and or assistance with whatever is plaguing them, they still choose death, then by all means let these people go. A nice morphine drip will put a person down effectively and in relative peace. That way this person doesn't drive there car into on coming traffic, or put the business end of a shotgun in their mouth and force family to deal with the clean up. Or perhaps they don't want to burden their family with costly medical bills, or force them to watch as they wither away from Alzheimer's. I watched my Grandfather die from that ugly disease, it took a proud man and stripped him of all his faculties. He died alone in a hospital...

We can arrange for funeral options, the whole shebang. The departure from life can be made far less of a burden if we actually implement a system that allows for it.

WD

The declaration of independence says, "We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed;"

Other than harm that maybe caused by an individual on the wider society, I don't see how our system restricts the right to die, so long as the person does the killing themself. I think the problem with assisted suicide arises when another person has to do the killing. The declaration of independence, and the US Constitution, does not seem to support this stance.

[michelle.json]

Are you for or against it and why.

I'm for it, because I don't believe the Gov should have any say so in the matter of how you choose to die. I'm not just talking about people in the later stages of a terminal disease either. I mean anyone over the age of 18 that wants to off his or herself. That may appear callous, because it is.

Lets say we have a program set up that will detail all of the options each of us has available, which for the record, are many. If after presented with possible solutions and or assistance with whatever is plaguing them, they still choose death, then by all means let these people go. A nice morphine drip will put a person down effectively and in relative peace. That way this person doesn't drive there car into on coming traffic, or put the business end of a shotgun in their mouth and force family to deal with the clean up. Or perhaps they don't want to burden their family with costly medical bills, or force them to watch as they wither away from Alzheimer's. I watched my Grandfather die from that ugly disease, it took a proud man and stripped him of all his faculties. He died alone in a hospital...

We can arrange for funeral options, the whole shebang. The departure from life can be made far less of a burden if we actually implement a system that allows for it.

WD

I am for it.Because in the later stage of any person is very very hard to live. IN this stage person should required care and some time too. If we are not able to give some time to our elder who is in the later stage than we should admit them to any health care living home.Thanks.