Death with dignity

Here in Ma we just voted and failed to pass a law allowing doctor assisted suicide for some who have only a very short life left while suffering and having zero control over anything. It would have required a doctor to sign off and write a script for the drugs to give the patient control over the last days of their life. I was for it having seen the devastation caused by lingering slow suffering before death. And the total lack of dignity in ones final days as a result. i am trying to understand why some fight against it? Any opinions?

 

I voted against it because I figured if someone wanted to end their life, they'd find a way. I don't think that a doctor should have the say or the ability to write the script for that. I also thought it would be unfair to put a doctor in that situation where they would be approached to do something like that, the lawsuits it would potentially create, etc. It just seemed like a can of worms that didn't need to be opened. That was my mentality on it anyways.

 

I'm betting the mods file this under politics.

 

im 100% percent for it brother

 

The last few months of life is the single most expensive part of medical costs.

 

Meh... it's just a social issue that happened to come up recently. I don't think it's politics.

 

I consider suicide selfish, and assisting suicide is manslaughter and gives you control over the life and death of another. Humans should only have that when capital punishment is on the line.

Killing yourself is not a crime, if you feel that's what you wanna do, you'll get it done.

 

maybe, but I see no difference between this and gun law discussions. I am only trying to see other points of views.

 

I think about it sometimes because as I get older I am losing the ability to physically do things for myself. I have progressive MS. I am a long way away and have a great life now. But one day it might not be that way for me and i would hope my doctor could/should help me stop the suffering if I choose to go that way.

 

Why is it your Doctor's responsibility to make your suffering stop? Just curious.

 

because they know how in a humane way. Nothing says they have to, nor should they ever if they wish not to help. I would hope some are willing to help in these cases. I would help if asked and I could stop someones suffering in their final days. I do however respect others opinions as I know it's a difficult subject. I also DON'T see it as selfish, I see others imposing their say as being selfish, in the final days of suffering.

 

I went to a scene, gunshot to the head, and I read the suicide note. It was very selfishly written. It outlined everything and how it was supposed to be done, basically like a will, and then he signed it and went out and killed himself.

Kinda fucked with me the rest of the week....

 

I don't believe their way was humane. It's basically a drug overdose that shuts your body down. A liter of bleach would have the same affect, you're basically poisoning your body. The pills they prescribe won't kill you in small doses, it's the extremely large quantity that does it.

 

I think people are missing the point or perhaps making assumptions. Lets be honest just like abortion there are situations where checking out is "the right thing to do".

No law should FORCE any doctor to help you kill yourself but whats wrong with someone who is obviously suffering and perhaps not even in a position to "find a way to do it" to have the ability to make that choice for themselves?

We put animals down every single day yet we can't offer the same humane treatment to other humans?

So the choice is telling someone sorry you either have to suffer or else sit in your house and blow the back of your head out before the kids get home from school thats your choice?

Makes perfect since to allow someone the means to do it humanely and in a controlled manner.

Right to choose period.

 

Thats a tuff one. That is NOT even close to the discussion tho. I was talking about people at the end of the line, suffering badly, with no hope for relief and no ability to control things. I can't imagine blowing your head off and leaving it to someone else to clean up, let alone a loved on find it unexpectedly.
I saw a guy thirty yards away from me, step in front of a semi at about 70mph on purpose once. that shook me up a little as well.

 

I worked in a nursing home when I was going to college. There were these two patients who shared a room. One was 22, the other was 29. They both had attempted suicide and failed. One tried to blow his brain out with a shotgun but missed and hit his cerebral cortex, rendering him a vegetable.The other sat in his car in a closed garage and let the car run with the windows open- it didn't kill him, gave him massive brain damage.
It bought the both of them a lifetime sentence in a nursing home bed- unresponsive, unable to care for themselves, no pleasure in life at all- just laying in bed 24 hours a day, being fed with feeding tubes, which gave them non-stop diarrhea. They got serious decubitous bleeding ulcers on their backsides from all the laying around, and no amount of intervention from the staff could stop it. Neither ever had a single visitor in the 2 years I worked there. One had such serious circulation issues, his testicles were swollen the size of softballs, and ANY movement caused him great pain, judging from the garbled moans that emanated from his mouth.

My point is that the theory of "if they want to do it, they'll get it done" is flawed- it created an entire new issue, which, we the taxpayers, got to pay the bill for, for over 20 years. It's called Death WITH DIGNITY- having a physician assist you so you die in an effective, dignified manner. And there has been NO LAW proposed that would force ANY physician to provide these services if they did not wish to- they always have the choice to opt out and refer the patient elsewhere.

 

It totally makes sense to allow , the doctors are just helping you through your entire life cycle

 

this is deep- wish Jack Kevorkian is still around to elaborate more on this issue..

 

Thats why we always used to say " if you are ever surrounded, and almost out of ammo, always save one bullet"

 

We have had that option in Oregon for quite some time now. Its not as easy as people think it is.

1. You have to have a terminal illness
2. You HAVE to be of sound mind and body
3. You have to have 2 Doctors say that you have less then 6 months to live

This process takes some time. And honestly it is rarely used because most people can not pass the 2nd requirement when the time comes