Assisted suicide and the like

[Colenzo]

its assisted suicide, how is it not supposed to be morbid? -_- stfu

[Tymon]

I used the word "morbid" in the wrong way. I'm used to the word being used to describe something grotesque or inhumane. That's not the meaning, though.

Obviously, of course it's morbid, as it ends in death.

I just think that the concept of someone having their family around as they slowly end their own life is very gruesome. People crying as the guy dies, etc

[Andarvi]

I think regardless of the scenario in which it happens if it is the individual's of sound mind's choice, then what is the problem? I think in actual practice it wouldn't be as melodramatic as our imaginations want to paint it to be. You can't sugarcoat helping someone take their life, but its not about that, its about the reasons you are doing it in the first place. If the person decided it was what they wanted to do, and the family was invited in some way, and it was a big scene and sad all that jazz, it was their decision, and they have the right to make it.

[SamanosukeShiva]

Y'all need to watch "You don't know jack" if you guys havent already.
It's about dr. Kevorkian, the guy who performed hundreds of assisted suicide and went to jail for it.

[Krandor]

I'm pretty sure anyone discussing the topic of assisted suicide knows who Kevorkian is.

Just saying

[Colenzo]

DOCTOR KILLINGER

[Cadsuane]

Pretty narrow definition legally. If I just hand someone a gun and ask them to kill me, and they do, that's manslaughter.

I think branching out into this area is gonna get us on a huge tangent, lol.

So is doctor assisted suicide (euthanasia) in most states isn't it?

Like you said, everyone in this corner of the internet already agrees with you. What's wrong with a tangent?

[BerenTebogo]

So is doctor assisted suicide (euthanasia) in most states isn't it?

Like you said, everyone in this corner of the internet already agrees with you. What's wrong with a tangent?

I've no idea regarding doctor assisted suicide and the charges it warrants in reality. Only knowledge on that specific case I have is based on L&O episodes, lol.

I'd wager it could go up as high as Man 1, but more than likely mitigating circumstances will prevent it from being that severe. That's all pure speculation, I really have just no knowledge in that area.

[Plow]

No one is choosing life support. My grandfather (well stepfathers father) died recently, he had cancer and was up in Hospice for 2 weeks. Hospice is basically the end of the road and they don't want you there for very long because they only have a few beds and they need to cycle you out. So they cut down on your food and water slowly while putting a good dose of drugs into your system. Basically pushing you slowly to the edge but not booting you completely over. I can see how that isnt technically "Assisted suicide" as he had no idea of what they were doing to him, but i'm not sure what you could view that as.

My mom has worked with hospice for 20+ years, she was heavily involved in the Schaivo ordeal.

Your understanding is mistaken, in the situation you're talking about either the person on life support has officially agreed not to be on it in the long term, or someone with power of attorney for them has said that they would not want to.

I promise you, Hospice isn't "cycling people through" due to a lack of beds. The majority the work they do is in-home anyway.

[Vail]

I'll try to add to this from my personal experience:

my father was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease(now known as Hodgkin's lymphoma) back in 1989 and was told he had 10 months to live. I was 6 years old at that time.

Years would pass until my brothers and I would even find out our father even had cancer and honestly he lived healthfully for quite some time. Alot of that I think had to do with his regular Chemotherapy treatments.

in 1994 oregon would pass measure 16: aka Death with Dignity Act
more reading on how the supreme court upheld oregon's law

My father had a discussion with me about it a few years later when I was a teenager. Showing me his support for such a law is for people's well being. Considering he was in a few support groups and saw other people with different types of cancer (many in very late stages). My father was adamant about people having the right to die if they are suffering to that point.

My father would, around this time, have been discovered to have leukemia. In 1996 the cancer took it's turn, and my father started his deterioration . By late 1997 my father would end up weighing only 87lbs (a man formerly 200lbs at 5'11") Even at this point my father did not wish for death and wanted to stay on this earth as long as he could, no matter the pain for the sole desire to see my younger brothers and I for as long as possible.

He still stressed that those who were sick and in pain who would die eventually should be supported in their decision to end their own life.

However one day my father was in a lot of pain, and our mother was out of the house on an errand and my father could not find his medication. His pain was intense, and he desperately asked my brothers and I to look for his medications in the most likely places. In my parent's bedroom is their gun cabinet. I don't think I'll ever shake the look on his face, the way he was staring at his guns while he was asking us to locate his medicine. He didn't make mention or even ask us, but I could see it, the thought of ending his life right there rising to the tip of his mind. We couldn't find the medicine but our mother returned home shortly after and was able to get him his medicine finally.

A lot of people here are in support of doctor assisted suicide and that's good (I'm even more glad that my state was the first to pass a law to support it) My father supported it, but did not wish it for himself. The absolute most important factor is that the person who is sick and suffering has the option if they so choose...

personal comment: those people(families) of the terminally ill who, no matter what, will not let the person go. It's disgusting to me how people who are suppose to be your family would sit and watch you suffer for no reason other then their own selfish needs.

disclaimer: the exact medical details listed about my father could very well be inaccurate due mostly to my lack of knowledge on lymphoma/leukemia. and forgive me for that, but the views my father hold and my personal story about it are at the best of my memory I can give.

[Warudo Ecksu]

If I were dying of some horrible cancer, there's no way in hell I'd want to prolong that shit. Pump up my morphine and let me die.

[Tempest02]

Your life is your own. Whatever you choose to do with it should be purely your own choice. As long as you're not hurting anyone directly by taking your own life, it isn't anyone's business to say it's right or wrong. Whether it's against anyone's religion or beliefs, you can agree or disagree with it but ultimately it's none of your business.

[Denchi]

Is it even a religious thing to forbid suicide in physically healthy people? I'm sure there are sentiments from employers and "normal people" alike that can see the harm in allowing (read: Not legally punishing) suicide.

[Vail]

Is it even a religious thing to forbid suicide in physically healthy people? I'm sure there are sentiments from employers and "normal people" alike that can see the harm in allowing (read: Not legally punishing) suicide.

jewish view:
The preservation of life is considered to be of paramount importance, surpassing virtually all of the other commandments of the Torah. One may and must violate Yom Kippur or the Sabbath, eat non-kosher food, etc. if there is the slightest chance that human life may be preserved or prolonged.

jewish law forbids not only suicide but even assisted suicide(the request of help in the act is also a sin)

most religions actually forbid suicide it all it's forms, regardless of circumstances, just figured I'd share that to correct the miss-information.

[Conformity]

I am not only a fan of eugenics and assisted suicide. In special cases I am a fan of homicide as well. Fuck you faggots that think human life is some special magical existence.

/fight club decaying organic matter quote

[Denchi]

jewish view:
The preservation of life is considered to be of paramount importance, surpassing virtually all of the other commandments of the Torah. One may and must violate Yom Kippur or the Sabbath, eat non-kosher food, etc. if there is the slightest chance that human life may be preserved or prolonged.

jewish law forbids not only suicide but even assisted suicide(the request of help in the act is also a sin)

most religions actually forbid suicide it all it's forms, regardless of circumstances, just figured I'd share that to correct the miss-information.

Thanks. I guess to be more clear, I was talking about taking religion out of the equation. Independent of religion, wouldn't people have objections to suicide anyways?

[Acturus]

Is it even a religious thing to forbid suicide in physically healthy people? I'm sure there are sentiments from employers and "normal people" alike that can see the harm in allowing (read: Not legally punishing) suicide.

The law (in the US at least) stems from original British Law that the colonists took with them more than it stems from religious tenets.

The concept is that suicide removes one healthy tax payer from the king's employ, and that shouldn't be allowed.

[ronin sparthos]

I think the Kevorkian concept of having a family sit at a table with a machine that gives a person a lethal injection after they tearfully press "yes" 5 times to a bunch of different questions to relating why you want to kill yourself is extremely morbid, and I would never agree to anything like that.

The concept, however, of giving someone that is going to inevitably die and wants to get it out of the way before they suffer any more than necessary, is understandable, and if done humanely, I would support it.

I've yet to see a concept that's very humane, though. It's all pretty morbid.

What exactly would be humane then?

Under controlled conditions with a doctor and family present how is a lethal injection not a humane way of putting someone out of their misery?

I know some studies have brought up that a lethal injection may not be as painless as it has been advertised but it sounds a helluva lot better than watching someone starve to death or suffocate.

[Denchi]

Doesn't a lethal dose of morphine do the trick?

[Sepukku]

Doesn't a lethal dose of morphine do the trick?

If you can keep it down, a bottle of aspirin even works. The trick is not throwing up. Oh, and it kills your liver/kidneys, causing you to die two weeks later with little hope for an immediate sudden transplant to save you if you change your mind. But if you can deal with those two issues, aspirin works and its only $3 at any local drug store.

Hell... gravity is free.