Subscribe to ListverseYour View: Should Euthanasia Be Legalized?
- Published March 20, 2008 - 220 Comments
Euthanasia is a topic that often pops up in to the Mainstream Media when a person seeks a court ruling to allow them to kill themselves. The most recent case involved a French woman who suffered from a rare form of nasal cancer – her request was denied by the courts and she was found dead the next day (presumably at her own hand). The subject causes much debate – as is so often the case with ethics-related topics. So, in light of the subject coming back up, I want to know what you think: do you think euthanasia should be legalized, and if so, should there be restrictions placed on its use?
Should Euthanasia Be Legalized?
My answer is no. I do not think that euthanasia should be legalized. I believe that there are too many opportunities for it to be abused (such as a dying person whose family are to inherit a great sum of money through their death). There are also likely to be cases where a person who may not be mentally capable of making the choice to die, being considered “capable” by the court system.
Image above: Four terminally-ill people in Australia killed themselves using this machine. It gave them a lethal dose of drugs after they answered “yes” to a series of questions on the lap-top screen.
March 20th, 2008 at 9:09 am
No, and get those youth out of Europe, too!
March 20th, 2008 at 9:09 am
i think it should be legalized because it is the responsibility of a person to stay with, or leave their body. i consider it a basic human right
March 20th, 2008 at 9:16 am
Human weirdness: It’s humane to euthanize our pets when they are ill and suffering and have no quality of life left — but it’s “inhumane” to help Grandma end her suffering when she’s ill and has no quality of life left? I’ve *never* understood this. What’s *not* humane about allowing someone to retain what little dignity and independence they may have left after battling with a terminal illness? Where is the “wrong” in letting them choose their own ending time and place?
March 20th, 2008 at 9:17 am
no, like frater said, there are too many possibilities for it to exploited. I would add to that the propensity for mentally ill people to exercise this “right” while not in a sound state of mind. The fallout could be disastrous for some families. If a person wants to kill themselves now, they can do it. People do it all the time, so I ask why make it easier?
March 20th, 2008 at 9:19 am
I think that it should be. People have the right to die if they like… Especially if they are seriously ill and in pain. If it is legalized, people might be more likely to seek our legal ways of killing themselves. Therefore, legalizing it could save lives, not just take them. If mental health experts have the opportunity to speak with depressed or ill people about their choices, these people would have an opportunity to get care and perhaps move away from suicide.
Most people who really want to die are going to find a way. Those who are too sick to kill themselves? Well I don’t think they should have to suffer an extra 6 months, or however long it takes, if what they really want is to die peacefully. I don’t see nasty relatives being able to take advantage of this… I imagine the courts would be extremely thorough in their investigation. They would be much more inclined to deny the right to suicide, especially if there was any doubt as to the person’s metal capacity to understand what is happening or doubts about whether someone else is pressuring them into it.
March 20th, 2008 at 9:20 am
I think that it should be entirely legal, but not before a barrage of mental tests, and only if there is little to no chance of recovery. People in pain that are ready to let go should have that opportunity. I am with the Plaid-Shirt Pyrate on this one.
March 20th, 2008 at 9:21 am
the US is something else sometimes. here abortion is legal, euthanasia is not. we supposedly are free, but we get fined for not wearing seat belts. were supposed to have seperation of church and state yet they pray in Congress and elections are based on how the Christian conservatives vote.
basically im for more freedom so Yes for euthanasia but only if the person in question says so, even if they arent at full mental capacity. Let God (or the earthworms depending on your POV) sort it out
March 20th, 2008 at 9:29 am
I agree that it should not be legalized. Jfrater presents some good reasons that are persuading in my opinion.
March 20th, 2008 at 9:30 am
no
March 20th, 2008 at 9:32 am
It is also interesting that our courts have the right to kill someone against their will because of the death penalty… If they can decide that (even if I don’t think they should), why wouldn’t they have the capacity to decide whether someone should be able to die because they want to? Condemning someone to death has a margin of error. If that is legal, then shouldn’t euthanasia be? It doesn’t really make sense to me. Killing someone who doesn’t want to die seems worse than allowing someone who wants to die to kill themselves, or receive assistance when killing themselves. Or maybe that is just me.
March 20th, 2008 at 9:32 am
Wow – I’m surprised people have not jumped all over this topic yet….
As far as I see this issue, it is a hot-botton item that people don’t (or want) to think about unless it would directly effect them or a situation they are involved in. Emotionally, like abortion, it is a personal issue that only the person directly involved can make a decision on. The ones that feel they have any say are the ones that have to deal with the aftermath, should the decision made NOT be what they wanted.
As far as abuse, yes, it would happen, like anything else on the planet, there will be people that abuse the “system.”
Personally, I don’t want the government in my uterus or my body in general and would like to think that I would be able to make my own decisions if need be, so the idea that euthansia be “legal”, I have a hard time with. (Since, if you want to die, you will find a way, legalities aside).
People sign DNRs orders, could that be considered euthansia? That is legal. They sign rights away to family members, making them responsible for pulling the plug. “Legalizing” euthansia, at least to me, means that authorites would “look the other way” in cases of people that want to die and not prosecute those that help them with that wish. In that case alone, and only if there was irrefutable evidence that the deceased requested help, would I even think that the legalites would come into play. (for the helper) With the proof of the wish from the deceased, there would be no one to “blame” or find fault with to prosecute.
March 20th, 2008 at 11:54 am
As I was scrolling down past that depressing picture of the suicide machine there happened to be an ad that said “Fart Button Press It” with a big green button to push. Talk about a rollercoaster of emotions.
Anyway I agree with Jfrater with the points he raised and plus the slippery slope argument.
March 20th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
yes, within reason.
if someone is suffering they have the right to stop it.
although there is only so much ‘legal’ control that the authorities can have over a situation like this, but with strict enough guidelines i dont see how euthanasia can be debated.
again, like with most things this topic will turn to religion.
but if it was myself, say, suffering with long term cancer, i wouldn’t want to drag it out. why put yourself and family/ close friends through it longer than you have to.
why delay the inevatable (sp?)if there is no other cure ?
March 20th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Like the abortion, euthanasia is going to happen regardless on the legality. Why not make it safe? What happens when someone really wants to die and cannot ask for assistance because its illegal; they try to do it by themselves and botch it up and are living with even more suffering. Is the machine above designed to test the mental capability of the person who is using it?
March 20th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
My answer would be yes and no. Yes it should be legal, no it shouldn’t be easy.
In the case of terminal illness, where there is no chance of recovery, there should at the very least be hope of a peaceful dignified death. There would have to be some sort of physician review, but it is possible to administer this type of policy without the excesses Jamie is afraid of. I certainly believe that this woman should be allowed physician assisted suicide, and if you are of sound mind, it should be permitted. http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23283804-2,00.html
In the case of the severely handicapped, my gut reaction is no. Who am I, or anyone else for that matter, to decide what constitutes quality of life? I am of the opinion that often life itself is reward enough. Robert Latimer’s mercy killing/murder of his daughter is case in point. Sending him to jail certainly made it clear that the Canadian Judiciary doesn’t like people playing god. Personally I thought his conviction unnecessary, he’s already in some sort of personal hell, but letting it go unpunished would have given tacit approval to that sort of behavior. We are not qualified to decide for another what constitutes unbearable suffering. And exactly who’s suffering are you relieving?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Latimer
In the case of permanent vegetative state, I believe that feeding and hydrating are not extraordinary means, but keeping someone’s body alive on a ventilator, to me, constitutes cruelty. If your brain shows no activity and your brain stem is so damaged you can’t breathe on your own, extending life is extending suffering for the patient and their family.
March 20th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Yes. Dying is a natural right. For the government to prevent someone from ending their life is nothing short of authoritarian. If a terminally il person asks to be euthanised, they should be given that option. However, it should be used with much more care when the person is in a coma and can not make the decision themselves.
March 20th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
No, i agree with jfrater, there are too many possibilities that it can be exploited. But i saw this on south park where they asked this and everyone said, “Im not going near that subject.” But we are so it’s good.
March 20th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
The only way this should be legal is through goverment control of it, and even then it could be manipulated.
March 20th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Your View is gay. People dont come on this site to hear other douche bags opinions. They wanna read lists about cool stuff.
March 20th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
i can remember a story a few years back in NZ, a guy was in a accident and he had real bad injuries. He could barely talk, couldnt walk and was just in constant pain. I believe he was told he wouldnt improve. So he decided that rather than suffering he wanted to die. He asked for euthanasia but it got turned down.
Last i heard this guy now lives a normal life. He did get better.
My memory is a it rusty and i couldnt find any stories on this, but this was the event that got me thinking about euthanasia. I do think yes in some cases, but then if theres a slim chance…
March 20th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Smerkis; I like reading other douche bags’ opinions. Sometimes I even change my mind. What’s your douche bag opinion? Or maybe you really are a douche bag, useful for cleaning out body cavities and that’s it?
March 20th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Smerkis – please see number 3 in the Comment Posting Requests below….
March 20th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
I think it should be legal, like it already is here in the netherlands.
If people want to die, they will find a way. And why make it a bloody mess, involving innocent people by jumping off a building, when it can go through the legal way. It’s not like you go to the doctor “hey, I wanna die” “Sure, there ya go!”. It’s a long process, including different doctors debating if there really is quality life left etc.
March 20th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
no, what if someone with a mental disabilitie say that and they really didn’t know waht they were talking about?
or what if they were pressured to kill themselves?
March 20th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
I don’t think the government should have a right in weather or not people die. Like someone else said, they already have the death penalty. How is euthanasia any less humane than that? At least the person dying would be making the decision for themselves. I don’t see the point in preventing people from killing themselves. Yes, those who are left behind would be sad, but it’s really not their decision to make.
March 20th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
What is more cruel, letting someone like Chantal Sébire live (http://www.nieuwnieuws.nl/archives/images/sebiresh.jpg), or letting her die peacefully? Certainly the first!
March 20th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
Yes
I am from the Netherlands and my country was the first country who had legal euthanasia and I am so glad we have this opportunity. But you have got to have strict rules.
It’s not like “oh grandpa has the flu lets give him a lethal dose”. No we talk about people who are terminally ill and in extreme pain.
Why prolongs someones life who is in extreme pain, like the lady in France?
I am also with the Plaid-Shirt Pyrate on this one.
March 20th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Yes of course it should people should be able to do what they want.
March 20th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
Bob; no people should not be able to do what they want. That would be anarchy. Frankly I don’t have that much faith in my fellow man.
March 20th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
No.
If it can it will be exploited in a negative fashion. If it illegal, the ramifications for breaking the rule is of no consequence to the deceased. The family and the survivors, if any, will have to deal with the aftermath as best they can and remember their departed with respect. If one is convinced he or she will die tomorrow, they will probably find a way to make it happen. Do the right thing.
When I’m on my deathbed ready to go, my family and friends know me well enough to let me give up on my own because i’m a stubborn fool. In the process, if my condition gets better and I live, thanks for not pulling the plug on me.
March 20th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Syme: sorry – she refused to take morphine because it made her feel unwell and gave her hay fever. She was well enough to have publicity photos taken and to take her case to the courts. There was an alternative for her and her YOUNG children – morphine. Now her children have lost their mother because she murdered herself. I sure hope that if I am ever a parent I will not do that to my children.
March 20th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Yes, it should. But incase of situations like the ones jfrater mentioned, like relatives standing to inherit lots of money from a deceased relative, I think every appeal should be looked at individualy.
March 20th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
jfrater; Her children are 29, 27, and 13. Not so young as not to understand. I’m sure that her death after a night of celebration was preferable to watching her pain increase until she fell into a coma and took god knows how long to die.
March 20th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
If this was legal, all kinds of trouble would ensue, people would force other terminally sick patients to ask for suicide or they die by murder which is more painful.
March 20th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Mom424: I understand exactly what a 13 year old understands of the situation: “Mom doesn’t love me – if she did she would stay with me” – children can be selfish in their thinking. You can not tell me a 13 year old child will not be damaged by his mother choosing to leave him intentionally. As I said earlier – she had the option of morphine which she refused. She could quell the pain until she died naturally and given her little boy more time to be with her.
March 20th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
I think we’ll have to disagree on this one. Like this is new.
She was not dying a nice death. The prognosis was horrendous, further tumour growth, coma. Who would like to watch their Mother turn into a hideous vegetable? I’m sure she did not make her decision lightly, and with much conversation with her children. Maybe you at 13, but not me. I, even at 13, knew suffering, and would choose to alleviate it. Depends on the child and their level of maturity.
March 20th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
NO because its just wrong. No matter what the doctors tell you, theres always a chance you might recover. Wanting to die is the most selfish thing there is.
March 20th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Mom424: you are right – we do have to – I simply can’t see how any person can be happy to see their mother choose to murder herself in front of you rather than spend every possible last minute with you.
March 20th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
jfrater: I’d hope my mon would spend every last minute with me. The death is just horrible.
March 20th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Hell yes it should be. If you don’t want to live, fine. That’s your choice, and no one should be able to tell you you HAVE to stay alive. This goes especially for those who are terminally ill and/or disfigured. Those people aren’t living. They’re merely existing. If they choose to be put out of their misery, I say we should honor their wishes, and give them some dignity.
Anyone thinking different, no offense intended, but I’m sure it will be taken that, is off his/her goddamn rocker.
March 20th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Chris:Yes if you don’t want to live, fine, only provide it to those who are terminally ill. But that could be manipulated, they could be forced to for inheritance or something.
March 20th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
For me euthanasia is like death penalty.. it should be used/legalised but within reason.
In brief only with absolute certainty of the person’s will to die decently (or of the person’s guilt of a horrible crime).
Then poses the question of how we can be sure.. each case would need to be studied attentively of course… there would be strict conditions and all. which is a bother, i agree.
I live in France, and that case of that woman with a tumor on her face was pretty terrible. I find it “inhumane” to not allow her to die with a little dignity. I’m happy for her that she managed to end it.. unfortunately in hiding like an ashamed dog…
March 20th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
jfrater: Have you rcieved my revamped list? I want to know if I can improve it.
March 20th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Csimmons: Well, then the parties responsible go to prison for murder.
March 20th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Before reading the arguments, I was not sure, but now, after reading everyone’s comments, I will have to say that no, euthanasia should not be legalized. I afree with JRafter that too many problems will arise, especially here where I am in sue-happy California. If someone wants to end their suffering, self-inflicted suicide is always an option (not the best one but it is one). It is very easy to die peacefully, an overdose of sleeping pills will do it. You do not have to die messily like throwing yourself into oncoming traffic and this way, there are no issues about someone else murdering you by helping you commit suicide.
March 20th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
chris: hmm… that might work, if you legalize it that way, it makes sense.
CK: Jfrater, not JRater, its called proofreading.
March 20th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY!! It is their choice, and it costs too much to keep them alive.
March 20th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Csimmons, I know how to proofread. Is that really pertinent to this conversation?
Btw, it should be “it’s.”
It’s = it is
Its is possessive.
If you want to admonish me, at least get your own proofreading right.
March 20th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Yes I think it should be legalized, but I don’t think that doctors should be required to perform the procedure. I think it should be more of a “controlled suicide”. Hospitals and/or doctors should be able to provide the person with a pill/shot and a room where the patient can be with his family as thet take the pill/shot. I think it should also be restriced to only folks who are deemed terminally ill.
Also, I agree with Mom424 with what she said about mentally disabled people and those in vegetative states.
March 20th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
CK: Damn, you’re right, it was a joke anyway man.
March 20th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Hell yes it should be legalised! There are too many stories of hospitals keeping someone alive when they’re in constant, agonising pain. There’s a country somewhere in Europe that has legalised euthanasia and they’re still doing fine. Nothing in this world is perfect – there’s bound to be exploitation etc, but I believe that as long as the terminally ill patient gives explicit consent, then it should be done. It’s what they want, after all, and I for one don’t want to end up being kept alive when pain gets so bad that I just want to die. Do you?
March 20th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
I just don’t understand how this is a “slippery slope.” I am especially surprised that people would support the death penalty, which is certainly not 100% accurate, yet not support legalized euthanasia. Why is it ok to occasionally put an innocent person to death who does not want to die, but totally unacceptable to let someone who wants to die kill themselves?
When someone wants to pull the plug on a relative in a coma… Yes, that can be affected by greedy relatives, but how is suicide the same way? As long as there are measures in place to assure that pressure from others and treatable mental disease are not a factor, I really don’t see the problem
As for the woman in France… Well there are parents who would say “I want to spent every moment until my last breath with my kids.” And then there are parents who prefer to leave their children with a memory of them as vibrant, relatively healthy, and still able to sit up and hold them.
When a good friend of mine lost her father to cancer when she was 14, her mother stopped bringing her to the hospital in the last days. The sight of her father struggling to breath and horribly disfigured from his throat and tongue cancer was extremely traumatizing for her. Her father never asked to die as far as I know, but he did request that she stop visiting and try to remember him as he was. Lilly cries literally every single time she talks about seeing her dad in the hospital, even if it is just one sentence. What she can talk about without getting upset are the days before he got sick, and the things they used to do together.
Quality, not quantity can be important here. I would not necessarily say that either side is “wrong,” both perspectives have their own value for children.
March 20th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Doris: the woman in my example above refused medication – therefore no cost. The only cost involved was her court case (which I presume she paid for herself). She lost the case and murdered herself the day after – leaving three young sons. Nice of her to spend her last months with her kids – not. Instead she refused pain medication and sat in court – God knows who looked after her 13 year old son during all of it.
March 20th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
JFrater…I have an older, distant cousin and when he was 14 I believe, his father was hit hard by cancer, it basiccally spread to most of his organs and he was living in extreme pain. He told his wife and son that he was going to kill himself but they flipped out and were angry with him so he decided to live on for his family…but after watching him try to fight the cancer and suffer EXTREME pain for FIVE MONTHS to try and be there for his family they both finally realized that it would only get worse, and that all he would have to look forward to is pain. A week later, after receiving blessings from his son and wife, he took a fistful of sleeping pills and laid down and died. Of course my cousin, who was 14 at the time, was sad and depressed after, but if you ask him now he says it was the absolute best thing to do. If anything, he feels major regret that he made his dad live his last 5 months in excrutiating pain.
So yeah, would a 13 year old feel like guilty or depressed if their parent took their own life to end their suffering? YES! But you don’t stay 13 forever, and once the pain eases its easy enough to see that it was the right thing to do.
March 20th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Mom – just to clarify, do you also mean we shouldn’t allow euthanasia for severely handicapped people whose minds are normal, or who are mentally retarded or brain damaged? If it is the second, I’d have to agree.
And just to reply to some comments… I would never support people just haphazardly killing their friends and relatives in the comfort of their homes when they were asked to. It would have to be a legal process.
March 20th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
If my mother was in as much pain as that woman looked like she was in I would help her end it and not feel bad about the consequences. I would not think that my mother was being unduly selfish. I would feel selfish for not helping or giving her support with whatever choice she made either way. Sane, physically ill, DYING people need the right to make their own choice.
March 20th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Csimmons – I happen to be a woman and that being said, Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned… or corrected
.
March 20th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
This is a tough one. I think it should be permitted. I think it should be incredibly limited in scope. You have to be of sound mind. It absolutly cannot be something to be decided for you by any third party. The only reason suicide is against the law is because the bible calls it a sin. Otherwise, exactly where is the crime? It is less a medical issue as one of freedome of expression. Do we have the legal right to die? This has already been established under the do not resucitate orders that are already a regular practice. So, if we acknowledge that we have the right to die in a fashion of our own choosing, this is not so far fetched. Without there being specific and demonstronable gross mental defect, an adult should be permitted to chose the time of their passing.
March 20th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Yeah, I think it should definitely be legalized. With extreme… *Tries to think of the word*… conditions? You know what I mean. It’s got to be a pretty extreme case with no hope of survival, but yeah. It’s no different than people signing away the right to “pull the plug”, so why shouldn’t it be legal?
March 20th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
It’s a sin to kill yourself. so…NO!
March 20th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
it seems so backwards that we are fighting to preserve someone’s “dignity” by giving them the right to commit suicide sanctioned by the government. suicide is legal. if you want to die, do it.
like has been said above, suicide is one of the most selfish acts. death effects everyone involved not just the person at the center of the discussion.
it seems that most people above who want legalize this agree that it must be with extreme precaution and lots of sanctions. why step into this briar patch if it will need this much control?
March 20th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
But suffering sucks, and god deosn’t exist, so yes.
March 20th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
DiscHuker: hear hear!
sdggrant: Reading your comment makes me extremely glad to have family members who would never put me in the position to make that decision – they are all selfless and would do what is best for those around them – which is to live. I am sorry for your cousin, but I wonder how often he wonders what he might have missed if his father had not died so soon. In the sixth month the pain may have abated and your uncle may have given his son the best month of his life – but who can know – he committed suicide.
I have a very good question here for all of those of you who support euthanasia : do you agree with suicide in a physically healthy person? If not, why?
March 20th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
No fair. I can’t think about two questions at the same time, jfrater. XD
Honestly, yeah, I guess it should be legal. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it smart, but I think it should definitely be legal, healthy or unhealthy. Its their life, who are we to tell them to keep living it if they don’t want to? Yes, it would hurt the person’s family, but its not their decision to make.
March 20th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
jfrater:
He was confound to a bed and it literally hurt him to even speak, much less move. When you have cancer in all your major organs, nothing short of divine intervention will ease it, that or so much pain med that all you can do is sit and stare at a wall with blank eyes while a nurse wipes the drool off of your face and changes your diapers. I don’t know of very many people who could stare at their father laying in a bed, unable to stand or walk, who can not speak more then a sentence at a time without being brought to tears in pain, and consider that a GOOD time. I think our ideas of good time differ.
Actually wait, I might actually enjoy watching my dad like that, its what the scum-sucking deadbeat deserves
And as for healthy people who commit suicide, I say let them go for it. If someone wants to off themsleves thats their perrogative. I think that it is a bad decision, but its their life, no? On that same note, people who kill themselves should not have their families reap the benefits of life insurance.
March 20th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
Honestly, call me naive, but I don’t understand why it has to be “physician assisted”. If you’re hellbent on dying, then why can’t you just kill yourself? The outcome is the same, and everyone’s memory of you is the same whether a doctor helped or you did it yourself- every memory of you, good or bad, has the word “suicide” attached to it.
All that to say, no, it shouldn’t be legal.
March 20th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
Nelia; the second. I don’t believe that anyone has the right to judge for anyone else quality of life. Life is its own reward sometimes. I taught handicapped youths in my own youth, took them for their physio at the Ontario School for the Deaf. Many were severely handicapped, both mentally and physically. They could still experience joy and comfort, even if most of their lives were tough as hell.
Of sound mind and severely handicapped? I don’t know, it would depend on the handicap wouldn’t it? My gut says no, my brain is not so sure. Handicapped and terminally ill are not the same. Tough call.
March 20th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
no its a good point that people will find a way to use it to their advantage and we will se more crime in the future if this is legalized
btw they found Chantal Sébire dead in her home its not known if she died of natural causes
March 20th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
I think it is someone’s moral right. It would be very difficult however for there to be a just and legal system of it that would not easily be exploited.
March 20th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
jfrater; You have stated a couple of times young children. 27 and 29 are not young. 13 yes, thats young. By the time I was 27, I had been living and working on my own for 10 years. (I finished High School a couple of years early; my brain is not quite as big as Randall’s). You also are ascribing her motives of which you know nothing. I have seen death. It is not pretty. Maybe she was sparing them further pain; watching members of my family die slow agonizing deaths did nothing for me and made them miserable, stoned, and robbed them of themselves. From a young age I have experienced death; it was me at the age of 10, who used to go down the street, crawl in the hospital bed, and read to the kid dying of a brain tumor. His death was a blessed release. I watched both of my grandparents die, again there was no quality time in this. My grandfather, Math PHD, not knowing who the hell he was, or his kids. My grandmother, laying in bed, can’t talk, can’t eat. Quality time? My favorite Aunt, died this summer, Cancer; last month of her life was agonizing for her and for us. Quality time?
March 20th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
definitely should be legalized.
if my quality of life is lower than what I want it to be – whether through illness, poverty, anger, etc. – I should be able to end it. Free will.
plus, the earth is dangerously overpopulated already. if someone wants to help out this way – they should be commended, not condemned.
besides – how is the government going to punish you if you kill yourself? punish your family? sounds like the mafia.
March 20th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
Yes, it needs to be legalized.
There is very little chance that this system will be abused, and even if it is, the financial damages will be nothing compared to the recovered medical costs spent on people who need to be dead. Prolonging the tatters of someone’s life may make the family feel better, but they don’t own that person’s life.
Also it’s funny some people think it will bring more crime. By legalizing it, you’re making it NOT a crime anymore.
March 20th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
Mom424: forget the older ones – there was a 13 year old boy involved! He now has no mother. The examples you give are all sad and tragic, but if they had the option to commit suicide, they may have gone a year earlier – and is that worth the loss of the time you spent with them? How long after euthanasia laws are passed do they get modified to allow someone who has JUST been diagnosed with cancer to murder themselves to spare any CHANCE of pain. Abortion was legalized based on certain strict requirements – not you can get an abortion with a fully formed child in you. If we all despise the methods of Hitler, why is it suddenly so easy for us to reintroduce them bit by bit? How long after euthanasia laws come in to effect does it become lawful for us to murder (as their guardian and decision makers) our retarded children or disabled children? I shudder to think that in 20 years this site will be doing a “Your View” – should execution of low IQ children be allowed. Why not? This is just the first step.
March 20th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
J:
“How long after euthanasia laws come in to effect does it become lawful for us to murder (as their guardian and decision makers) our retarded children or disabled children?”
Never. There’s nothing to suggest that once a boundary is pushed or changed, all hell breaks loose, or even some of hell. There’s almost always a clear line that the majority of society will respect, and I’m sure it stops with it being an individual choice. If you want to die, then you will receive aid to do so.
I’m not a proponent of killing vegetables, if they are able to live without a respirator then that’s fine. If they need assistance in feeding and a family member wishes to do so, that’s fine. If my own grandfather who has more staples in his head than a stapler, takes more drugs than our entire family, more surgeries than our household and 2 surrounding neighbour households combined, is not allowed to receive assistance in ending his life, then yes, I have a problem with that.
March 20th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
Jono: why? That is what happened with abortion: started off with an embryo, moved up to a foetus, now you can get one with a fully formed baby in you – so fully formed they have to break open the skull and suck the brain our before they break the child up in to pieces inside you and vacuum it out. I am sure if people knew that THAT is where the abortion laws would take us, they wouldn’t have been so keen to say yes in the first place.
March 20th, 2008 at 6:23 pm
“The extraordinary energy and zeal with which the clergy of monotheistic religions attack suicide is not supported either by any passages in the Bible or by any considerations of weight; so that it looks as though they must have some secret reason for their contention. May it not be this – that the voluntary surrender of life is a bad compliment for Him who said that all things were very good? If this is so, it offers another instance of the crass optimism of these religions – denouncing suicide to escape being denounced by it.”
—Schopenhauer (“On Suicide”)
March 20th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
Why not simply allow the Supreme Courts to decide whether it is appropriate for the person in *certain* cases (such as terminal illnesses, where the person has no reasonable quality of life left and it is their wish, however this does not count of the “balance of the mind is disturbed” e.g: if said patient is suffering from mental illness at the present time, as Irish legal jargon would put it ) and only allow it to be legalised in certain cases…
March 20th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
This is a question that cannot be answere by simple yes or no. As for YES it must be limmited to cronic severe terminal suferring which must be categorized into 10 classification. Only the highest classification should be allowed to practice this act. Action can only be take in full presence of all the family and number of high ranking community or city officials. Out of these is plain NO.
March 20th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
Definatly no!
God is the only one that should choose weather a person lives or dies…period.
And any athiests/agnostics don’t try to start an arguement…if you feel like doing so just go over to the “is god real?” list…
March 20th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
J: An equilibrium has been reached for now, where the age of abortion is not changing. It may have changed from an embryo to a foetus, but it’s not like we’re killing kids as soon as they emerge from their mother. It’s not like that, and it doesn’t look like it ever will be.
I don’t really see how some extra people dying is a bad thing anyway. The Earth is far too overpopulated and a few more dying would make it a bit better for the people who want to enjoy living.
March 20th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
I DONNO!!!!!!!!
March 20th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
fishing4monkeys: So you’re special enough to disallow anyone from arguing with your opinions?
I’m quite sorry, but if I’m able to create a life (with someone else), then as a consequence of that, I should be able to remove my own life. God doesn’t control the creation of life, so why should “He” control the removal of it? There’s no logical reason.
March 20th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
I think it should be legalized. I would hate to leave someone I love suffering for God knows how long until they finally die. My mom and I have discussed the “what if’s” and she made it clear that if she’s living as a vegetable, stuck on life support, she wants the plug pulled. I think I would want that for myself as well. Just a terrible way to live out the end of one’s existence, I think. I want to remember my loved ones as they were when healthy, not laboring for every breath and tormented with pain.
March 20th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
hannah (post 66) : no i don’t think the outcome is the same weither its assisted euthanasia or suicide.
The fact that the state acknowledges a person’s sufferance and helps him/her to stop the pain by euthanasia gives a feeling of a death in dignity. Whereas suicide sounds like a cowardly way of leaving this world.
Sure the end is the same : you die.
But for people in that situation it certainly must mean a lot… but I guess it depends of the person’s mentality, I don’t know how i’d want it if I ended up in that situation.
I’d probably do what that french woman did. Ask for euthanasia, if the state doesn’t allow it : commit suicide… alone… hiding…
March 20th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
Yes, Euthanasia should be legalized.
March 20th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
It’s odd the similarities between things that I find. Namely this subject and Gay Marriage… In the end it comes down to happiness and well being for all of those who are involved. If you DIdn’t like the outcome (Asshole), then you no longer need to worry, they are out of the gene pool. I’d gladly spatter my brains if it would make a Real difference. Anyone wanting to Cry about what I just said can Gladly have it spelled out for them.
March 20th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
And if these Emo kids need some help, I’ll be right by your side to lend you my knife.
March 20th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
It’s like calling a hitman for yourself. There’s murder (technically) and suicide involved, both of which are sins from a Christian standpoint and looked down upon by pretty much all societies. Granted, leaving someone alive to suffer through some terrible, drawn out death is in itself cruel, but I’d imagine that the moral consequences are much more severe when you help someone commit suicide compared to letting them suffer in this life.
March 20th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Suicide is not looked down upon by almost all societies…Lots of eastern societies view suicide as an almost honorable thing, under certain circumstances. And the Christian argument holds no water seeing as how not everyone is a christian, or even believes in religion for that matter,
March 20th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
If euthansia was leagalized it would be a very short trip to Logan’s Run or worse.
It was a Kurt Vonnegut story in which, after the legalization of euthanasia, and the cure of all disease, that the government and the media encouraged suicide: Go to your convenient neighborhood suicide center and off yourself for the benefit of society.
No.
I’m all for shooting a lame horse, but for God’s sake, we’re NOT FUCKING ANIMALS!
March 20th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
jono: (#74) how can you say that there is no slippery slope involved here? the fact that there is a discussion going on about this right now shows that societal norms are changing. 100 years ago this was not an issue.
jayfray is right. abortion “norms” have shifted to the moment before the child breathes air (partial birth abortions). doesn’t it seem bizzare that your impression of somebody else’s quality of life is the factor we are discussing?
March 20th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
In a way, euthanasia is already legal in the states. I’m an RN. When we have people with terminal illnesses come in to the hospital, we load them up on morphine and the like. These drugs in no way prolong their life, and in fact usually hasten the dying process. But they die comfortably. I think it should definitely be legalized for people who want to go quickly. Who the hell are we to tell another person what they can and can’t do with their own life?
March 20th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
I should qualify that and say the person should need to visit a psychologist first to make sure they want to die for the “right” reasons.
March 20th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
And another thing- I think the danger of it being exploited if legal is very low. How often do you see parents OD’ing their mentally retarded children with morphine into respiratory depression? You dont. It doesnt happen, because the line is pretty damn clear between those who get to die and those who do not.
March 20th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
Ok, last word- as far as the “god” argument goes, when these bible beaters contract cancer, I guess they’d just like to sit around and linger in agony, and let “god” decide how much pain they should have, and when they should die? Hell, why treat illness and injury at all? Broken leg? It’s “god’s will!” It would be PLAYING GOD to set the break! It would be PLAYING GOD to give you morphine! Screw off, you religious nutballs.
March 20th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
Hell no!
March 20th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
Jfrater- the desire to die in a physically healthy person likely stems from mental illness, these people need a different kind of medical assistance. In the hypothetical (and probably impossible) case of a physically AND mentally healthy person who wants to die, I say they should have that right. No one has the right to tell someone else what to do with their life.
March 20th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
I agree that there is a huge potential for it to be abused. That’s why I only think that it should be permitted if several strict criteria are met and confirmed by at least 2 qualified doctors.
1) The patient has no chance of recovery
2) They are in a large amount of incurable pain
3) They are mentally stable
4) They have requested it themselves
March 20th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
fishing4monkeys #79: Don’t mean to start an argument here, but why is it ok for you to bring your view of god in here, but no one else?
March 20th, 2008 at 11:00 pm
This is my first comment after reading this site for months and I vote yes.
Imagine suffering in immense pain only knowing its going to get worse and you will die in 6 months anyway? Id prefer nothing than 6 months of pain. When a family member died when I was young the common response was “they’re not in pain anymore” and that made me feel better to know someone I loved has to suffer no more. In all I think the laws should be stirct however if one is terminally ill suffering pain and In the right mind to do so then they should be allowed the right.
March 20th, 2008 at 11:07 pm
if a person wants to kill them self let them who cares if they have no will to live then whats the point.
March 20th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
I am very surprised that no one has mentioned the Assisted Suicide Law here in the state of Oregon. We’ve had this law for several years, and it has weathered several VERY strong attacks by religio/political groups, most especially those backed by the Catholic Church. Also, on the Federal level, there have been attempts to shut down persons using this law by intimidating the doctors that prescribe the meds. Even with all the opposition, 3 different votes have sustained this right. They keep careful records, and there has been ZERO misuse, and a small but determined number of patients carrying it through. Persons facing the pain of cancer, the paralysis of ALS, and other horrifying disease, find it very comforting to know they have the right and ability to end it when they choose.While I would not choose this for myself, after having cared personally for several patients right to the end, I totally understand this desire. In my view, while I have the faith to endure, I do not have to insist that others who do not share this faith suffer.
March 20th, 2008 at 11:28 pm
Metalwrath (post 84). I see what you’re saying, but in my opinion, I see euthanasia as a cowardly way to go as well.
I’m going to agree with Jaime on this one- legalizing euthanasia is a slippery slope and abortion is an excellent example of how disgusting things can get.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/healthmain.html?in_article_id=512129&in_page_id=1774
March 21st, 2008 at 12:13 am
DiscHuker:
I never said acceptable standards haven’t shifted, I said they haven’t shifted significantly. We’re splitting hairs with the elapsed gestation period to “kill” a foetus.
Back on topic, people already do kill themselves, it’s not as if we’re introducing anything new. We’re simply making it easier, and less humiliating. If somebody doesn’t want to live, well I’ll gladly take their air. It’s currently quite hard to kill yourself without lots of pain, or the risk of waking up with something horribly wrong and you’re alive to feel it all. Having a structured approach would make it simpler, safer and give some hope to those in agony and despair.
March 21st, 2008 at 2:03 am
Without reading the whole thread, I’m going to say yes, it should be legalized.
I’ve had to watch 3 different grandparents die slow, horribly painful deaths due to cancer. In all 3 cases they had to spend at least the last 6 months in the hospital, usually so stoned on morphine they couldn’t talk, but still screaming from the pain. Trust me, that’s no way to go out.
My uncle did the smart thing. When he was diagnosed with inoperable cancer, he downed a 5th of JD and put one through his temple. It was hard on the family, but I understand why he did it and I think I would probably make the same decision.
March 21st, 2008 at 5:06 am
There are many ways to abuse this. Family, doctors, and (yes) the court system should review cases of Life support patients. It should no be just a case of convenience. All aspects of their continued existence should be examined thoroughly.
However, there is no need to make it legal for those mentally aware. Suicide is always an option. Many people feel that suicide is no guarantee that the job will be done. The worst would to be unsuccessful and end up worse than before. There are painless and sure ways of accomplish suicide. My favorite is the way actress Clara Blandick, (Auntie Emm, Wizard of OZ,) finished herself off. She took a large amount of sleeping pills, wrapped a plastic bag over her head. She then went to sleep. She slept through the whole suffocation process.
Anyone who is suffering to the extent there is no hope, has the right to decide what to do with their life, (or non-life.)
March 21st, 2008 at 5:59 am
FGRAHAM : do you seriously believe that Blandick just fell asleep and slept thru the whole asphyxiation process? Seriously? it would take at least 15 to 45 minutes to have sleeping pills take affect. If she put her head in a plastic bag, and sealed it, she’d suffocate in less than 5 minutes. Don’t kid yourself.
jfrater: what a deep topic.
as a veterinary technician, I have assisted in the euthanasia of thousands of animals over the past 13 years. Something does happen when we have the ability to euthanise…something ethically and moral unsound. It’s called “Convenience Euthanasia” and it is exactly what it sounds like. If someone had a dog they just where tired of having, or unable to pay for, they could just take it to an unscrupulous vet and have it killed. Conveniently. Or dump it at the local pound. Out of sight, out of mind.
Now, in the U.S., our health care system is completely corporate.(If you don’t believe that, then why is 1 out of every 5 t.v. commercials for a prescription? They even use mass marketing to get you to buy prescription medications! Aren’t our doctors supposed to suggest medications for us, not the television??) It’s quite sad, really. It’s almost as if using modern medicine to treat/regulate/sometimes cure diseases is an excuse to prolong human suffering.
Suffering, like love, joy, and opinions, are unique to each individual. Are you aware that at the end of our lives, we most likely will have spent our last 3 to 5 years in a hospital or nursing home? Many of us will not even be aware of what is going on, so clouded our minds will be by medication or delirium?
The old mental image of passing away at home is about as realistic as a children’s book illustrating a happy cow on a farm being milked by a kindly-looking old farmer. In reality, we will likely die in a hospital, hooked up to machines, surrounded by strangers, and suffering from Alzheimer’s. Just as in today’s modern farming practices, cows are artificially inseminated, milked by machines, live in deplorable conditions, and are fortunate if they see the sun for an hour a day.
I cannot understand why people say “Let God decide” when you are to die. Don’t you realize that doctors keep you alive for 4 reasons?
1.) AS an ill, injured, or elderly individual, you are a source of income for the hospital, radiologist, pharmaceutical company, medical providers, and physician, often for years.
2.) If disabled or a Veteran, your family may receive pension checks monthly, and keeping you alive ensures they continue to get their checks.
3.) Doctors are trained very early in their careers to “SAVE SAVE SAVE” anyone at any cost. Death is seen as defeat in the modern advancements of science, instead of the culmination of life or the result of incompatibility with life due to disease or injury. Absolutely true-my best guy pal is a Trauma Room Attending and there are specific guidelines of what to do when and how to continue to keep a patient alive.
4.)Families. Yes. Families. We are so selfish and individuals, we want what we love and care for to surround us forever, and as we hurtle thru our lives, death frightens us with its concrete solidity of the unknown. This is why religion is so important to so many people over this planet-one of the fundamental manipulations of religion is to “promise” and “after-life” because we simply are terrified of death. A doctor can be sued if he makes a misdiagnoses, which is ridiculous, because so many diseases mimic one another in presentation. A doctor not only has to heal the sick and injured, he has to keep the families happy too, so, in effect, the families of those who wish to die actually prolong their suffering.
Once again, why do people say “God should decide when you die?” Because, if we humor THAT argument, we have to say “What about medical advancements and medication?” Because if you are debilitated enough to need medical intervention for, say, a brain tumor or are a paraplegic,have a hideous cancer or are a 4-limb multiple amputee returning form Iraq, medicine can save you from immediate death, but wouldn’t that be actually against God’s original will for you to die in the the first place? I mean, whatever situation you found yourself in that requires extreme medical care is likely one that could kill you, and if we interfere with natural death with out medical knowledge and medicines and machines, aren’t we allowing the doctors to play God? We mistake medical science and the body’s amazing ability to continue with the basic functions of life as ‘miracles”.
Well. That turned out to be a longer post than I originally intended. Oh-and I am for elective euthanasia, so long as it is regulated and, like any other medical procedure, controlled and observed by a licensed physician. With lots of counselors on hand for the family. And psychiatric evaluation prior to the termination of life. Because someone with diabetes might want to die, or a woman with breast cancer, or a man with epilepsy, but these conditions are all manageable by science, and it would be fruitless to allow just anyone to kill themselves medically. There would have to be strict guidelines and extenuating circumstances to even be considered eligible for the elective euthanasia program.
ringtailroxy
March 21st, 2008 at 6:14 am
again i ask, if a process like eric at #98 recommends is approved, acting out that process will take months. either the person will have to predict that they will get in the “unbearably painful” situation, then they will not pass the test, or they will have to wait until they are already in pain for months. this solution doesn’t work.
and for cb at #100, this might be re-opening the can from the does God exist discussion, but if hell is a real place then there are many people who saying “they are not in pain anymore” about is just not accurate and could not be further from the truth.
March 21st, 2008 at 6:17 am
I just wrote a very long answer to this question based on very personal experience, but the computer I am using just wiped it and I just don’t have the energy to type all that again. In a nutshell, yes it should be legalised and I pretty much agree with everything said by ringtailroxy.
March 21st, 2008 at 7:31 am
I do not believe that any one who was on the position to blatantly reject the idea without reservation never been in a position of someone in agony who sincerely pray forhis or her own demise.
March 21st, 2008 at 8:38 am
Yes. Period.
March 21st, 2008 at 9:13 am
If abortion is legeal – so should euthanasia.
In one instance, the human life being terminated doesn’t have a say so…
In the other, the person suffering is wanting to die, but they are forced to wait out their, often times, slow and painful death.
How is that fair?
If one is legal, I think the other should be too. In my personal opinion, one is alot more humane than the other.
March 21st, 2008 at 9:58 am
Of course it should be legal. And you shouldn’t even have to have a reason. People commit suicide all the time in some very gruesome ways. Give them a break, a painless way out, and maybe during the process, they would get some help to prevent the suicide to begin with. But, yes, it should be very legal.
March 21st, 2008 at 10:05 am
Jfray put it perfectly. I say no.
March 21st, 2008 at 10:08 am
It should be legal for one simple reason, to give each person the individual choice, if YOU are against it, for what ever reason, DONT YOU do it, but give everyone else the choice…. Its like gun ownership, if you don’t believe in it, don’t own a gun. Its all very simple.
March 21st, 2008 at 10:08 am
No… I think we live in altogether too much of a “death culture” already.
Though I am not against the terminally ill and irreparably brain-damaged/comatose receiving release when the circumstances are right–if the family agrees, if doctors feel there is no hope, etc. This occurs now, in various forms.
And obviously we can do little or nothing to stop people from taking their *own* lives, should they be determined to do so…
But free and easy euthanasia–basically assisted suicide? No.
March 21st, 2008 at 10:12 am
Yes, it should be legal. And as for abuses, has anyone hear heard of a document called a living will?
March 21st, 2008 at 10:50 am
Should Euthanasia Be Legalized?
Due to the responses I’ve read, I have to say that your question has caused a lot of confusion. I assumed you were talking about assisted-suicide. (Since you did show a picture of an assisted suicide machine use by choice by 4 terminally ill people). And that is a much different issue than euthanasia. But I still think either should be unconditionally legal. Just get your paper work in order before you need it!
March 21st, 2008 at 12:15 pm
It should be legalized. After all, who’s to keep a person from killing themselves anyway? It’s not like you can throw a dead person in jail for breaking the law. Even if a court rules that they can’t die, they’ll still find a way to do it.
March 21st, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Ledo: Living wills must be surreptitious in their detail… because the truth is, if you have a horrific car crash, the paramedics are going to try to save you, the hospital staff are going to try to save you, and only after your family are notified may the ‘living Will’ come up, even if you had a “DNR” (do not resuscitate) order on your medical files does not guarantee you will not have extreme life-saving procedures performed on your comatose body without your knowledge.
My Trauma Room doctor friend tells me they often get individuals sent to their facility from a less-equipped facility only to find out later, after a NG tube, intubation, and artificial breathing machine have been hooked up that Mrs. Jones had a DNR in her file at her PCP office! Then you are stuck in a very uncomfortable position…
March 21st, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Suicide is selfish and weak.
That is all.
March 21st, 2008 at 6:14 pm
This issue is being addressed on “House” tonight.
March 21st, 2008 at 7:13 pm
Dicshuker: I suppose it does bring up the does god exist dillema. Perhaps the epicurean paradox should be read to get my point of view more accurately
March 21st, 2008 at 7:55 pm
i was going to ask you what the epicurean paradox is, but why bother, i can just look it up with the same time spent. thanks , so
reading about evil
seems like a human mental puzzle, but I would think the encapsulated(sp?) human existence as a whole is short lived, but if not and if such a problem should be questioned about black/white-good/evil, than not enough time has transpired to our …what is it? the end?the peak? ect.
Do you think there is no divine plan, “cb”?
March 21st, 2008 at 8:55 pm
Diogenes: I don’t believe in a divine plan so no and I think that’s where this arguement eventually leads to a belief in being smited to hell by god. Which I find superstitous. I have no problem with people being religous I do however when it comes to affecting other people lives with these absurd beliefs of a god who would want someone to suffer and then die blackmailed by a further imaginary pain called hell.
March 21st, 2008 at 10:05 pm
jfrater: I have read many, many of your posts, and I have to say, I am a bit disappointed with this one. I read it expecting you to be an fair mediator, listening to both sides, as you often are, but in this case, you are just belligerently pushing your own agenda.
Otherwise, I quite enjoy the daily morning breakfast of random information.
March 21st, 2008 at 10:25 pm
Euthanasia should be legalized.121.Dan – your right
Suicide is selfish and weak,cause the human race is just that.add god/religion to that,well the human race sugar-coated itself so they don’t look weak and selfish,but righteous and all knowing.The world is a mess,cause of those facts,I would rather live in a world where you decided what you want,from religion(let your children decide when there old enough,its there right to choose),life(abortion should be thought about deeply,and done when your seed is not a life,when its heart and brain is functional,its murder) and death(Euthanasia should be thought about deeply,no one wants to be in pain,so why should someone be in constant pain until death).Its a sad world we live in now,with all the people dying for silly reasons,and yet we argue about a persons own right to die,we should b talking and arguing about these people who are dying in hellish situations,simply cause there in the wrong place at the right time….
March 21st, 2008 at 10:34 pm
it should only be up to the person who is going to die, no one else. no one should have the power to take anothers life.
also, this opens a flood gate. if euthanasia is legalized, who’s to say we shouldn’t kill everyone with aids? or everyone with mental disabilities? next thing you know, we’re living in an orwellian novel. seems a bit drastic, but hey, just thinking ahead
March 21st, 2008 at 10:59 pm
Yes, however I think the only people that should be allowed to vote on this are the people it DIRECTLY affects.
March 22nd, 2008 at 12:13 am
i havn’t read all of the responses, so it’s possible that someone has already given my opinion. i would argue that there are entirely too many people on earth, and we desperately need to thin out the herd. when there are too many deer wandering through the suburbs, they are killed. when a cat lives in someone’s alley, it is caught and executed, er, i mean euthanised. the justification for something like that is to keep their numbers down, but noone is keeping our numbers down. we simply reproduce constantly and spread like a cancer, so if we can’t euthanise orphans and the homeless, if we can’t stop having babies, then for the love of god, please let those who want to die, die!
March 22nd, 2008 at 12:26 am
It should be Legalized, when something horrible happens to me god forbid, i don’t want to be a burden for my family. As early as now i have already made up my mind regarding this and have already informed my family. In a case that i should be bed ridden / comatose for about (3 mos. max) due to sickness/accident i want my family or my lawyer to pull the plug.
March 22nd, 2008 at 12:39 am
yes, because we dont like to see people suffering extreme pain and knowing that they’re not going to survive anyway, right? especially if we see them begging for us to take their lives away coz they couldnt take it anymore. and no, because, as jfrater said, it will create all-new problems which is most obviously the large chance for it to be exploited and abused (in a whole mountain of ways)….and based from what i hear, euthanasia is mercy-killing performed by doctors and not suicide performed by ignorant kids (hehehe), so why are some people here talking about suicide??
March 22nd, 2008 at 6:20 am
Sorry, I thought this was about assisted-suicide, you know, where the person actually whans medical assistance to end their life peacefully, instead of hanging themselves in a garage for the spouse or child to find them, or blowing their brains out and letting the wife clean it up, or laying in a hospital bed in extreme pain, when the end is near anyway. Most posts on here seem to be discussing Euthanasia against someones’s will, without their explicit consent. No wonder nothing ever gets settled in this country, because so many issues are jam-piled on top of the original issue, which i took to be, “should a person have the right to get medical help in ending their own life”. I say absolutely it should be a legal option. To impose your beliefs on someone else is so wrong, it is weak and selfish on your part. This country should be able to see the logic in having the personal freedom, even when it comes to how you end it.
March 22nd, 2008 at 12:09 pm
I think it should be legalized. If someone is going to die anyway then they should have that option rather then to let them suffer and have the family watch them waste away. I worked in the medical field for a very long time and there are alot of doctors that agree with give patients this option. They technicaly already do it for people that can’t live without a machine pumping oxygen for them. If you think about it, we put down animals if they suffer because its the humane thing to do, Why let humans suffer? So the insurance and hospitals can syphon more money from the family?
March 22nd, 2008 at 1:53 pm
***alarm bells*** religous debate alert ***alarm bells***
March 22nd, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Um, find a cliff, or buy a gun. Not that hard to kill ones self.
March 22nd, 2008 at 8:38 pm
And Paul, humans arn’t a breed of cats, maybe if you want people to be herded out and killed than go join the marines, or sas or whatever country your from, but of course your probally and overweight computer junkie that couldn’t run a mile without stopping for 20 breaks.
March 22nd, 2008 at 11:31 pm
Simone: No need to play the overweight computer junkie card.
What about those that can’t find a cliff, or can’t buy a gun, because they’re confined to a hospital bed? They gotta “tough it out”?
How is euthanasia weak and selfish, when all you want to do is end your pain? Forcing them to stay alive in prolonged agony just because you want to see them for a while longer seems more selfish to me. And when they can’t talk because of the pain, what’s the difference going to be between seeing them in silence at a hospital bed and visiting their gravestone? The image of a body?
March 23rd, 2008 at 2:55 am
but seriously if someone really wants to die that badly they’d just jump off a building.
March 23rd, 2008 at 7:49 am
Yes
March 23rd, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Simone: Don’t disrespect things that you don’t understand. The Marines are not the subject of this list neither is wholesale slaughter. Do You have anything the you would Die for? Please keep your Uber-liberal opinions to lists that they belong.
March 23rd, 2008 at 8:01 pm
If someone wants to die, then I do not see how another person can deny them that right. I also do not understand why time and money is wasted on saving someone who has attempted suicide. If they wanted to die enough to kill themselves, why not let it happen. There especially no reason in saving someone who has attempted suicide if their quality of life will be greatly diminished. Ultimately, my answer is yes, if someone wishes to die, they should not be denied their right.
March 24th, 2008 at 8:21 am
This is a tought ethical question, but I am of the opinion that if those that are terminally ill wish to die peacefully and with dignity while they are still able to, I don’t see why anyone should be able to tell them “no.” My grandmother is one of the most respected RN’s in the “death and dying” field of hospice in the whole state of Florida (she gives talks regularly to hospice conventions all over the state and the southeast), and she is a member of the Hemlock Society. Being someone who has worked with terminally ill patients and their families for over 40 years, she strongly believes in a person’s right to die, so long as that person is an imminent case. I don’t believe euthanasia should be at all available to healthy individuals, or that it should be in anyway made available to the general public. It is an issue that should only be between those terminally ill patients and their doctors. The family of the person should have little to no say in the matter, unless the patient requests that their opinions be taken into account. It *is* incredibly selfish of those family members to insist that their dying relatives remain alive when that relative wants only to end the day-to-day suffering that makes their life unbearable.
March 25th, 2008 at 2:33 am
it should indeed be legalized, and restricions should be made.
a doctor who doesnt know either the person wanting to die, nor his/hers family should have to sign the application after carefuly examining the subject.
(to prevent corruption)
if a person feels he/she would be better of dead, attempts will be made, and can possibly further injure the person if the suicide fails.
if i ever become a “vegetable” i would like someone to put a bullet between my eyes.
March 25th, 2008 at 6:13 am
i remember as a kid, when just hearing the word pronounced, wondering what the big deal was about kids in the orient. (youth in asia)
for whatever reason i also had problems saying melancholy. in 7th grade whilst reading outloud to the class i read it as “melon ch holy”.
how did i ever get accepted to college?
March 25th, 2008 at 6:51 am
Disc: It’s a mystery to us all.
I kid, I kid…
March 25th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
If someone is ill and suffering and wants to die, just smother them with a plastic bag or something…if the situation were grave enough then its what I’d do. Is that too simple?
March 25th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Ed: Well, unfortunately smothering someone with a plastic bag isn’t considered euthanasia. It’s considered death by asphyxiation and I don’t think a court would accept that as assisted suicide. Manslaughter, maybe, so long as you can prove that the person indeed wanted you to end his/her life beyond a reasonable doubt. Otherwise, it would be murder.
March 25th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
The netherlands allow euthanasia performed by a healthprofessional; the request has to be checked by an independent doctor. A lot of old people sign such a request because they are afraid of a painful and lingering death. In practice only about 10% of this requested euthanasias are ever performed. Good painrelief, even if that shortens life and acceptance that patients can decide to forgo further treatment, except painrelief, makes sure that death is dignified and quiet. Since all performed euthanasias have to be checked by courts, misuse is very difficult. Religious reasons against euthanasia should be enforced privately, not by the state.
March 25th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Oh, I forgot, doktors don’t like to fulfill a euthanasia request – for obvious reasons.Families have far less problems with it, because the hospital makes sure that the family can say good-bye in a good manner by combining medications so that people are reasonably alert but painfree. And yes, the Netherlands have also abortion on request, but only upto the third pregnancy-month, after that only life-threatening physical illness is accepted as a termination ground.
March 26th, 2008 at 5:41 am
Sorry to sound like a serial killer, but If you asphyxiate someone who is too weak to resist with no other witnesses present and without leaving strangulation marks, how do they get you for manslaughter/murder? It’d just be cardiopulmonary arrest, which happens eventually anyway.
March 26th, 2008 at 5:49 am
i still don’t get it. if the point of euthanasia is to end a painful life, why does everyone on here seem in favor of a process that requires multiple doctors and organizations to sign off on that request? do you not think that this will become highly bureaucratic? thus resulting in a process that takes months, if not longer, to conclude.
this will not solve the problem of someone in so much pain that they wish to end their life.
March 26th, 2008 at 5:55 am
ed: haven’t you ever seen CSI, or any other crime drama on tv? there is always a mark somewhere
seriously though, if i’m not mistaken strangulation causes petechiae, damage of blood vessels in the eyes. so even if you use a pillow or a plastic bag, david caruso will still dramatically take off his sunglasses and look into the camera and say “looks like ed strangled away his future”.
March 26th, 2008 at 6:18 am
Disc: very funny, I can totally see Caruso doing that.
What I think a lot of people who say. “just do this..or just do that”, do not understand, is the many difficult health situations people find themselves in. Paralysed. Weak. In terrible pain. Or afraid of a botched suicide leaving them in worse condition than before. Or leaving behind a hideous mess for their loved ones to find. Persons using the Assisted suicide option here in Oregon have had gatherings where they are able to tell their loved ones how much they care, they have been able to leave this life they way they chose, listening to their favorite music, (many have had musicians playing live), and they leave behind people who grieve, but rejoice for them that they retained their dignity and autonomy to the end.
March 26th, 2008 at 11:49 am
SlickWilly; It appears that those who have seen the most death are those most likely to allow terminal folks peace at the time of their choosing. My grandmother too was a chronic care nurse (head nurse, terminal care), she was all for letting the terminally ill go. Despite the legality of it all, it does happen all the time; my husbands grandfather was dying of cancer, painfully, they OD’d him on morphine, at that state it doesn’t take too much to depress the breathing. Most of those so adamantly opposed will change their minds after watching enough folks die in hospital, robbed of dignity, and suffering.
March 26th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Ed: You do actually sound like a serial killer. Murder with no witnesses or physical marks is still murder. You might be able to get away with it, but it still would be considered murder and not assisted suicide. The “too weak to resist” comment particularly disturbs me, seeing as how if it was assisted suicide the person should not be resisting at all.
Mom: I completely agree with you. The natural end of a long life is rarely as pretty or dignified as some people would believe. I personally would not want to spend my last years hooked up to machines, not being able to get out of bed, every breath a sharp stabbing pain, while someone has to come in and clean up my bodily wastes three times a day and wash me from head to toe because I’m unable to do it myself. There is nothing dignified about that. You are essentially regulated to the stigma of invalid, which is a *lot* for some people to have to swallow, myself included. I would rather choose to end my life peacefully, painlessly, and with dignity *before* I am confined to a hospital bed and start involuntarily shitting myself. That is a whole other embarassment, one that I’m sure would grow deeper the longer you’ve been alive.
March 26th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
SlickWilly: That’s why I come to LV these days, to read your comments.
I can always count on you to make me laugh! (Even when you are not trying)
March 26th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Yes, it should be legalized but only if a person signs a waiver of some sort to allow it but only if they have been seen by a psychiatrist who has determined the person to be mentally stable. It should only be allowed by the person though not by family members if the person is in a vegetative state unless the person has said they would rather have it that way. The only problem is that some doctors or family members will find a way around it and abuse it to kill innocent people or people who aren’t innocent that still don’t deserve to die. Basically it’s a moral issue, but no matter what people will kill themselves weather it is through euthanasia or not so why not make it more dignified than a gun to your head.
March 27th, 2008 at 7:44 am
Oh, so now mentally ill people won’t have the option either?! Why take away their basic rights, just because of that particular form of illness.
March 27th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
euthanasia = euthaNAZI
see for example:
http://www.spkpfh.de/LuxembourgEngl.htm
March 28th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
At work I see allot of mentally ill emotionally disadvantaged teens that would love nothing more than to die. Some of them are terminally ill. The kids are between 10 and 18. Should they be assisted with suicide?
Absolutely NOT!
Where are the lines drawn? Who would have the power to draw them?
Death has touched my family we had to take my grandfather off life support because it was in his living will. I still question this decision even though it was not mine to make. My Grandmother has dementia and spends her time scared and confused. I would not take her last days. I had to contest her living will to put a feeding tube in her. I couldn’t let her starve to death.
They all ready have ways to kill off the ill. I don’t think making it easier would do anyone justice.
How would I know I am not ill?
Well all I need to do is look at my son and know that there is nothing that would keep me from spending as long as I could guiding him through life.
March 30th, 2008 at 4:27 am
Apparently, starving to death is actually very painful…I remember watching a programme about a guy with some lethal muscular dystrophy who tried it but gave up in the end because it was too long and drawn out. I think that refusal of medication and nutrients is the only unofficial euthanasia widely practiced as well – for instance, it’s what they do for babies born with lethal genetic abnormalities.
March 30th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
This issue is very tough to sort out, and the webmaster made an excellent point about the potential for this to be abused. For practical purposes, I say no, it shouldn’t be legalized. With the slippery slope argument, I am an unlikely ally of the Catholic Church. And you are hearing this from a person who has longed to end his life for years, but not worked up the balls to actually do it. All the same, if I am really sick, I am in constant pain and I know that I am not going to get any better, that I am just going to keep getting worse and worse, I will simply fire a shotgun under my chin.
April 1st, 2008 at 2:28 pm
euthanasia should be legalized but with restrictions, such as the person must be found completely sound of mind, and they suffer from some horrible ailment. If a person was extremely active and then suddenly paralyzed from the waste down, their life is pretty much over as it is. allow them to choose to end their lives. we talk so much about animals who have been paralyzed and have awful incurable diseases being put down, why force a human to suffer in a situation where you allow an animal to die?
April 9th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
NO.
April 9th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
Clues: Taking away a family member’s wish to die peacefully if they are already dying an undignified, painful death is increadily selfish on your part. It’s basically saying that your right to have your family member alive for another couple of weeks or months trumps their right to decide whether or not to end their physical suffering. The fact that you even went against your grandmother’s wishes not to be put on a feeding tube – indeed her *legal* wishes – is especially telling. Euthanasia is *not* to be used on mentally ill patients, regardless of their age. They are not of sound mind to be able to make an informed and sober decision. However, if the kids you see are actually, legitmately *terminally* ill (“terminally” meaning “will directly and imminently lead to death”), then who are you to take away their right as well? When it comes to euthanasia, the lines can be clearly drawn, and drawn by the medical community, the only ones who are qualified to give a judgement on the matter.
grungefreak: That’s terrible…who would have to clean up your body? Scrape the brains and bits of bone off the walls? Burn the blood soaked sheets? Repaint the room? That, too, is incredibly selfish. Having had to just that for a friend about 6 months ago, I can tell you from first hand experience that that sort of thing is infinately traumatizing on the ones you care most about. As long as euthanasia is strictly controlled by the government and the medical community, there is virtually no possibility for abuse.
Cubone: Why not?
April 9th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
yes :p caz if you r dieing fromsomthing that would be painful
April 9th, 2008 at 6:23 pm
yes :p
April 9th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
yes c caz it wount be painful
)
April 15th, 2008 at 12:08 am
Yes. Well, assisted suicide anyway. The power hungry, control freaks who are so afraid of rdeath themselves will disagree. But there are very few things that we truly have control over and the big one should be how and when we decide to “check out”. When the party stops being fun…go home.
DP
April 16th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
I believe that euthanasia should be illegal because itll support the act of suicide. Suicide ia already a big problem in the world today and for example a depressed teenager who feels theres no other way to solve their problems, sees that the act of suicide is legal anf that may encourage them even more to commit suicide. Suicide is also agains my religion so I believe it is wrong!!
April 16th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
no one should have the right to legaly kill another human being.
April 16th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
nini: You want the death penalty list. This is the Do I Have the Right to End My Own Life list.
makes me want to sing actually… “It’s my body and I’ll bleed if I want to…” Points to anyone who can name the Battered tune.
April 16th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
They do not nini, though…. I feel that those people who do commit suicide are doing this world a favor, for they are weak people who, apparently could not handle the constant up’s and down’s of life. What could these individuals have possibly been able to contribute to society anyway? Besides, human beings are nothing more than a plague, a virus let loose in this world with only one ultimate objective… To destroy everything that we touch! Just look at history, and my point will become valid. Killing others, all in the name of your so called “God”, Total genocide of people, different from those other people who are doing the murdering. Even people killing their own people. This world needs a new plague! A virus that kills without mercy, quick, easily transmissable and one that will ravage this planet and utimately, wipe out 80% of this worlds population within a matter of a year! Perhaps then, the surviving people that are left will see the error’s in their follies and change the things that they do. You want to kill yourself? Be my guest! Who needs you anyway? Good-bye and good riddence!
April 16th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Secretkiller01: Matrix generation? Don’t ask for it, just let nature do the work.
nini: Who are you or anyone else to tell me How to live/die? Who am I hurting other than, potentially, myself in the after life? It’s just more space for you to hang out with your long lost relatives. Caring is one thing but infringing on someone elses rights goes Against what your God allows, you know, FREE WILL. He cares but He can’t stop us, why do you think you could?
April 16th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Suicide = Murder
It is the capitalism which puts you in the corner and then kills you, even by using your own hand against yourself.
http://www.spkpfh.de/Public_Declaration_EMF_COL.htm
Make front against it!
Turn illness into a weapon!
http://www.spkpfh.de/Pro_illness.htm
May 15th, 2008 at 5:45 am
I think that euthanasia shouldn’t be legalised as it gives murderers the option to testify that the murder they commited was actually euthanasia. But I accept peoples views on this subject matter as it is a persons own pesonal choice if they want to end their life.
May 15th, 2008 at 5:49 am
i dont think that euthanasia should be legalised i think this because i thuink that it is wrong to kill a living thing.nobody should have the right to kill another human being because it is like murder and it is a crime to murder another human being.
May 15th, 2008 at 5:50 am
I think euthanasia should not be legalised because i believe in the ’sanctuary of life’ and that life is sacred and doctors should respect teh quality of life and recnogise that they should be unable to decided when someone shoyuld die because im a catholic i see it as interfering with nature and only god can decided when you die and not other human being’s also if it became leglised some people may feel they are a burded on their familys and may opt for euthanasia.I see life as a precise gift and god is the only one who can give it and take it away.
May 15th, 2008 at 6:00 am
i think that Euthanasai should be legalized because i believe that everyone should have the right to choose whether they want to die or stay alive.no one in the whole world can change your mind about anything. if Euthanasia is used on animals that are ill and never goona get better, then why cant we do the same for humans who are ill?
May 15th, 2008 at 6:01 am
i think euthanasia sould not be legalized because i think every person deep down wants to live even if they were extremly ill and was goin to die i think that a persons mind at the time would be telling them wrong and would regret it in there after life.evrybody has the right to live and definatly wants to keep on liveing, god gave us life so god is the only one that is alowed to take it awaygod olso gave us a right to fight for are lives.
May 20th, 2008 at 6:47 am
i think only volutary euthanasia should be legalised for the terminally ill because i think every one should be able to decide for themselves wether they want to live in pain and end their lives whilst suffering or wether they want to end their lives with a bit of dignity.
May 20th, 2008 at 7:21 am
I Think euthanasia is a very diffiecult sistuation and nobody should be put in the position to act on it. I also believe that because God gave us free will, that someone had a very seriouse and painfull illness and wonted to end thier life they should be able to. Another point of view i have considerd is that God created life and only he should be able to diside when it should be ended. So i really dont know what i think about euthanasia.
May 28th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
I think that suicide is a basic human right. The decision to live or die is the ultimate control a person has over their own existence. While I recognize that many people who have suicidal feelings actually need help and don’t really want to die, I reject the belief that everyone who desires to end their own life is no longer capable of making rational decisions or that they REALLY need therapy or counseling. I think that making suicide against the law goes against our fundamental human rights to have control over our own destinies.
I think it’s also important to know the difference between euthanasia and suicide. The OP of this question uses the term euthanasia incorrectly. The people in Australia who used the machine pictured were not euthanized. They committed suicide. This is often misunderstood by the public.
The real ethical debate here lies in the problem of people who are no longer capable of making the decision themselves. Examples would be people who have been diagnosed with severe mental problems, the mentally retarded, coma patients, and those who are in a permanent vegetative state.
I agree that there is a huge potential for the power of euthanasia to be abused. Unfortunately, it’s always cheaper to pay for a funeral than to keep someone on life support, or even to pay for certain extensive treatments. The bottom line is that money makes the world go around. No matter how much I might want to live, my family would not be able to afford to keep me on life-support indefinitely. There has to be a point when my family is relieved of that burden, regardless of what I would have chosen. I am confident that legislature could be designed to prevent people from abusing this system too much.
And aside from legislation, it would be each person’s responsibility to make their wishes known to their loved ones (and to the law) should something ever happen. Many people have organ donor cards, do not resuscitate orders, living wills, etc. that will ensure that their wishes are carried out if they are incapable. Perhaps people should be required to fill out a questionnaire upon getting their driver’s license, or when they register to vote, or something like that. I personally feel that it’s lazy and irresponsible to NOT have thought about this and discussed it with your family before.
I feel that in the case of children, the legal guardian should have the right to decide unless foul play is suspected.
And really, there are a whole hell of a lot of extra people on this planet, and it worries me that we are doing too much to help individual people to survive and procreate and losing focus on how much damage our mere numbers are having on the only planet we’ve got. I’m for encouraged sterilization, abortion, and breeding licenses.
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:08 pm
Yes, but it must say so directly in their will – or if they’re mentally stable enough to agree to it.
June 8th, 2008 at 6:42 pm
Yes, and for the same reasons cited in the first response to the question. If you’d put poor old Fido to sleep when he’s suffering and won’t get better, why not a person who can actually articulate the desire to die?
June 22nd, 2008 at 11:25 am
I’ll refer back to a Drew Carry stand up act for this one. “Don’t try and kill yourself ’cause thats illegal. ‘Hey buddy! Knock that off! you die slow like the rest of us.’”
July 8th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
nope.
August 16th, 2008 at 10:04 am
My Mother fought Cancer for 14 years and would never give up. But when they had to open her back and do surgery,they put an 8 inch bar in her back.She came home and we had her hospital bed there for her. Her pain, i can not even imagine!! Mom and i had talked about things if it was to get so bad and also if anything that would happen to me,that we did have a bond of what we would do. And that would be to stop the suffering. My Dad and my Brother had to drive my Mom to Akron because her blood pressure had dropped so low,that my Dad could not even believe my Mom could still even speak. I was at work and they could not take 1 minute to call. Emergency!! Why could they have not life flight her. When she got to the hospital, there was no one there to rush her in. A Kind gentleman came and helped get my Mom out of the car with her turtle shell on,even though he had his own family to tend to. Then they did get out there with strecher, gurney,what ever you want to call it. They were not careful with My Mom and just through her on and busted in her back ,what the Dr,s had did sergery on. Well, she started to bleed internally and could not stop it. But did they tell My Dad,my Brother,or I,No!. I had to ask and they said my Mom would make it through the night. In the mean time i thoght my Mom would be coming home soon. She died the next morning. I wished i could have kept my bond and have put her into a peaceful sleep. I think God would have understood and if not Please Forgive me Jesus Christ my Saviour. I have 7 cats and 1 dog and i would never let them suffer like we do our Loved Ones. Are Humans no better then our pets when it comes to their suffering,oris it just the money they get for keeping our suffering Loved One,s Alive til they have not a penny left. I think it all comes down to greed!!
August 30th, 2008 at 10:23 am
189 Brenda-
Thats really sad.
And yes I do feel that euthenasia should be legalized. Why shouldn’t it be? We can euthanize baby whales (happened recently) and other magnificent creatures, so why the f*ck can’t we euthanize people??? If they have no quality of life what the point in living?
September 12th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Maybe, after watching Johnny Got His Gun I though that Euthanasia should only be done if the person in question agrees to do so.
November 13th, 2008 at 5:58 am
Shhh hear that… yes… its the sound of no one giving a shite
November 19th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
Every mans life belongs to himself and no one else. The right to end it is his own and no one elses’. Who the hell gave us the right to say he can’t kill himself if he wants to. Suicide should bu just fine. But this is euthanasia. Killing people who are going to die soon anyways and just want to avoid the suffering. How is this even fair. We are going to force them to suffer just to stay alive a little bit longer. I fail to even understand the thought involved in forcing another person to suffer against their will. But to do it when there is no end to the suffering except certain death… I can’t even imagine how horrible it is to be that person who during a time in which they rely on others, these others force them to suffer. By not letting them die we are taking peoples control over themselves away from them. Last time I checked, you can’t force me to do anything to myself without good reason. And me wanting to die because I want to avoid lingering in pain for a few months before dying sounds like a perfectly reasonable and well thought out reason to off yourself. If I want to end my life, what right do you have to stop me, are we really going to force someone to live? That seems selfish and unfair. I seem to be repeating myself. Some say that if they were in there right minds they wouldn’t want to die. Wanting to die isn’t grounds for being crazy.
November 19th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
@ post 191
Euthanasia has to be by consent otherwise it would be called murder.
November 19th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
@184
Hell yeah
December 10th, 2008 at 5:20 am
Being in my right health and mind AND being under no external “influence/s” whatsoever, I have “legalised” my own mercy killing (if needs be – ie., for specified reasons) on my WILL a long time ago! Yes it MUST be legalised.
December 24th, 2008 at 7:25 am
Yes, if the person has a chronic illness and gives consent.
If you do it to your pets, who can’t give consent, why not do it to humans, who do give their consent?
January 18th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
#107 was the most eloquent of the commenters. Basically wrote what I was already thinking in my head. Yes, Euthanasia should be legalized – Assisted euthanasia and more importantly voluntary euthanasia. Abuse of this treatment is a serious hazard and to be rid most of those problems, the power to end life should be left to the solely victim and not the family and not a proxy. It should be the individual of sound mind having the right to make the choice when it happens or better yet in advance. Should the unexpected occur, living wills are there to organize someone’s belongings after death and there should be something similar to anticipate what occurs at the actual death. That’s essentially the same idea as those “do not resuscitate” consent forms.
For me, it boils down to right to choose and value of life. It’s a person’s right to choose how to live so it should also be a person’s right to choose how to die. And why should family members and medical personnel put so much effort into someone who doesn’t value their life (because of their current situation)? I’m not talking about the emo kids… I’m talking about those with stage 4 metastatic cancers full of inoperable, incurable tumors and those with painful, degenerative diseases. If they would much rather die than face painful diseases and equally painful therapies, then it should be their choice. To keep them alive when they don’t want to be is selfish on account of the family members and medical personnel.
#184 had some good input too… It sounds painful in my head but I have to disagree with that bit about children and legal guardians. It goes against my ‘individual’s right to choose’ stance but at the same time, I don’t think children themselves have the right to choose (which also attacks my “individual’s right to choose”…rock and a hard place). They haven’t reached that level I would consider ’sound mind’ (legal adult age) but at the same time, there are too many ways legal guardian can abuse his/her power; it would be too hard to define what constitutes as ‘foul play.’ It sounds horrible to me but I can’t think of any solid solution except to let the doctors keep them alive. However, it opens up some interesting subtopics: If euthanasia were legalized, who can qualify for it and why can’t others? Where would the official age cut off lie? If different states or countries have lower age restrictions, would it be within the patient’s right to travel there to die?
This is a good topic and I’m glad to see there are some really thought-provoking comments.
January 24th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
I believe that anyone who discusses this should watch the movie “Johnny got his Gun”, and then make their decision. As for me:
Yes, it should be legal.
February 1st, 2009 at 1:41 pm
I find this topic rather odd for a country that uses the death penalty. If a person may be killed for commiting a major crime then why shouldn’t a person be allowed to kill themselves if they are suffering?
I agree that it would have to be highly regulated but personaly i think here in britain it sould be legal for someone who has no chance to have a reasonable quality of life to die when and where they chose, and in relative comfort, rather than after months or even years of suffering.
February 4th, 2009 at 10:25 pm
No. But letting them die should be legal.
There are certain provision like DNR. Do Not Resuscitate. And living wills. Which accomplish the same thing.
If I ended up wheelchair bound with a broken neck I would not want to continue living like that. Don’t even “Euthanize me” Just take me off life support and let me die. Euthanization should not be legal. Allowing people to die naturally and not keeping them attached to tubes and life support should be something which is legally allowable.
February 16th, 2009 at 4:44 am
itn should not be because just borrow our life to god and we have no permision to decide if we want to die only god knows whats the best
February 16th, 2009 at 4:48 am
no because its a sin
February 16th, 2009 at 5:04 am
Yes it should. A loose example is when you put your pets down. Same thing right? It’s in pain? Don’t want to cause anymore suffering? So why not humans. I no i’d want to if i was constantly in pain and had nothing to live for. (Yeah I no pets arn’t the same thing but it’s the closest thing I could think of).
February 16th, 2009 at 5:33 am
This reminds me of a funny joke; there was this swan that lived by a lake in the middle of the countryside, near Balmoral. One day a family of ducks arrived and began eating all the available food and quacking noisily, so the swan flew down to a roadside to look for a decent nesting area away from the ducks. Unfortunately it chose a blind spot and was hit by a van. The driver was in a hurry, but he made a quick phone call to the RSPB and drove off again. A short while later a couple of people from the RSPB arrived with a vet, and after a quick analysis of the swan’s state they realised that it would have to be put down. However, as it is illegal in Britain to kill a swan without royal permission they took it back to the vet’s practice and called the royal estate at Balmoral to ask permission to do so. The Queen was there for her yearly residence, and one of her butlers reported the phone call to her and asked if the vet could put the swan down as it was in serious pain. The Queen replied “No”. The butler was taken aback;
“But your majesty, the swan is in pain. Should they not be allowed to end it’s suffering?” to which the Queen quipped:
“Some people deserve to suffer”.
February 23rd, 2009 at 5:34 pm
202. eem – …borrow our life to god and we have no permision to decide if we want to die only god knows whats the best
Based on your argument, I suspect you’ve never been to a hospital before then, right? Unless it was god’s hospital you had been to. It’d be hypocritical of you to take a tylenol for that headache if god decided it was best for you to have that headache in the first place. There are too many people spouting religious declarations on how doctors don’t have the decision on whether you live or die and that it is god’s decision. Do you not realize that every visit to the doctor’s for an annual checkup, every prescription they give you, every test they decide to run to check abnormalities is essentially another form of keeping you alive which in turn is deciding whether or not you die? I’m not knocking on your religion but rather trying to point out the hypocritical tunnel-vision of above statements (it’s not just this poster…a good quarter of the comments here are like this).
Before you go all anti-doctor gung ho… consider Madeline Nuemann who died of diabetes because her family decided to pray for her cure? They watched as her diabetes worsened and continued praying until she died. To me, that sounds like a passive form of euthanasia (and a worse form because the victim never had the choice). What appeals to me about a legal form of euthanasia is it would not be a drawn out process and medical personnel would be on hand to keep it as painless as possible.
March 11th, 2009 at 5:31 am
Io general no, killing yourself is the most terrible act. I’m not Christian – I’m almost as far away as you can get – I just believe that it’s a waste of life, which is the most valuable commodity we have. There are some situations where it is acceptable, like the case where that machine was used.
It was in the Northern Territory over here in Australia – they were allowed to use it because of the way our states and territories are set up, if anyone is interested just ask and I’ll explain – by terminally ill patients who answered yes to numerous questions on the laptop. They were then injected with a butt-load of barbituates, which – needless to say – killed them.
If machines like this were produced and regulated they could solve (?) the euthanasia problem – as best we can anyway. On an issue such as this, close enough is most definitely going to be good enough.
March 22nd, 2009 at 6:41 pm
It should be…I was close to someone who was going through some of the worst pain a human can go through. Morphine wasn’t helping anymore. He worked for the state and was on medical leave due to his illnesses. Since he had been with them for so long, the suicide clause was no longer valid in his contract. Meaning, if he did commit suicide his heirs would still recieve full benefits. He got the letter on Friday and shot himself on Sunday. He suffered for almost a year. I would put my dog down after a few hours of that…why couldn’t we stop his suffering? And yes, everything was tried first. He was a special case of the Mayo Clinic and he had several surgeries. He tried herbal medicines and all sorts of stuff but nothing worked.
I am glad now that he is no longer in pain. I am also glad that his wife is no longer suffering with him.
As long as it is regulated and at the request of the patient, then by all means let them go with some dignity.
April 21st, 2009 at 9:27 pm
208. oouchan : HEY! I haven’t looked at his *for ages*.
Ok, fair enough it hurt and he tried everything. But what if the day after he killed himself, medicine found an answer? What if his family didn’t *have* to lose their father, husband, son, broher, uncle maybe even grandfather one day?
To quote Dr Gregory House for a very quick moment :
“We live with dignity, we can’t die with it.”
April 21st, 2009 at 9:34 pm
209. MarkLaw: Even if they found the cure…he was done with it all. He didn’t want to go through any more hoops. I understand where you are coming from but you should have seen him. It was very bad.
April 21st, 2009 at 9:41 pm
210. oouchan : I don’t think I would have relished seeing this man, not in the least because I couldn’t have reconciled with myself for letting him do it. Sure, pain is bad, but so are plenty of other things. And where do we stop, my pain wasn’t physical, does that make it any less painful? Was I allowed to kill myself? No, too young? What if I *was* in physical pain like him? Wait for 18? 21? It just seems to me that euthanasia sure does have its benefits, but it also has a multitude of problems. Maybe someone will come along who is eloquent, intelligent and devoted enough to draft some decent legislature for it. But until then, I’ll stay negative.
April 21st, 2009 at 10:14 pm
211. MarkLaw: I was the same as you before I knew him. I felt that there could be one more thing that can be done. I saw my aunt do it. She was a tough old bird, but I wasn’t that close to her. This was a friend not family but boy was it hard. The strongest of medicines not longer worked. His kidneys were gone and so was his liver. It was only a matter of time before he died. He got to choose the time. I think that is why I am ok with it now. They get to choose. He didn’t discuss it with his wife because he knew she would object…even though it was so hard on her. She understands now and has forgiven him.
I know you and I will not agree on this. I just wanted you to know where this came from.
April 21st, 2009 at 10:28 pm
212. oouchan : You’re right, I don’t agree with you on this. But I definitely do see where you’re coming from. I’m sure if I’d had an exprerience like your’s I would probably feel the same way too. But refer to 211 for all the reasons that I think euthanasia isn’t a good option *as we speak*. I have no moral or personal reason to hate it, or suicide for that matter, but I don’t think it’s completely reasonable – or else I might be dead right now, and that wouldn’t be nice
April 21st, 2009 at 10:35 pm
213. Mark…wow…saw this before I logged off and just want to add that I’m glad you are still around. I was the same….and I was sixteen at the time. I was told I wasn’t going to have children. Funny….5 years after hearing that, I got to have my kid. Life works in mysterious ways.
I did see your post and I agree with some of it. It’s true what you said that it’s not a good option…but it might be a last one, at least to me.
For me, I would want to keep fighting if I am able and only give in when there wasn’t anything to be done. If only to spare someone some pain.
April 21st, 2009 at 10:42 pm
214. oouchan : Yeah, there is pain, but who are we to say that there weren’t good moments as well? I mean, obviously you can more than me, but I’m sure that something must have still made the poor bugger happy?
“Suicide is what happens when our pain exceeds our coping resources.”
I picked that up from somewhere that was basically saying, you’re not bad for considering suicide. Heck, you’re not bad even if you do commit suicide, it is a morally neutral act. I tell you what, that sure helped me put it all into perspective, and I guess that also tells me that there are situations when it is acceptable.
I am sorry to hear about your friend though – but happy to here about your daughter!
– and I am sure that if you are ok with it then it couldn’t have been too bad. Good night 
April 28th, 2009 at 10:32 am
Im not convinced the “it can be abused too easily” argument quite cuts it. If i was terminaly ill and in great pain i would not want to live with that suffering, nor would i want to see a loved one in that situation either. I understand how it could be abused and i dont pretent to have a solution to that, but i dont think that outweighs peoples right to do with their life as they wish. Especialy if they have no reasonable quality of life left.
May 5th, 2009 at 5:26 am
216. Lemons : Yeah, but how do we judge “reasonable quality of life”? I refer you to the following list for a rather verbose summary of what I’m trying to get at -
http://listverse.com/miscellaneous/top-10-moral-dilemmas
Comments 188/189 – I know it’s crossthreading, but I don’t wanna C+P the whole thing and jam up this board – outline what I mean.
Who’s to say that the day after I kill myself because I’ve been diagnosed with MS – completely hypothetical here – that the brilliant doctors working oh so hard in research facilities around the world, won’t miraculously find a complete cure?
That’s all I’m saying. It’s not a matter of what people can and can’t do with their body. Because where does that end? Am I allowed to cause a person *this* much discomfort in the process, seeing as the benefits will be huge for me? Yes? How about **this** much? Yes? This much? Where does it end? We have to draw the line. We have, why change it?
May 19th, 2009 at 6:00 am
Argh, this is a difficult one.
Well, we put down animals if they’re suffering because it’s humane, so why not do this with humans?
But then, you just know, there will be some people who will totally abuse it to murder people.
I don’t think there is a correct answer for this really..
June 6th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
What can I say? This issue is very complicated. On one hand, the opponents make a very convincing case when they point out the devaluation of human life and the alippery slope argument. Hell, in this case, I would go so far as to say that Godwin’s Law doesn’t apply; Nazi analogies really are relevant, and don’t automatically kill the argument.
I am happy to know that my great aunt despite her advancing senility, was kept in as much comfort as possible until she had her sudden heart attack at the nursing home. I have told myself that I would do everything I could to ease the natural deterioration until their natural death.
Opponents of Euthanasia make an all too convincing case against the practice. Yet, on the other hand, in the highly likely event that I contracted an illness that made for a slow, painful and debilitating death (I project it happening in no less than four and a half years) I could just as easily see myself throwing all those rules out the window. If I can’t have a physician give me the triple-dose of morphine that ended Freud’s life, I would just as easily put a bullet in my tumor ridden brain. I don’t think the physician assisted suicide is legal in New York, and had I lived in Washington last November, I would have, with a heavy heart voted against the measure to legalize euthanasia, yet I would have more than a few qualms either way.
Does that sound contradictory? Yes it is. But philosophy, the human condition and indeed life/death are just that complicated.