Discussions
Euthanasia....Pro or Con and Why...
Posted by gerryPlanetEarth • 9/03/07 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: euthanasia
What are your thoughts on Euthanasia ?
Should it be practiced or is this a slippery slope for the human race ?
User Comments
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As someone whose childhood was punctuated by operations and body casts, and who was supposed to be 'totally crippled' by my mid-teens, I've got a definite bias here.
With a very defective left hip, and a right one that was nothing to write home about, I was using a cane by my early twenties. I had both swapped out in my mid-fifties. I suppose I was 'totally crippled' for part of that time, but I managed.
I decided to accept the pain: it was easier than it might have been, since it increased gradually.
Medications are available that can handle pain, too, and they're quite effective.
I'd rather not have people killed because they do not match some criteria for ability and appearance.
Admittedly, I'm being selfish: I'd probably be cleansed from the race in the third or fourth sweep.
And, I'd rather not have people have themselves killed because they had a zit before that big date, or for some other momentarily-overwhelming reason.
From experience, I believe that people can, given time, deal with situations that, when first noticed, seem insurmountable.-
Your personal struggles against the adversities you have faced are truly admirable...
I hope people who are in similar or even in worse situations medically will consult with people like you for advice rather than the likes of Jack Kevorkian
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My only experience with this subject is what the Nazis made out of it. Their actions were indefensible. I also know that the Nazis put into practice something that was being discussed in "respectable" medical circles in other Western countries, a fact that makes me feel even less comfortable.
Now things get trickier when you talk about keeping people on life support, or when someone with a painful illness chooses to die. But I'm not sure if you could put those questions under the heading of euthanasia.-
As of a few years ago, still being discussed. "Spinal bifida" was the last major they're-better-off-dead topic that I followed.
There are differences: in Germany, a little over a half-century back, it was practicality and racial purity (whatever that means). Now, in America, it's "compassion."
May we all be delivered from such "compassion!" -
You have a point: compassion can be pretty sinister.
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I would agree....Some people on life support live in a horrible undignified manner that might be against their wishes....
Conversely there have been many instances where people on life support machines for prolonged periods have made a full or partial recovery... -
The main problem, I think, with the "compassion" perspective (whether in the euthenasia argument or elsewhere) is that it inevitably focuses around what the decision-maker VIEWS as compassionate based on his or her own perspectives and experience, whereas true compassion can only exist on a case by case basis that understands the needs of the individual in question. I would go so far, I think, as to say that there is no global decision possible in any arena that would equal true compassion in every circumstance.
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No one should have control over whether or not we're medically fit to live. I do believe however that the sane individual should be able to legally end their life if that's what they choose.-
I agree with you fully that "No one should have control over whether or not we're medically fit to live"
Allowing people to end their lives "legally" would necessitate making laws that could lead to unforeseen consequences....
such as...you go to a doctor for medical help and he tells you that you have little chance of getting better and suggests you try the latest painless euthanasia drug etc.
or....euthanasia junkmail in your email
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I always look at it this way. If I have a pet that is seriously ill, my cat for example, I can ask the vet to put it to sleep humanely and hopefully painlessly.
As a human being though, I had to watch a friend of the family slowly wither and die from multiple sclerosis, a person, who if they wanted to, would have had to find their own method of suicide most of which are painful, long winded or messy.
I find it strange that we can afford the dignity of a painless and peaceful death to our pets, yet despite all the mouthings about human rights we will do our utmost to prevent someone from making the personal choice to call it a day and leave.
We would rather watch them suffer for however long in extreme agony before they die rather than let them choose to miss out the unpleasant bit and just go to sleep painlessly.
On a final note, my last memory of my cat is of a large, sedate old moggy who spent most of her time sleeping on the window sill. My last memory of my mothers friend is of a wheelchair bound living corpse straight out of the concentration camps, capable of neither movement or speech. I don't know how he wished his family to remember him, but I am fairly confident it wasn't like that.
If you have an illness that is terminal and you wish to end it all rather than suffer then I think you as an individual should have that right.-
Thank-you for your participation...The experiences you have shared with us illustrate the need for discussion and debate to find a solution for these type of instances...
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But there's a difference between doing it yourself and having someone else do it for you. I guess it also depends on whether you think human life is more valuable than a cat's.
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I think youth in Asia should be expected to receive as fair a treatment as say youth in Africa, or Canada, or New Jersey.-
Did you borrow that from Ali G. or did he borrow it from you ?
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There was a story of a woman who got a Doctor to give her enough pills for an overdose she had been battling what Doctors had said was terminal cancer for years....so she committed suicide and the autopsy showed no sign of cancer....something to Ponder-
That is for sure is one of the perils of euthanasia...Misdiagnosis or a cure may be found...
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In my opinion, no one should decide how you should live your live, as long as your actions do not hurt someone or put another person in danger. I do believe, however, that assisted suicide should be regulated to ensure it is done properly and that the suffering is not making a rash decision.-
What are your thoughts on how assisted suicide should be regulated ?
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I am Pro-Euthanasia because I believe that if someone is of sound mind and truly understands the decision they are making then they have the right to choose to die, especially if they have a terminal illness and are suffering a great deal.
I know if I was in that position I would want to be euthanized (put out of my misery.) I wouldn't care if a cure may be discovered later... that cannot be counted on.
We do it for our pets, why can't we do it for our loved ones?
While waiting for a cure people are expected to suffer. That doesn't seem right to me.-
I am reading a book right now co-authored by Joni Eareckson Tada, a disability advocate who was rendered quadriplegic in a diving accident nearly forty years ago. She describes the desire to commit suicide as a natural and expected part of the adaptation process and recalls lying in bed at night trying to jerk her head hard enough to break her neck up higher and kill herself because it was the only thing she could move. She says that at one point the goal she was working toward was achieving sufficient movement to operate a motorized wheelchair so that she could propel herself out into traffic.
Since that time, she's founded an international disability center, testified before Congress, and authored several bestselling books. -
It does seem to be a personal choice and different people react to adversity differently...
Consider a lady suffering from less severe symptoms of the disease Stephen Hawkings suffers from fighting and lobbying politicians to have herself euthanized vs. Stephen Hawking's continuous fight for his life and the great enlightenment he continuously blesses us with.....
I would also agree with Madame X that there is an adjustment period to any tragic change of bodily functions either from medical or accident that people go through.
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Pro... especially for old people if they still think they can drive but go twenty miles per hour under the speed limit.-
Pro-stance duly noted and your participation appreciated....By the way what is the speed limit in your neck of the woods ?
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it depends on what road....
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"What are your thoughts on how assisted suicide should be regulated ?"
I have to take time to contemplate it more deeply. Just off the top of my head, I would place a cool-off period before the assistant is allowed to perform the procedure. Secondly, the assistant should be licensed to ensure that he or she can administer the procedure as efficiently and painlessly as possible to the suffering. I would also require that the suffering be consulted with an attorney, so that any legal issue concerning him/her and his/her family is resolved and documented. I have not researched into the issue, so I'm sure there are a lot of issues to consider that I have not covered.-
Yes it is a very complex issue but I think you've outlined some relevent requirements....
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WE can for animals but not for people? Is that because we are the stewards of the Earth but not our brother's keeper?
I'm grateful that I was able to give my kitty a peaceful end (finally posted her video this weekend) as over a dozen tumours popped up each week.
I haven't had to make the decision for a person, but it is in my medical records that I will not be on life support and the plug should be pulled, my proxy person knows this too. Nowadays, that seems like a form of Euthanasia.-
Taking someone of artificial life support is different than euthanasia. At least it is in my mind. I'm sure you'll hear from people who strongly disagree.
I would have no problem at all honoring a request like yours if made by someone in my family. But I would never, ever be able to listen to a doctor who said, this person cannot lead a good life. I propose that we kill her.
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Being put on life support systems or being taken of life support systems raises many of the same concerns that come into effect when a person wants to use euthnasia to end their suffering caused by a medical reason or accident...
They would probably be under the same umbrella in terms of solutions and laws that could be made... -
Euthnasia is evil. It was created, like abortion, to remove the non white/blue eyed/european people. Hitler and people of his ilk:Margaret Sanger, wanted to have a pure race. Did you know abortion was primarily made to sound nice to the black communities and Margaret Sanger used Black preachers to spout this form of murder about black women who became pregnant?
Read about her, she was pure evil and had to flee to Europe for her unconventional and unorthodoxed views.
blackgenocide.org/sanger.html
www.citizenreviewonline.org/special_issues/population/the_negro_project.htm
margaretsanger.blogspot.com/
Yeah,euthnasia and abortion are the same in that communist want to kill the pre-born, mentally challanged and old. ALL BEFORE THEIR TIME. Just to have this super human race. WHITE ONLY. Is this scary or what?
God loves all his children and He made them all individuals.
Raise your hand if you want us to all be ROBOTS!!!
NOT!!-
Thank-you for your input and links...It is particularly interesting/ironic that margaret sanger spoke at a 1926 kkk gathering and years later Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. received the "Margaret Sanger Award" from the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA).....
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Jeeeeeze, I have to disagree with much
of what you wrote, MomOfTwinGirls...
But it's people having differing beliefs,
AND the right to express them, that
makes things interesting around here!
I believe both abortion and euthanasia
are about people having control over
their OWN bodies and lives. And I feel
that people SHOULD have that control.
It has nothing to do with race, or color
of skin. ALL humans should have the option
to make choices about what happens to their
bodies. And yes, for me, that includes the
choice to end their lives when their quality
of life has dropped to the point where they
no longer want to continue that life.-
Jaya, what do you think about futile care legislation that allows medical facilities to overrule patients and their families and withhold treatment?
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Jaya,
Your body is not your own. You were bought at a price. Your body should be treated like a temple. Holy and without blemish.
I do not own my body and would not want to. This body is only temporary, a shell if you will. This body will not live on, only my soul and my soul is the most important thing to my Creator, Jesus Christ.
"For to live is Christ, to die is gain." Philippians 1:21
"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body."
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (New American Standard Bible)
I just hope and pray my Lord comes to take me home before I or my family ever has to make a decision of this magnitude. -
Thank-you Jaya for your input and stating your position...
Regarding abortion, other than pregnancies caused by rape or contraceptive failures, we have the controls of abstinence or safe sex practices to avoid abortion... -
attention momoftwingirls : What are you thoughts on organ donations ?
If indeed your "body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you" should we or should we not donate our organs to help people in your opinion ?
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Every Adult Male & female should have the right to choose their own destiny.
If it doesn't affect anyone else's regular breathing patterns but their own.-
Why only adult? At what point does that right kick in?
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I stop at Adults. I am not even going on that Topic MadameX
I gotta know when to clamp it shut
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Not sure what "that topic" is. Just curious about where the magical line might fall. I have a stepdaughter, for instance, who will be 18 in February. It's hard for me to imagine that she'll be a much different person or somehow have more value or entitlement or ability to control her own destiny six months from now than she has today....or that she has appreciably more of those things now than her 15-year-old brother...but does something quantifiable happen between there and my 11-year-old? I can't see where there might be a clear line.
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I don't either. For the age issue, any
arbitrary age is going to be wrong
in some cases, as humans mature at
differing rates.
I don't have the answers on the
finer points, I only know that I do
believe that people should not be
forced to stay alive under appalling
conditions of suffering if they do
not want to do so. Speaking for
MYSELF, if I want to die, it should
not be a crime to make that choice.
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That topic was the response to children MadameX. In response to your question. "why only Adult?"
When I think of the topic of Euthanasia,I cannot imagine a kid looking up to their parents and asking, "will u allow me to die, or just kill me".
That hasn't entered my mind until now that you said it.
18 yrs old is an Adult.
The line must be drawn when you will willingly allow someone to suffer after they have begged for some peace and for their suffering to end. It just sounds like totrure to me.
This ill is dying and they want to stop the pain.
If it's a child? That's not something you should ask anyone, that's a choice between you ,the child and your higher power. This I think would also depend on your religious beliefs.
Like some doctrines or Preachers who think they understand a Doctrine, might say that a person is going to Hell if they take their own life. Then another will preach they will be judged, and another They will be re-born, etc...
If I had to make a decision like this with a family member, I think i would rather give them half my life, because I couldn't.
There's my 2cents
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