assisted suicide-should it be legalized

[CristyCurves 169032]

It's been in the news, and my heart just aches for that poor woman, Susan Griffiths, that had to travel all the way to Switzerland to end her suffering. We do it for our pets why shouldn't it be allowed for ourselves and our loved ones. It easy to understand the need especially when you watch a loved dwindle and die from a terminal illness, it's inhumane and demoralizing for the person dying to allow them to linger, jmo, what are your thoughts.

[Fresh start 17467]

I totally agree with you cristy if someone is dying and suffering they should have that choice I even think they should allow a nurse to go to a place of choosing where they want to die as well.

 

My grandmother who was dying in a hospital be only wanted to die in here home at see all her kids together one last time but unfortunately we could not do this.

[shaved 3174]

I have to agree with you Cristy.

 

I know only to well about this kind of quality of life. My Mom at the very young age had Alzheimer's and I mean very young. We watched our Mother die a slow and in a way pain full death. It took 6 years to take her life. We watched her ever day as the disease progressed to become an infant again. She could no longer eat, walk,talk or even go to the bathroom.She didn't even know who I was. In the end pneumonia took he life because of being bed ridden.

 

Could I/we have allowed someone to assist her in her death? I know I couldn't make that decision,even though I knew there was no cure and the only outcome was for her to pass. She could not make that decision on her own because by then she would be considered of not sound mind or body.

 

We are the greedy ones because we as human beings can't let go of a LOVED one. It is not in our nature.

 

But yes I do agree with someone that is suffering should have a choice. As long as they are of sound mind, to make that decision.

[Guest s******ecan****]

absolutely we should have the right to have competent medical assistance if we choose to go this route.

[Icebreaker 3938]

I very much agree with assisted suicide if that is the person's wish. I know for myself if ever I had a terminal illness or was heading into a situation where there was no hope for recovery I would like that option.

 

Considering the healthcare resources that go into keeping someone hanging on, I personally would not want to be that kind of a burden when the same resources can be used elsewhere. In a no hope or terminal case I would like to go quickly and peacefully. There are others who would want to bravely fight to the end and I respect that choice as well.

 

It's a personal decision for everyone and at the end of the day it is whatever brings you peace at that stage.

[baileydog 9367]

suicide has not been illegal in Canada since 1972

I cannot fathom why assisted suicide, under closely defined conditions, is still illegal

other jurisdictions have been able to define this

Canada should be able to as well

[Guest *Ste***cque**]

I think our religious beliefs have a lot to do with this issue, plus not wanting to say goodbye to a loved one.

 

I think as a society we will eventually realize that assisted suicide in some cases is appropriate and not a "sin". It is important to have rules in place so potential abuse is avoided.

 

We already have DNR's(do not resuscitate) which I suppose could be argued is hastening their death. Why prolong someone's pain? Seems like needless cruelty to me, especially if they just want to end the pain.

 

I know I would prefer to be put on an ice flow when my time came. No offence intended to any Inuit in that last sentence.:)

[PatrickGC 10792]

Hello Cristy:

 

It all boils down to just one thing, and only one thing.

 

When a person's quality-of-life has diminished to the point where they feel more anguish in living. It is time to respect their wishes and assist them in dying in a manner and they choose. This is one of very few issues I take a very hard line on. I have seen personally, people suffer... A person must have dignity throughout their life!

 

When people, groups and bureaucracies put themselves first, ahead of the person in pain, I become enraged. We cannot understand truly what the person is going through and our discomfort must take a backseat to their wishes.

 

We can however, empathize with them; let them know they are loved and then, let them go with kindness and respect.

PatrickGC

[Reddog2402 2221]

I totally agree with you Cristy. I lost an uncle a few years ago to ALS (Lou Gehrig Disease). It was terrible watching him deteriorate physically, while his mind stayed sharp. I could see how it pained him - to be unable to do anything for himself, the physical pain, the mental anguish.

 

I never had the courage to discuss it with him, but I wish I had. Personally, I know if I were to go through it, there would be a point where I would know that it was time to go, that my existence would no longer be what I would consider LIVING. To be a burden on my family, draining their resources, their physical strength, their mental strength, all the while extending my pain...it seems wrong on so many levels.

 

In my view, an individual should be able to decide for themselves when its time to go.

[Guest a**4*]

I agree with assisted suicde it should be legalized and that person should have that right to choose and not the courts or anybody else.The ones that do not agree need to put themselves in that person's place and think about all the pain and suffering they are going through let them go in peace and knowing they lived a good life

[roamingguy 300292]

This has crossed my mind too. With my father suffering, yes suffering from terminal cancer (stage 3 CLL leukemia, lung cancer and bone cancer)

He is in constant pain, and needs to be on pain killers, fluid build up on his lungs which has to be drained every two days...his life is reduced to sitting in a armchair and looking out the window. Actually I thought by now he would have passed away.

Has he thought of euthanasia? I don't know for fact if he has, he hasn't discussed it with me. I know if I was in his shoes I certainly would be thinking of it. Assisted suicide should be an option for those who are suffering, the quality of their life going downhill, and never going to improve. Life isn't important, living is. And sometimes, nature or circumstances are cruel, you can be alive but unable to live.

We are more humane to animals that are suffering than we are to people

Why we can't show the same humanity to people (and sometimes the most humane thing to do is euthanasia) under their worse circumstances I don't know

A depressing rambling

RG

[Guest Ot**w***og****n]

This is an important and highly personal issue that needs to be discussed with one's immediate relatives too while they are in good health and are clear of emotion. My wife and I discussed this along with life sustaining or life support systems when our quality of life became too diminished. In the final weeks of her life she was on life support and I knew this is not what she wanted. She was terminally ill and had been in a coma for weeks, was non-responsive, had brain damage and organ failure and she was being kept alive by a variety of life sustaining means. It had come to the point where all medical avenues had been exhausted and she still had a terminal illness to contend with. Through me, it was her choice and that of her attending physician to discontinue all supportive measures and to let her pass quietly and peacefully. It was not a suicide on her part nor was it assisted by a physician, however it was a close parallel in that it was her right to refuse life sustaining measures. It was out of love, compassion and respect for her wishes, I had her life support systems discontinued at the hospital. It was in her best interest and what she wanted.

 

Some people keep their loved ones alive for their own self-interests as watching your spouse, child or parent die is very difficult. I have great difficulty with various groups who feel they must advocate on behalf of those who are terminally ill or have little to no quality of life; I resent the fact that they are intruding upon the rights of those who have decided they can no longer live with their illness or disability as they somehow feel this is a cull of some sort. Each situation must be examined on an individual basis and when a person is of clear mind decides they want to die they should not be prevented from doing so by some special interest group.

 

Not all physicians will be able to assist someone end their life even if it is legally possible to do so due to their religious, moral or ethical values and I understand that, however there needs to be a system in place that will permit people to die with dignity on their own terms when they have exhausted all medical options available to them and are making a choice in clear state of mind. Physicians who are compassionate enough to help people towards the final moments of their lives need to be able to do so without fear of the law. Those against any such system argue it's against God's will, it will lead to abuse and culling of the disabled, and that there are adequate pain relief measures in palliative care to alleviate suffering etc. These arguments may be valid in the minds of those subscribing to them, yet they should in no way supersede one's freedom of choice as to how they endure their final days due to illness and little to no quality of life. I strongly support physician assisted suicide so long as it has a system of due diligence built into it with various criteria to preclude misuse beyond what is intended.

[Goombata72 1556]

I never thought about this in my entire life until I had a first hand experience with watching someone you love suffer so much. I watched as this happen over time. Going from being able to talk and do thing on their own to being awake but like a coma type person. They could not talk eat move they could not do anything for themselves for 4.5 years. I had to watch them 24-7 and hope that the pain and suffering they where going thorough would end and they would be in peace. I have seen this with my grandma (2003-2004) and my brother(2006-2008) but the one where I wish I could have traded place was watching my son(2006-2010) go through this and not being able to do anything. I want to say that Dyeing with dignity should be a right not a choice.

[oldblueeyez 15475]

Until it becomes legal, if I ever suffer from a terminal disease, I'll be feigning severe pain and hoarding as many Oxycontins as I can, and then I'll make my own choice of when to go; either that or a charcoal burner, duct tape, 3 bottles of wine, and a very small room. Why go to Switzerland?

 

Life isn't important, living is.

I like that; short and sweet and so true! I'm sorry about your father. I'll be going through the same damn thing before long, I'm sure.

[MightyPen 67414]

I'll join the chorus and say that yes, I think it should be legal to obtain assistance with suicide. Why shouldn't we each have a say in how, where, and when we die? At its best this can be a dignified end to a life led well.

 

I've read some material and seen some documentaries about this. The organizations I've read about screen their applicants carefully and will only help those who are terminally ill and are making a clear, informed choice. They won't help people they think are simply depressed, or who are acutely ill but have reasonable hope of a cure or of managing symptoms with pain relief -- that kind of thing.

 

Which raises a next question -- okay, so if we make assisted suicide legal, what limits should we place on access to the service? It makes intuitive sense to me that we should screen out the depressed and the curable, BUT... I'm not sure exactly how I justify screening people out like this and removing the decision from their hands. Who am I to decide someone doesn't qualify for the service?

 

Best I can come up with is, if you're legally competent, you should be able to request assisted suicide. Mental illness would therefore disqualify you, because your decision-making powers aren't really reliable. But then... some might say that choosing suicide in the absence of a terminal, incurable illness automatically qualifies as mental illness.

 

Tricky.

[Tsukiyo_Chevalier 3242]

In my job this is something that does come up a lot along with suicide in general, so i will be as objective as i can. I think that people should have the right to do as they wish with there own life as long as it is there own choice. I have seen first hand many different pov on why it should be illegal from

 

A legal point being this would give an a person like a doctor to much power to just say try and get a person to end there life without helping them. (yes i was at a conference and this came up)

 

to a moral point being that all life it special and assisted suicide is just like murder.

 

to a religious point being that all forms of suicide are a sin.

 

This is just a few but you get the point, the main thing that i have noticed with dealing on this subject is that i see people say argument based on them selfs as the main person in question and not on what is best.

The worst and most self centered thing i hear from a lot is people who are completely healthy see it should be illegal because they would not want to have someone just end there life. how do they know that when they are not in that spot of have had someone in that situation.

I have gone thou watching someone in the same predicament and it is not nice to know there is not really anything you can do accept as in the case of going to another county and that is just wrong.

This is only my pov and i have left out a lot in order to keep this from getting into an argument but i do think that assisted suicide should be legal but i do know there issues if it is so i can understand other peoples views.

 

As always have a great and safe day to all

knight

[Guest Miss Jane TG]

There was a famous physician in the U.S. who was actually jailed for this cause. His name is Dr. Kevorkian. I knew about him when Al Pacino played his role in a movie by his name and started searching him. In brief, the whole illegality about this subject makes no sense and actually illegal in itself.

[chuckertmg 1789]

 

A legal point being this would give an a person like a doctor to much power to just say try and get a person to end there life without helping them. (yes i was at a conference and this came up)

 

to a moral point being that all life it special and assisted suicide is just like murder.

 

 

When we speak of "murder" or the "doctor having too much power" I think it's important to remember that all the posts in this thread are discussing assisted suicide and NOT euthanasia... there's a big difference. I do respect some of your points, though - thanks for bringing them up.

[Guest B**na***oy]

I'm not surprised to see that the consensus among the open minded cerb membership is favorable to assisted suicide or euthanasia. I too have been the helpless wintnes of incapacitating deseases that have affected close relatives and friends. It's heartbreaking to watch our loved ones loose their dignity to a point were they can't do anything about it.

 

The hardest part for me has always been to overcome the feeling that letting them choose to go when they're ready would be a greater act of love than forcing them into terrible pain and humiliation based on what some bielive are higher moral values.

 

Society is slowly moving towards a better understanding of the issue and a greater acceptance of alternate solutions such as assisted suicide. I bielive most of us will witness the legalisation of euthanasia during our lifetime, not as a result of an evolution of our moral values but because of the enormous pressure the aging population will put on the health care system.

[Guest webothscore]

I've only dealt with this once as I watched somebody suffer but he passed on before such a topic even entered my head. May you all have strength to deal with your various situations. I wish you the best.

[Tsukiyo_Chevalier 3242]

This is for the person who replied to my last post, i am sorry if i did not make what i was saying clear i will try and fix it

 

 

Hi just to clarify what I was talking about with out doing into to much detail in my work. one of the main things is that under the current legal stand point a doctor helping someone in an suicide is looked at in the same way as manslaughter or in some cases i have looked into 2 degree murder as a worst case. But when it comes to trying to get it legalize one of the main argument's is about MD's. and the issues that can come from it and as this thread is for what i think on assisted suicide i wanted to give a more facts like replay as this is something i have been thou with a close family member and is something i deal with alot in my daily life. also assisted suicide and active euthanasia are much the same thing. i say this only for info sake as i did not know what you meant by that part of you comment.

Again as i deal a lot with this i am very hopeful that the laws on this will change in the future.

[Guest L**gh M****e]

What immediately comes to my mind is this..."There's a strong hold from society and politics of "what's the right of an individual, assisted suicide or prostitution!"...it's all the same, "Why is it/or may be/or what was "illegal"? Who made up these Un-Chartered bills, laws, regulations? My question is, "What ever happened to OUR Charter of Rights"?....we as individuals are suppose to be guaranteed, "We have the Right of Freedom" by law to be protected!!!! What the fuck!!!!

[Guest Ot**w***og****n]

It seems to me we have fewer and fewer "rights" these days Lee. We have little to no control over our bodies and we are legislated and regulated to death (pardon the pun).

 

 

What immediately comes to my mind is this..."There's a strong hold from society and politics of "what's the right of an individual, assisted suicide or prostitution!"...it's all the same, "Why is it/or may be/or what was "illegal"? Who made up these Un-Chartered bills, laws, regulations? My question is, "What ever happened to OUR Charter of Rights"?....we as individuals are suppose to be guaranteed, "We have the Right of Freedom" by law to be protected!!!! What the fuck!!!!

[Nathalie L 112512]

I agree with Cristy, and with everyone else who has posted in this thread. While I support Canadians traveling to Switzerland to access the services of Dignitas, it means that only those who can afford the travel expenses can die with peace, and dignity. That makes my heart ache, because there are a lot of people in Canada who simply can't afford those kinds of services, but desperately want them.

 

I think it should be decriminalized.

 

Here's a news article from the 26th about the debate: http://canadaam.ctvnews.ca/assisted-suicide-debate-reignited-with-death-of-canadian-in-switzerland-1.1254921

[Guest C**Tra****er]

This isn't really a topic that gave much thought to until my mom passed away a couple of years ago from cancer. I can't say for certain that it is an avenue that she would have opted for, but nevertheless, I wish it was one that was available to her should she have chosen.

 

She was adamant that neither my sister, my dad or I watch her suffer, but that's exactly what we did. She fought a valiant and courageous battle for several years with surgeries and chemotherapy, always keeping a brave face and a positive outlook. I wonder now if that was more for us than it was for her. There were so many days that the pain medications robbed her life, but were necessary so that she didn't suffer with the pain.

 

It's high time that this option is available for those who suffer.