Originally posted by Shamanator
They should this use this stuff to deal with the homeless and immigration problems just put it in a whisky bottle and hand it out. That's probably the only moral use for it because suicide isn't and is just a way out for cowards.

I'd test it on a dog before I took it anyway it could be painful or something but really anyone who kills themselves will end up in Hell so it should stay Illegal

This is MUCH different then "suicide" and obviously you have never had a family member who was terminally ill, and had to watch them suffer while the doctors said there is nothing they can do.

I hope no one ever had to escape such terminal pain, but it is there and in my opinion if its the medical equipment that is keeping them alive, then they are not really living. While advanced medicine and hospital equipment has helped increase the average lifespan by huge leaps and bounds, it also has a negative side. It keeps the unhealthy and dying alive longer then they should have ever lived, and puts a burden on the family, the tax payer, and the overcrowded hospital. We are creating a population epidemic because mother nature never intended people to live as long as they currently do, and it is nothing but selfish to make someone suffer and live way beyond their time if they do not want to.

We should spend less time trying to keep the dead alive.

[edit on 20-8-2008 by deadline527]

Suicide-The intentional taking of one's own life.

seems like suicide to me. yes i know it's hard to watch someone suffer while the doc shrugs his shoulders. it's still suicide. imho doctors who will prescribe this Secobarbital are acting like Dr. Kevorkian. Though that punk did it for different reasons. I can see how it would be justified in this situation, yet it's still suicide.

Originally posted by Sliick
Suicide-The intentional taking of one's own life.

seems like suicide to me. yes i know it's hard to watch someone suffer while the doc shrugs his shoulders. it's still suicide. imho doctors who will prescribe this Secobarbital are acting like Dr. Kevorkian. Though that punk did it for different reasons. I can see how it would be justified in this situation, yet it's still suicide.

That is true, and I totally agree. But, without all these hospital machines, most of these people shouldn't even be alive anyway. We are the ones forcing them to live, when its obvious that they should be dead. Why force someone to live in horrible pain, when they are going to die the second you unhook them from whatever they are required to lug around with them? Why not let them say their goodbyes to their family and go in peace, instead of a sudden, unexpected death that causes much more grievance to the family and friends.

As for Dr. Kavorkian, I would rather have a doctor assisted euthanasia then someone blowing their brains out with a shotgun. If someone wants to die, they are going to die, its just a matter of how. And what different reason did Dr. Kavorkian have? I thought he only dealt with terminally ill patients who were mentally stable and wanted to end their own life. He did NOT euthanize them, he only provided the means. They still had a choice on weather or not they wanted to go through with it.

[edit on 20-8-2008 by deadline527]

If you take the life of a wounded soldier on the battlefield begging for death- in thier eyes, you are a savior

If you murder in the name of religion, to others in that religion- you are a hero.

If you take your own life, in the face of pain and misery- in the eyes of religion you are a monster.

Our god is a compassionate one

maybe if you had someone else pour this prescription strength grogg down your face everything will be better.

Originally posted by deadline527
Hmm.. so death takes up to an hour?

What if you change your mind after drinking it? lol

I wonder if they have another chemical that is able to reverse the effects of this drug, or if its a guaranteed death once it passes your lips.

If you are terminally ill and in extreme pain, chances are, your not going to change your mind. You're going to wish it would hurry up.

I didn't see her actual death, but when i visited my grandma in her home on her death bed hours before she died I would've wished for her death to come at that very moment. She has melanoma cancer that was untreatable except that chemo would've given her only weeks. She decided to forgo any treatment at all except for pain meds and live out her last days in her home as opposed to a hospital bed.

She had a tumor behind her eye and it was pushing it outward. She couldn't eat a dang thing. She lost several pounds within a couple days. She was barely coherent and in incredible pain.

Why is it that people are so willing to put their pets out of their misery but will sit there and watch a loved one die.

A friend of mine's wife died a couple months ago due to kidney failure. Instead of being on dialysis 24 hours a day, which is the only thing that would've kept her alive, she decided to go home and die. Now, imagine that. There's IS NO POSSIBLE WAY she would've survived, yet, she had to lay there for about a day (give or take, can't exactly remember) just waiting for that last moment of life. Imagine the pain it also caused her family to watch her go through this. The trauma of expecting every single moment to be her last. If she had this drink, then it would've ended needless suffering for all parties and I would expect that she would've gone a lot more peacefully.

If my grandma had asked me to end her prolonged suffering, I would've done it for her, no questions asked. It was absolutely and entirely inevitable. it would've been the last loving act I could've done for her.

As for "First do no harm". I strongly believe that sitting there watching someone die in pain and agony is definitely doing a heck of a lot more harm than good.

Edit: What I should say is that if there were a lethal drug or drink like the one being discussed that was available, I would've done that for my grandma. I don't think I would be able to shoot her or something like that. That's not necessarily guaranteed and, well, very traumatizing, quite honestly.

[edit on 20-8-2008 by nunya13]

I think this is a good thing.

If I was sick/injured and dying a painful death and wanted to end it and the doctor couldn't or wouldn't give me something to end it, I would simply end it myself with a gun or a knife. At least if this is legalized there won't be a mess to clean up from those other people who think the way I do. There are so many cases where there is absolutely no hope, and these poor people have to sit and suffer for sometimes over a year.. Its one thing if you're still mobile and can make the most of your time, dealing with the pain.. but a lot of those people are bed bound the entire time... that's no way to live.

[edit on 20-8-2008 by Raverous]

Originally posted by deadline527
I only wish there was something like this medication at that point in time.

I don't understand this. Your uncle probably had plenty of medication available, he could have gone that path if he wanted too. Either he didn't want to or he never thought much ab out it (probably the former).

This drug is SYMBOLIC only.

I will say this.

I have no fear of death, i truly don't and i say that as someone who has faced his death. If i was in terrible pain, every day and had a diagnosis that i was going to die, then yes i'd take this drug. That may seem weak to some people, i am however a strong person, but i don't see the point in unecessary suffering. This goes for anyone wanting to end their lives.

However if the family wanted to end the life of someone else then that would be wrong of course. It's a personal choice, if you want to end your life you should be able to. At the extremes of this it's why is support the idea of suicide booths ala futurama.

That's maybe a different issue though.

The point for some is they have to finish their business with their loved ones, and suffer on to compete what they feel they must. That's why I know not everyone will take the draught to end their pain, but will hold on, until their grandson's birth, until their daughter shows up to visit from across the world, to say what they wish to, even though their medications often interfere with their consciousness. Everyone's wishes must be respected. Love is essential in these moments. I've heard of many people who had to be told it was okay to let go.

Originally posted by Shere Khaan
In this time of over population bring on the suicide booths! They could always remove the horribly painful option.

Soylent Green Factories...

If the person is that terminally ill-soon to die in horrible pain-, not just a suicide remedy for depressed emo youths, then it is their choosing.

Those who are saying euthanasia is an individual choice - "It's my body, other's should mind their own business" - are overlooking a number of important issues. This debate is not as straight-forward as it appears on first examination. At the same time I appreciate that many who advocate it have the interests of the patients at heart.

One of the biggest issues is consent. If an elderly and/or sick person agrees to have their life ended it could simply be the result of depression. That is why the majority of medical workers who work with the terminally ill favour the employment of hospice care or specialist home-based nursing staff in these situations. By maximizing comfort and by using the best pain relief methods available the patient is enabled to maintain a level of personal dignity and an awareness of self-worth that would be lost in a society where 'let them drink the poison' was an easy way out.

Then there is the issue of relatives exerting their influence on a terminally-ill patient for less than honourable reasons. Let's be blunt: money.

These issues have not been resolved in the Netherlands, where euthanasia is a legally-sanctioned option. Specialist care is far preferable.

Originally posted by Nookster

Originally posted by Shere Khaan

Soylent Green Factories...

SOYLENT GREEN!!! soylent green?!!!!! AGHHHHH

The big thing that makes me wonder about this all is the death penalty. I'm not a supporter of the death penalty but why do they use such elaborate methods when a barbituate overdose would be so much more efficient?