I am asking this very seriously. Please no flippant answers.

If you are against assisted suicide, have you ever seen someone in horrible suffering? Have you ever heard their breath gurgling in their throat? Their skin looking like yellow wax, drawn and emaciated? Watched them urinate and defecate on themselves and hate themselves for doing it? Have you ever had them beg you to kill them? Over and over again begging you to kill them? Would you yourself live through such a thing?

I have seen this, it was horrendous. I watched a person as her body ate itself. I know that if i were in that situation i would do anything to end that suffering. I couldn't help her, i wanted to i just couldn't. I just wondered if the people who are against assisted suicide have ever actually been faced with the worst of it. Not just in books, pictures or video, but actually seen it. I have seen it three times now, i never want to see it again.

I'm so sorry you had to go through that even once. I agree. It is a life-changing thing to see someone suffer to that extreme.

In the last three years, I went through the deaths of 3 close family. Two suffered while under doctors care in hospital. Mom decided to go to hospice where she was given sufficient amounts of morphine to keep her unconscious for 6 days before her body finally gave out. My father suffered in ICU for 2 weeks, losing all functions of body and part of his mind. He just wanted to go outside and see the sky again. Not die in ICU.

I would absolutely never allow myself to be admitted to ICU. Hospice would be fine. Those people are genuine and truly care about the patient and the family. I believe hospice is assisted suicide for those diagnosed as medically hopeless. So the Doctors have a huge role to play in who is thought to be "hopeless".

I would never assume (cough,cough) that insurance has anything to do with it though.

Originally posted by Hazelnut
I'm so sorry you had to go through that even once. I agree. It is a life-changing thing to see someone suffer to that extreme.

In the last three years, I went through the deaths of 3 close family. Two suffered while under doctors care in hospital. Mom decided to go to hospice where she was given sufficient amounts of morphine to keep her unconscious for 6 days before her body finally gave out. My father suffered in ICU for 2 weeks, losing all functions of body and part of his mind. He just wanted to go outside and see the sky again. Not die in ICU.

Sorry but this hit home even more for my recently. My father has Motor Neurone Disease, recently diagnosed and as the condition was discussed and he was told how bad he would get, his answer was simple.

"Don't let me die like that"

So i may, if my own health permits me, join the campaign to get this legalised. It just makes no sense why this is illegl. All that would be required is three doctors, neutrally decided if the patient is deffinitely going to die from their condition and if the patient is suffering.

Originally posted by Hazelnut
I would absolutely never allow myself to be admitted to ICU.

Well my father was in ICU and is now out. He hopefully has some years ahead of him. I wouldn't simply condemn someone because they were in ICU.

Originally posted by Hazelnut
Hospice would be fine. Those people are genuine and truly care about the patient and the family. I believe hospice is assisted suicide for those diagnosed as medically hopeless. So the Doctors have a huge role to play in who is thought to be "hopeless".

I would never assume (cough,cough) that insurance has anything to do with it though.

The people i knew were not insured, nor is my own father. I suppose i should have mentioned that to clear it up from the start. I can see how this may be abused but if you put a panel of 3 doctors up to decide on each case then it would i hope eliminate abuse.

The hospice is a great thing but when someone is coughing up their own lungs even they can only give limited care. Hospice isn't assisted suicide, it is death with attempts made at making it as painless as possible. Hospice is great for many conditions but not all.

I don't understand how people can be against assisted suicide. Our pets get treated better when it comes to suffering and the end of the line, yet humans have to wait it out and die when the illness completely takes over their bodies, always very painful and disrespectful in my opinion.

I'm a big supporter of assisted suicide and I want my family to know the options are there if they are in a situation that warrants it.

Saw my dad die from cancer he battled to his last breath. I dont really want to go into detail but he was in a fight for life.

He never gave up and in a way it gave me strength to never give up myself.

Go out as you came in kicking and screaming.

Take care.

Regards
Lee

Originally posted by h3akalee


He never gave up and in a way it gave me strength to never give up myself.

I'm sorry about your dad. I'm a fighter, my dads a fighter, but when you are diffinitely going to die, when you are doing nothing but lying in bed, defecating on yourself, in pain, struggling to breath, why is fighting to spend every last moment suffering seen as good and therefore assisted suicide is bad? My father happily isn't anywhere near this point yet, but he will reach it and when he does he would like the option to end his own life without anyone getting in trouble.

I would ask why the government has any say is whether you can end your life or not.

It needs to be put to a panel of three doctors, the decision must be unanimous. It must be carried out in a special facility for this. The illness must be a terminal one, either long or short term and the condition must be causing suffering.



[edit on 7-6-2009 by ImaginaryReality1984]

I'm happy to have voted in favor of assisted suicide in my state...which is now the second state to have adopted it. Personally, I would never want to go through with assisted suicide myself...but that's no reason why others shouldn't have that option. Of course, the religious fanatics of the right will always have their fits.

Originally posted by laiguana
I'm happy to have voted in favor of assisted suicide in my state...which is now the second state to have adopted it. Personally, I would never want to go through with assisted suicide myself...but that's no reason why others shouldn't have that option. Of course, the religious fanatics of the right will always have their fits.

Well i'm in the UK. Our country has become very secular and yet many people are still against it. One of the key reasons is the worry over abuse of insurance. These issues would be solved pretty easily. The only abuse would be families trying to push their relatives into it, however with three doctors on a panel, questioning the patient then i hope this ould be picked up and i'm sure it would be. Doctors are used to seeing patients in these situatins and they're used to seeing families.

A further rule could be implemented to say that no insurance company would have to pay out to a family if the family took out insurance after the diagnosis. This would greatly cut down on abuse in the UK as we have a socialised health care system, most people do not have private health insurance.

My grandfather fought until death to the point that he didn't want to go to sleep because he thought that he would not wake up again.

Finally the family had to get together and tell him that is was OK to let go he was over 100 years old battle prostate cancer for 25 and refused treatment.

People had the right to chose if they want to end suffering or go on, so I am all for Assisted suicide for those than want to end their suffering.

The main point of this though, is choice - should people have the freedom to choose? I think yes, in my heart I know - Yes.

I've also seen people suffer through long-term illness, with no hope of recovery and a couple of them fought on until the end, really trooped through it, inspiring that amount of willpower in the face of constant pain and suffering, but that was their choice. Another didn't want to live and made choices about their medical care that didn't prolong their life, yet still had to go through weeks of end stage cancer before their body gave up, they just wanted to go to sleep one last time.

Everyone in a free society should have the option of a humane and peaceful death.

Well, I think the main criteria should be the wishes of the person - this does, however, bring in the issue of people that for one reason or another may be unable to make that choice, for example someone suffering from dementia or alzheimers.
Although, I do think that with more open and frank discussion of the subject people would and should be able to carry something like a donor card.

Originally posted by jokei
Well, I think the main criteria should be the wishes of the person - this does, however, bring in the issue of people that for one reason or another may be unable to make that choice, for example someone suffering from dementia or alzheimers.
Although, I do think that with more open and frank discussion of the subject people would and should be able to carry something like a donor card.

Your card idea is interesting but i would keep this discussion only to people who are already unwell. It would be easy with dementia and alzeimer sufferes in modern times as they rarely fly under the radar. Diagnosis is usually quite early and so they would need to state their intentions early on. That way, once they are unable to decide with clear intent their original wishes would be carried out. If they don't decide early on then their family would not be allowed to decide and they would have to go through it all. This i would hope would stop abuse of the system.