Originally posted by l_e_cox
People exercise their "right to die" all the time. It's not really something we need to confer on anybody. Even though death is hard for most people to go through, if someone wants to die, they'll find a way.

The consequences for the people they leave behind is often more to the point.

A well-off guy could decide to check out without making any responsible provisions for what he leaves behind. His lawyers could end up with the estate and leave the family paupers. Did that guy have the right to do that?

Absolutely he had the right. He earned the money and paid for the estate. It is his to do with as he pleases.. even if it left his family as beggars on the street.

That is a moral issue and not one I, myself would think is the "right" thing to do. However, it is "legal" to do. There is where the difference lies.

Originally posted by sugarcookie1

Originally posted by amkia
You don’t give life; you don’t take one (even if you think that it is your own).

IMHO life is a school of process where the spirit matured and get ready for the next process, pain is the part of the experience.

Thank you for your opinion i value it..But i don't think pain and suffering should be part of the experience of life..

Hi sugarcookie,
Im sorry to hear of your unwanted jouney.
I do have to agree with amkia on the point they brought up.
I too think it is part of life that some of us have to experince pain, loss and suffering.( its part of life)
It doesnt mean you should be happy and embrace the experience. But just eccept that things like your experinece can and will continue to happen.
Maybe there will be a time in the future when this wont be the case, but until that time , well.... some will have to experience the hard parts of life more so than others. Im am sorry that you are one of those.
Goodluck on your journey though this.
I send you all the positive energy i can muster.

Peace.
Meathed

Originally posted by meathed
Everyone has the right to die with dignity.
Everyone.

Thank you and i agree everyone!

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, of course. The way I see it, it is your life, and if you decide you have had enough, you should be able to end it in the way you choose.

Me personally, I have always said that if I develop a terminal illness and know that only pain and suffering lies ahead, I will jump from Rainbow Falls.

I have heard tales of people doing it and surviving, but I've certainly never seen it done. I've always wanted to, but seems like pretty certain death to me. As good of a way to go out as any, and preferable to dying in a bed in agonizing pain.

Originally posted by meathed

Originally posted by sugarcookie1

Originally posted by amkia
You don’t give life; you don’t take one (even if you think that it is your own).

IMHO life is a school of process where the spirit matured and get ready for the next process, pain is the part of the experience.

Thank you for your opinion i value it..But i don't think pain and suffering should be part of the experience of life..

Hi sugarcookie,
Im sorry to hear of your unwanted jouney.
I do have to agree with amkia on the point they brought up.
I too think it is part of life that some of us have to experince pain, loss and suffering.( its part of life)
It doesnt mean you should be happy and embrace the experience. But just eccept that things like your experinece can and will continue to happen.
Maybe there will be a time in the future when this wont be the case, but until that time , well.... some will have to experience the hard parts of life more so than others. Im am sorry that you are one of those.
Goodluck on your journey though this.
I send you all the positive energy i can muster.

Peace.
Meathed

Thank you for the positive energy

Originally posted by VariableConstant
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, of course. The way I see it, it is your life, and if you decide you have had enough, you should be able to end it in the way you choose.

Me personally, I have always said that if I develop a terminal illness and know that only pain and suffering lies ahead, I will jump from Rainbow Falls.

I have heard tales of people doing it and surviving, but I've certainly never seen it done. I've always wanted to, but seems like pretty certain death to me. As good of a way to go out as any, and preferable to dying in a bed in agonizing pain.

edit on 3-4-2011 by VariableConstant because: bunk link

I agree everyone is entitled to their own opinion on this subject..with my luck id jump off Rainbow Falls and live lol and be in total agony..Thanks for the reply!

Originally posted by TerryMcGuire
You do know this is a huge can of worms. This calls into question everyone's basic assumptions about life and afterlife. I won't go into philosophy.

Baring accident, I will go when I want, laws or no laws. I will find a way to spare my family of legal implications. I will not leave a mess. It's off to the forest for me. Some place that I can just go to sleep. Maybe take some pills, or just maybe stop eating and hang out with the chipmunks for a week or so. I don't know.

Everyone knows the horror stories of life lived beyond the ability of the individual to care from him/herself.

I mean, this is the biggest thing we do in life, die, isn't it? It's not like what we will watch on tv tonight.

I know, I'll take some tunes and just bliss out. I even have the music picked out. la la la

There ya go, terry...I feel that anyone that is terminally ill has the right to LIVE...as well as the right to die.
As long as one is able to function mentally and communicate...we have the right to choose whether we
should live or die...we do not need someone to make that decision for us. Many would be surprised that those
society has written off as non recoverable...can still be of some importance, and live longer than even their doctors predicted with very few problematic life functions...other than pain. (can be controlled)

Todays society feels that once someone is given the diagnosis...terminal...they are basically already dead. They send in the "Death Angels" from hospice and start psychologically tearing the person down {most of the medical practitioners involved} by feeding them crap about how they are going to die soon, get your affairs in order, and if you wish..."leave a do not recessitate order, you're a goner anyway."

Each of us should have the choice how we will LIVE in our end times, never loosing hope...making each and every day count. When it is time to go it will be at the choosing of the person themselves...not at the constant suggestion of "others".

I think this subject is a good reason to have a legal will. I think you can deny extreme measures to stay alive in case you are unable to say at the time. It's good both ways for those who would want it and those who don't.
And to Sugarcookie, prayers and best wishes to you.

I do have a problem with this, it's something that would need to be extremely well regulated. It is possible that ill people may feel they are being a burden to the family and the best solution is to die. But that decision is made out of guilt rather than want.

I have like many others experience it in first hand my wife was terminally ill with a lot of pain, there was no chance of recovery and she wanted to die,but the doctors did not allowed because she did not put it on paper, her suffering was not that long it was 2 months(all though nobody has to suffer) it was enough for me to collapse after my wife passed away and still see the picture of her in my mind with tremendous pain.

So for me personally they have to right to die if there is no chance of recovery

I fully support the right to choose, frankly, at any time in ones life.

Many societies have considered it the more noble way, and i think that walking with your head up into the next life is an honorable thing to do. This is the difference between man and animal, we can think, see what lies ahead and act on it. Wasting away is not only a horrible way to go, but a drain on the resources of the family. Yes this is a factor, like it or not and is to be taken into consideration.

With the current situation, if you commit suicide, your family will be left with no benefits, and if you don't the hospital will drain them while everyone suffers.

Why, for some superstition about the afterlife. If God made us to be intelligent, then surely we are expected to live and die with that intelligence. Its a very naive viewpoint to think we have to suffer or we are playing God. We play God all the time, when we kill to eat, when we cut down trees to build houses and so on.

The fact is we are afraid to face this subject head on and human up and say its OK, this is the 21st century, we prolong life, cure disease when it makes sense to, and end it when its time to, Making sure, of course, that we have left everything in order for our loved ones.

Having just read how and widow is just been jailed because her husband didn't leave a will, and that is ok. but to gracefully bow out isn't shows how messed up our culture has become.

Originally posted by SeekerofTruth101
Every human life is precious and means something special to another.

Thus no human must be allowed the option to commit suicide.

You are free to live in misery until you die.

But you dare tell me when I can and cannot end my life, I might just take you with me.

If someone is terminal and they are of sane mind to talk for themselves then I think they should have the right to decide but if they are not of sane mind... I'm not too sure, there might be people who are terminal but want to spend every last second with their family and prolong their life as long as possible.

I've seen posts talking of terminal illnesses but so far no one has mentioned anything about the aged. There are two people very dear to me; one is mid 80's with severe Alzheimer's and the other is early 80's with a sound mind but who recently had a stroke on top of a myriad of other health problems.

The fine lady with the Alzheimer's was happy and vibrant just a few short years ago and enjoyed life to the fullest. She found beauty in everything and fault in no one. Now she doesn't want to eat, is incontinent (sp?) goes into fits of rages where she sounds like "Turrets Guy" only worse...mind you she never cursed prior to this. She is so thin and frail that the slightest thing will bruise her skin or worse yet cut her skin. Most of the time she doesn't know where she is and she has lived in the same house for over 40 years. A promise was made to her (as well as to her husband before his death) that she would not be placed in a nursing home. Taking care of her at home is not quite as costly as a nursing home, however, it is extremely emotionally taxing on the entire family. I cannot imagine that she would choose to continue to live this way IF she were able to make a conscious choice. Additionally, about 7 or so years ago she had a living will written in the event that she becomes hospitalized she does not want to be kept alive by the use of breathing apparatus and/or feeding tubes

The other wonderful woman who recently had a stroke has had ever increasing health problems for the past six years. Six years ago she suffered a series of heart attacks and had a quadruple bi pass. She has diabetes, thyroid problems, intestinal bleeding...I could go on and on. She has said to me many times (not that this is something I enjoy hearing) that she is worn out and tired, that she would like to be able to just take something and "go to sleep". She said that she has had a good long life, but feels now like life is dealing her a cruel hand by making her suffer so. She (as I think I have seen in a few of the previous posts) has used the dog analogy. "They don't let old, tired dogs suffer." She said to me, "So why should old tired people suffer? We have lived our life, raised our kids and grand kids and great-grand kids too; we should have some say over when and how we go."