Euthanasia

[mig]

A British woman has won the right to refuse treatment that
keeps her alive.

Predictably the 'fors' claim a victory for 'right to die'.

The 'antis' say she has only won the right to refuse treatment not
the right to die.

What I want to know is how can anyone be anti.

 

[crysede]

Personally I am pro, but I can understand how someone could be anti. If euthanasia is permitted I can imagine that seniors who were dying in hospital might be pressured into asking for euthanasia (even though they did not want it) by family members concerned about the costs - seniors are already at great risk for abuse by the younger generation in western society: it's not too far a stretch to go from shipping mom or dad off to the home, to shipping them out for good.

As well, I see the same risks where the mentally or physically disabled are concerned, they are another group whose lives are devalued in our society, making euthanasia seem acceptable, and thus their decision to ask for unlikely to be given proper scrutiny.

 

[sch00lteacher]

I think people fear that once it becomes common place, it will be abused.

Look at how Hitler's minions used it, and I am not talking about gas chambers or concentration camps. This wasn't all that long ago. I'd imagine many in England haven't forgotten it.

As long as it is left up to the individual in question I have no real problem with it. I wouldn't want family members to have the power. I damn sure wouldn't want the state to have the power (in this case state being any level of government).

I am sure some family members would love to get rid of grandpa, so we can get on with the will. The government would like to save money.

I have seen people who should have been put out, let out, however you want to word it. When I worked in the state mental hospital on the geriatric (old people) ward. Some of the patients had been in a vegatative state for 10, 20, or more years. Fed through a tube. Muscles locked. Pissing and shitting on themselves. We had no idea if they were in pain or not. They were not living a human life. But who should have the power to sign the paper asking for the needle to end it all?

This isn't a simple yes or no question. I could see a lot of people voting 'anti'.

 

[Laurel]

I am pro youths in Asia.

 

[Guest]

What I want to know is how can anyone be anti.

I'm as confused as you are on this issue. These "anti's" seem to feel they have the right to tell us how we are supposed to live, IMHO.....course I feel the same way about those "pro-lifer's". Maybe they all need to get a life.

Moon

 

[Guest]

As long as it is left up to the individual in question I have no real problem with it.

I agree they have to be in their right mind to choose it...not someone elses.....

Moon

 

[BarberBabe]

A British woman has won the right to refuse treatment that
keeps her alive.

Predictably the 'fors' claim a victory for 'right to die'.

The 'antis' say she has only won the right to refuse treatment not
the right to die.

What I want to know is how can anyone be anti.

As far as I know we here in the good ol' USA have always had the right to die , just not the right to kill our selves. But who is going to charge me when I'm dead ? I think we are more humane to our animals than we are to our dieing . I have seen cancer patients scream in agony because nothing will stop the pain . I dont want to go that way . I wont go that way. I think "Anti " means uninformed, in this case.

 

[crysede]

I agree they have to be in their right mind to choose it...not someone elses.....

Moon

But that's where the real problem lies isn't it: how do you know when a person has made their choice freely, and when they have been pressured into it by someone else? We certainly can't just take vulnerable people's word that they have not been coerced: if they have been coerced into asking for euthanasia it is likely they will also have been coerced into lying about why they want it. But hospitals can hardly afford to pay for a full investigation into every persons request for euthanasia, searching for and eliminating possible sources of coercion.

I have no idea what the solution is, and I believe that the harm done by not allowing euthanasia out weighs the potential harm in legalizing it - but that potential for harm in allowing it really does exist IMHO, it's not something that the anti's are making up.

 

[sch00lteacher]

I am pro youths in Asia.

Oh Laurel.... come here....



http://www.afnews.af.mil/products/primer/spank.jpg

 

[Lost Cause]

In this case, I can't be "anti". I passionately feel everyone has freedom of choice. They should be free to live their lives as they see fit, and they should pass on as they see fit. Any religious arguments are moot since in religion, they teach individual responsibility for the judgement of God.
My Parent's want to be cremated, I want them to be buried so I have a place to go to talk with them. That is their decision, and I honor it for the same reasons for assisted death.
For doctors to be against it is hypocracy, since their primary goal is being paid, reactionary medicine as opposed with holistic.

I ride a motorcycle, I want to ride it without a helmet, as I have for twenty plus years. Others do not, for very selfish reasons, want me to exercise my own judgement in the way I live. The parallel is the same. You are for freedom of choice for all, or you're not!

 

[Khadgar]

Seniors usually have a little money, and thats why the have the money! if they are pressured, dip into the "hire a thug" fund. you just have to have a strong mind and not put up with young "whippersnapper" BS....

hmmm.... seeing as a snapper is a pussy, does that mean a whippersnapper is someone who.... nevermind! heh heh heh

 

[The_Masseur]

What about life?

First, I am pro-euthanasia.

However, I can understand the 'anti's'. Throughout the 90's, we've seen victimization become elevated to an art form. Even people who have no one to blame but themselves are bombarded by people saying that it's not really their fault.

Please consider: is there any form of expression to cause a person to feel guilty more piercing than if their (alleged) victim commits suicide? Since most suicides fail because the people are actually asking for help rather that actually wanting to die, do we have the right to enable them?

And, lastly, who decides the amount of pain that delineates the boundary of 'euthanasia' and 'suicide'?

Before we heave the closet door wide open, perhaps we should make sure there really isn't a monster in there.

 

[The_Masseur]

For doctors to be against it is hypocracy, since their primary goal is being paid, reactionary medicine as opposed with holistic.

Doesn't the Hippocratic Oath begin with 'First, do no harm'?

Many doctors fight to save lives. They see even a glimmer of hope as Hope; even if the Hope is not for the patient is question, but for someone else whom they can apply the lessons learned at the cost of a life.

 

[kotori]

There can be "Harm" in false hope.

 

[The_Masseur]

There can be "Harm" in false hope.

Indeed there can be. Does that mean we should stop dispensing anit-virals and other AIDS drugs since the disease is uniformly fatal? Or should we continue to treat its victims in the hope that a cure can be found before they succomb to the disease?

As I said, I am pro-euthanasia. I believe that the right to end one's life is just as important as the right to live it as freely as possible. However, there are questions that I feel need to be answered, and they are beyond me.

Still, I can post them to the rest of you, and maybe someone will come up with one.

 

[Unclebill]

Rerun

Here's a link to a previous euthanasia thread which might provide some more interesting reading.

http://www.literotica.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=53328

 

[Laurel]

Oh Laurel.... come here....



http://www.afnews.af.mil/products/primer/spank.jpg

Another spanking? Damn.