Should euthanasia or "death with dignity" be available to anyone upon demand under controlled circumstances?
When I hear people talk about the difficulty of euthanizing their elderly or desperately ill pets I immediately think that at least we accord our pets a more logical and merciful death than we do to our fellow humans. The wonders of modern medicine can be as much a curse as they are a blessing. We live in an unprecedented time when we can know what will probably kill us twenty years down the line. To modern doctors death is the enemy which must be fought to the last possible moment. Little concern is given to the quality of life of the patient/victim, only that they be kept alive.
The conspiracy is broad-based. Big Pharma wants to keep you on maintenance drugs and never seems to come up with cures. A patient cured is a customer lost. If they stumbled across a $1 cure for AIDS or cancer would we ever hear of it? And then there are the private, for-profit health insurance companies that are really legalized extortion and protection rackets sucking billions out of the health-care system for administration, profits and to pay lawyers to find ways not to honor the benefits spelled out in their policies. The patient is but a scrap of meat ground up in the gears of corporate medicine. If we truly have free will shouldn't we be allowed to opt out?
There are many reasons someone may want to take advantage of doctor assisted suicide. One would be to avoid a prolonged and torturous illness. Another might be to avoid being a burden to loved ones. There are also those who are alone in life and don't want to go through the steady drip, drip of watching their bodies deteriorate due to age. If the request is initiated by the patient, there is no outside duress and the patient has thought through their decision with the consul of medical professionals what gives the state the right to deny such a request no matter what the circumstances? Like back alley abortions unassisted suicides can be messy affairs that can lead to unintended consequences like paralysis or brain damage. The primary reason for legalizing abortions was to end horrific atrocities committed in non-clinical circumstances. Wouldn't the same argument apply to suicide?
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I feel that if you want to stop living no matter the circumstances doesnt matter if you are healthy or dying who are we to say no? As long as you can pass a mental health test to say you're in a clear state of mind who are we to say no to their request. They obviously understand what they are doing. I mean if that was an option I would be the first to sign up.
Benjamin1994
Level 2
Feb 17, 2018
1
Read my novel around this topic 'The Ladies' Suicide Club'. I explore the pros and cons or assisted suicide and end-of-life plans. In various parts of the world more and more people are moving towards the idea that we should have as much control over our deaths as we do over our lives, and medically assisted suicide is now legal in about a dozen countries and US states, though in a lot of them only for people with terminal illnesses or life-limiting conditions. Saving up prescription drugs is not the best way to go. it is too easy to fail and you risk ending up in a worse state than before. There are drugs that will do the job efficiently, but as someone else pointed out, the most effective and painless is a helium or nitrogen bag. The are several organisations that give very good advice and information - My Death, My Decision, Exit Internatiuonal, Friends at the End, are three that I know.
CeliaVL
Level 7
May 1, 2018
1
I have wrote my story on topic I am not afraid to die...I have hiv 27yrs and in great health. My husband died 19 yrs ago with hiv. The torture he went through is unimaginable. When I am very sick and can't take care of myself that will be my time to die.NO ONE HAS THE RIGHT TO TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME. I have saved many pills over the years I just want to gently go to sleep forever.
RobinL
Level 4
May 4, 2018
0
They’ve been argueing in the Dutch Parliament over a ‘fulfilled life’ law, to extend the euthanasia law which allows bypassing a life of suffering, so that anyone who considers they have lived a fulfilled life can opt for euthanasia. I’m entirely in favour myself, but they haven’t been able to sort out the terms of the law in a way that satisfies a majority.
Denker
Level 7
Aug 10, 2018
0
I don't see how assisted suicide can work fairly without universal health care. Health care has to be equally accessible to all before death with dignity can be equally accessible to all. Medically assisted death with dignity has always been available to the wealthy and the powerful, it's the poor that have had to deal with this problem on their own and with all the pitfalls that come with that.
Surfpirate
Level 9
Feb 24, 2019
0
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