Euthanasia?

[Boond]

Main Entry: eu·tha·na·sia

Pronunciation: "yü-th&-'nA-zh(E-)&

Function: noun

Etymology: Greek, easy death, from euthanatos, from eu- + thanatos death -- more at THANATOS

: the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals (as persons or domestic animals) in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy

 

With abortion being fought over, why not its sibling, euthanasia? Where do you stand?

Edited August 29, 2004 by Boond

[Lauren]

err.. i don't know enough.

i will clear my brain and be a mediator haha.

[Boond]

i guess i get to draw first blood...i think mercy killing is a viable option for those people for whom death is a matter of how soon, and the every waking moment leading up to that is agony...if a person in this situation is willing to have the plug pulled so to say...doctors should be allowed to assist in this and make the death as painless as possible..

 

also in the case of triage is mercy killing a good alternative...if you are too far gone to save they will leave you to die, rather than let you bleed out, or choke on your own blood, why not give them a morphine overdose: a painless death?

 

however i can see the converse of my opinion as well, my friends mother was daignosed with terminal lung cnacer (she was not a smoker either) and was told she had AT MOST six months to live...however due to her dogged will to live she managed to live another five years...sure these years were full of pain and chemo...but she was always smiling and never complained...moreover she got to see her son grow up, her eldest daughter get married and her younger daughter put her life back together...

 

so in some crcumstances i am for it

[Lauren]

reminds me of 'premature burial' by edgar allen poe.

[Boond]

i think i may have given a kid in my cabin at camp when i told them "the cask of amontilliado" by edgar allen poe....its another buried alive story

[Sparq]

Sure...I'd take a bullet to the head over agonising death by napalm or a lethal dose of morphine over bleeding out through a fatal shrapnel wound any day. Is it 'right'? Depends on your point of view, religeon, morals, etc...but it's better than the alternative for the victim in any case.

 

Assisted suicide for physically healthy people is where the line blurs...chances are there's some mental issue that might be resolved...though I can't see euthanasia of the 'terminally' insane being accepted any time soon.

 

Like the abortion issue, I don't think I can answer with any certainty. What is 'right' for me may not be for someone else, and that's their call to make. This isn't something that can be universally legistlated. As such...consider it a pro-choice thing. We already have the 'do not resuscitate' orders in practice at hospitals...within reason of course.

 

I did not vote...none of the choices really suit. I'd have to take more than one.

[juanpe]

it must be very VERY hard for someone who is terminally ill or really suffering to get to the decision of terminating with his/her life... we should respect that decision, specially because I guess - in general conditions - nobody wants to die and if u get to a point of really wanting it, it is because u r really suffering...

 

there should be a law allowing this

[Crusader]

They already practice this in a few areas in Europe. I think it's a good thing.

[no yu begin wher i end]

I believe euthanasia is right only in cases of terminal illness and intense suffering. Take the case of Robert Latimer, for example (the farmer who killed his mentally handicapped 12 year old daughter). Tracey Latimer had a severe form of cerebral palsy. She couldn't walk, talk or feed herself, and functioned at the level of a three-month-old. She weighed under 40 pounds. She suffered from terrible seizures and had gone through several surgeries. Robert put her in his car in the garage, ran a hose from the exhaust into the cab, kissed his daughter goodbye and turned on the engine. He was later convicted of second degree murder.

 

I find it hard to justify putting anyone through the kind of torture diseases like cerebral palsy inflict. The opponents of euthanasia say that it's like playing God. I disagree. Everything we do is like playing God. Curing a disease like polio or smallpox, is that not also playing God? Is saving people's lives in a hospital every day not playing God? All physicians take an oath to "do no harm". I think it does more harm than good to allow a person to die a painful death in a hospital bed hooked up to iron lungs and the like. Is it too much to ask that all people are accorded death with dignity? I fail to see the dignity of lying in a vegetative state for years, slowly dying and wasting away in a hospital, away from loved ones and friends.

 

Anyway, that's how I feel on the subject.

[juanpe]

yes, they do it in some Scandinavian countries... they are also planning to discuse and try to pass a law in the spanish parliament regarding this... see what happens!

[Boond]

i like how the scandanavian goverments run things....wind power, strong economies, and unobtrussive military power (sweden)

[juanpe]

exactly, more socially concerned than most of the capitalist countries... hope that with the new socialist government in Spain, solved issues are more oriented to social problems, like euthanasia for example