Just watched this powerful documentary that follows a woman diagnosed with terminal liver cancer.The film tackles physician assisted suicide and centers on the life of Cody Curtis as she opts out of the hell that is cancer.
Didn't really care for the political side of it but on a personal level-wow.Don't ever remember being this moved by a film,emotional as hell.Sure makes you think about a decision we'll all have to face one day.
Sounds fascinating, but I've already watched people die of cancer and have little interest in watching it again. That said, I do support this woman's choice.
Just watched this powerful documentary that follows a woman diagnosed with terminal liver cancer.The film tackles physician assisted suicide and centers on the life of Cody Curtis as she opts out of the hell that is cancer.
Didn't really care for the political side of it but on a personal level-wow.Don't ever remember being this moved by a film,emotional as hell.Sure makes you think about a decision we'll all have to face one day.
This subject just pisses me off to no end...Because of some bible thumping moralistic a*sholes, I am denied the right to pick when/where/how I would depart this earth in the event I am diagnosed with some terminal illness....Instead, we are condemned to slowly waste away, defecating in adult diapers, tube feeding and rotting from the inside out.
We treat our pets 100% better.......
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This subject just pisses me off to no end...Because of some US Government, I am denied the right to pick when/where/how I would depart this earth in the event I am diagnosed with some terminal illness....Instead, we are condemned to slowly waste away, defecating in adult diapers, tube feeding and rotting from the inside out.
We treat our pets 100% better.......
fixed
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This subject just pisses me off to no end...Because of some bible thumping moralistic a*sholes, I am denied the right to pick when/where/how I would depart this earth in the event I am diagnosed with some terminal illness....Instead, we are condemned to slowly waste away, defecating in adult diapers, tube feeding and rotting from the inside out.
We treat our pets 100% better.......
The next time you vote, find out where the party and candidate stand on the issue and vote accordingly.
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"A pessimist thinks things can't get any worse. An optimist knows they can."
I'm a bookkeeper's son
I don't want to shoot no one
Well I crossed my old man back in Oregon
Don't take me alive
Got a case of dynamite
I could hold out here all night
Yes I crossed my old man back in Oregon
Don't take me alive
Voting for an independent, protest party or abstaining?
If you voted for one of the parties that shot it down, then you helped make the decision.
Did you write your MP and tell them how you would like him or her to vote?
A lot of people like to complain about these laws but very few are active enough to work on changing them.
I wonder how many people deal with the issue by simple ending their own lives, rather than waiting for the bureaucratic machine to do anything about it. I would venture to say more than a handful.
I think there is more problems with euthenasia than appears on the surface. I've heard stories of adult children pressuring a parent to end their lives and of doctors who were less than diligent when issuing a perscription for death. It is a lot of responsibility to put on a doctor. It is even more wieght to put on an elderly patient.
People can make the decision to end it all simply because they are suffering from clinical depression. They could decide because of chronic pain when a change in medication or a better doctor would have fixed the problem.
My Aunt whoes career was spent working with elderly psychiatric patiences said that with the drug choices out there today no terminally ill patient should have to endure pain. If your doctor can't find the right mix than you should find another doctor. I've seen this play out in real time recently. A dear lady from my church has been suffering from lung cancer which had spread to all her organs. She became weak enough to have to move into her daughter's home about 4 weeks ago. The doctors installed a morphine gadget that she could remain mobile with. All she had to do was press a button when she needed another shot and it would release some of the drug. She was in church last Sunday on her own two feet and died Tuesday night at her daughter's home.
I know it is easy to think about the best case situation where the doctor is competent and the terminally ill patient has made a clear decision after considering and knowing all his/her options. That unfortunately isn't always real world. The elderly often have difficulty just deciding when to give up their driving privileges or when to move into assisted living facilities. They also can have difficulty questioning their doctor or demanding things like appropriate pain relief. A law like this would put a huge wieght on their shoulders. I just think that with the ability doctors have to provide pain relief it is better not to pass a law that although it might be a brief relief for some would be a burden for many.
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I know it is easy to think about the best case situation where the doctor is competent and the terminally ill patient has made a clear decision after considering and knowing all his/her options. That unfortunately isn't always real world.
The level of competency of doctors carrying out these procedures would improve tremendously if they weren't forced to conduct themselves in secret. This field of patient care would also improve by doctors being able to share their knowledge and experience with each other. As for adult children pressuring their parents to die... is there any kind of non-anecdotal evidence that might establish this concern as something that policy makers should be considering above the right of a person to choose when and how to end their own life?
You can't craft policy that allows people to make free choices by imagining the worst possible outcome and assuming that it will be the rule.
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The elderly often have difficulty just deciding when to give up their driving privileges or when to move into assisted living facilities.
Frankly, I think that these scenarios are more ambiguous than choosing whether to carry on fighting against a terminal illness. Besides, a choice being difficult shouldn't mean that people are denied the right to make one. We don't ban assisted living facilities because adult children might pressure their parents to move there to unburden themselves.
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They also can have difficulty questioning their doctor or demanding things like appropriate pain relief. A law like this would put a huge wieght on their shoulders. I just think that with the ability doctors have to provide pain relief it is better not to pass a law that although it might be a brief relief for some would be a burden for many.
But what about the people who wish to die because they have been incapacitated to the point where they cannot live to an extent that they are enjoying life? It might not be a question of pain... it could be a situation where life is no longer worth living because the body has broken down. And what about the people who are fully capable of making the choice? Why should they be denied a right because of the possibility of another person finding the choice a burden?
The level of competency of doctors carrying out these procedures would improve tremendously if they weren't forced to conduct themselves in secret. This field of patient care would also improve by doctors being able to share their knowledge and experience with each other. As for adult children pressuring their parents to die... is there any kind of non-anecdotal evidence that might establish this concern as something that policy makers should be considering above the right of a person to choose when and how to end their own life?
I don't see how the level of competency would improve with more doctors able to issue drugs to kill one self. You've got Doctors who are very good at their craft and others who hand out drugs like candy or miss obvious things that causes people's deaths. There would be doctors who would quickly get the reputation for being sympathetic to suicide and others to be avoided.
As far as a study showing misuse of the suicide laws in Europe; I don't know of any. How do you measure family pressure or prove clinical depression post-mortem? Given the occurance of senior-abuse or parent-abuse in our country, along with the fact that inheritances are often involved I don't know how one could believe it wouldn't occur. In America with limited health care coverage even more pressure would be added.
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Originally Posted by Savvy27
You can't craft policy that allows people to make free choices by imagining the worst possible outcome and assuming that it will be the rule.
Actually that is the purpose of all kinds of laws or regulations. That is the very reason the government regulates drugs in Canada.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Savvy27
Frankly, I think that these scenarios are more ambiguous than choosing whether to carry on fighting against a terminal illness. Besides, a choice being difficult shouldn't mean that people are denied the right to make one. We don't ban assisted living facilities because adult children might pressure their parents to move there to unburden themselves.
I think it is a lot harder to decide whether or not to fight a terminal illness than you think. It is easy to do when your life isn't on the line. But, to push that button that you know will be your last act or to eat your last meal knowing you are going to die in a half hour is quite a bit harder. We see people endure all kinds of invasive treatments just to stay alive a few more months. I'll bet more than a few of them might have looked at death differently when it wasn't on their door step.
There is also the issue of when you kill yourself. If you are give 6 months to live you might be dead in 4 months or 2 years. How much of that time you still retain a high quality of life you don't know. Will the date be earlier because of the cost of treatment or because of the effect you are having on your loved ones? Will you make that decision even though your scared to death and don't want to die? Do you make the decision because you are suffering from depression which is a natural stage in the grieving process?
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Originally Posted by Savvy27
But what about the people who wish to die because they have been incapacitated to the point where they cannot live to an extent that they are enjoying life? It might not be a question of pain... it could be a situation where life is no longer worth living because the body has broken down. And what about the people who are fully capable of making the choice? Why should they be denied a right because of the possibility of another person finding the choice a burden?
I think that opening that door would invite much abuse and undue stress. It also gives doctors and hospitals the conflicting tasks of preserving life and taking life.
Do we as a society provide easier avenues for the ill and the elderly to die or work to improve their quality of life?
If I was an MD, I would not feel comfortable prescribing death. I support people making their own choices, but I feel that it could put MD's in an awkward situation.
How to Die in Oregon
