Euthanasia - Agree or Disagree?

Horse_box · 02-01-2011 02:05PM #1

I saw an interesting documentary last night on the topic of Euthanasia and it got me thinking.

If someone gets to the stage in their life where everyday is complete agony and suffering, should they be allowed decide that enough is enough and voluntarily end their life through the system of euthanasia?

TPD · 02-01-2011 02:06PM

Agree completely. What's the benefit in keeping someone alive, against their will, in agony? I certainly wouldn't wish that on anyone I know.

Fukuyama · 02-01-2011 02:09PM

Agree.

When someone is in a state where they're going to die yet have months left, are in agony, can't control bowel movements etc... are delirious and are causing huge pain upon themselves and a family, why keep them alive?

I would want to go.

Also, people prattle on about God. Well I see it as pure evil to artificially keep someone alive with meds and hospitalisation while they're in agony.

- Dean

drunkmonkey · 02-01-2011 02:10PM

Shoud we not be testing anti agony drugs on them. Or maybe we could use them for stunts in movies.

drkpower · 02-01-2011 02:10PM

As long as one can be very confident that the decision of the person was voluntary and informed, why the hell not?

We allow people in similar situations to refuse even the most basic & simple life-saving treatments if they so choose, so there is no good reason why they cannot similarly choose a direct intervention that ends their life.

tallaghtmick · 02-01-2011 02:14PM

i would only agree if the person was suffering too much

KeithM89_old · 02-01-2011 02:16PM

If a family member was in extreme pain and terminal, id have no problem with it. Id even do it myself if it came to it...

Micky Dolenz · 02-01-2011 02:20PM

Euthanasia, it's deadly.

Fittle · 02-01-2011 02:22PM

Agree 100%. Know a few friends who have elderly parents in nursing homes now - no quality of life whatsoever. If I got to that stage, I'd prefer to be gone.

OP, your first point in your poll makes it sound like we're agreeing with suicide if we say yes to it.

Biggins · 02-01-2011 02:23PM

I honestly don't know what is the right course of action.
I can see both sides.

storm2811 · 02-01-2011 02:26PM

If someone is feeling depressed and suicidal then I think they can be helped, through counselling or therapy, I don't think it should be available to those who can actually improve and get better, it would seem like a waste of life imo.

To those who are terminally ill however, I think it should be available to them.
I've seen first hand how hard and draining a disease can be on someone and rather than pointlessly struggling on knowing you you could die any day now without a chance to say goodbye, you should have the choice to just end it before all that happens.

A few years ago my grandmother agreed with her doctor and family that once she cannot look after herself anymore or if she forgets who we all are that she would choose euthanasia.
It did upset all of us somewhat but we accepted it and agreed that it was her choice.

Edit: She's Belgian so it's legal there in case anyone was confused, should have mentioned that.

Sulmac · 02-01-2011 02:26PM

As long as it is strictly regulated, I agree with it - we easily euthanise suffering cats and dogs but not people, even if they request it and are in unbelievable agony.

Any law should be based off the Dutch one:

The law allows medical review board to suspend prosecution of doctors who performed euthanasia when each of the following conditions is fulfilled:
the patient's suffering is unbearable with no prospect of improvement

the patient's request for euthanasia must be voluntary and persist over time (the request cannot be granted when under the influence of others, psychological illness or drugs)

the patient must be fully aware of his/her condition, prospects and options

there must be consultation with at least one other independent doctor who needs to confirm the conditions mentioned above

the death must be carried out in a medically appropriate fashion by the doctor or patient, in which case the doctor must be present

the patient is at least 12 years old (patients between 12 and 16 years of age require the consent of their parents)

Cheap Thrills! · 02-01-2011 02:26PM

We kind of have it unofficially; Morphene. Once they put you under with that stuff death follows pretty quickly.

drkpower · 02-01-2011 02:26PM

Fittle wrote: »

OP, your first point in your poll makes it sound like we're agreeing with suicide if we say yes to it.

Euthanasia is suicide; it is just where you get someone else to do it for you. Physician-assisted suicide is an often used term for it.

If you start restricting the medical conditions that someone must be suffering from before they can choose euthanais, you are getting into difficult territory.

It should be a free choice for each individual for whatever reasons they see as appropriate, subject to that individual being capable of making that choice in a free & informed manner..

ScumLord · 02-01-2011 02:28PM

A person has the right to do whatever they like with their bodies whether anyone else likes it or not. Every effort should be made to offer every alternative to the lose of human life but at the end of the day it's up to the individual what is the best course of action from their point of view.

Wolf Club · 02-01-2011 02:35PM

Cheap Thrills! wrote: »

We kind of have it unofficially; Morphene. Once they put you under with that stuff death follows pretty quickly.

That's a bit extreme, don't you think? Fair enough, morphene is an incredibly heavy duty painkiller to be used only in circumstances that require it, but to say it has a death sentence attached to it?

kylith · 02-01-2011 02:36PM

Watching my grandmother die in agony made me a firm believer in euthanasia for the teminally ill. It's horrible to watch someone who used to be so vital reduced to such a state.

We will end a dog's life if they're in agony, we say it would be cruel to let them suffer, so why is it not cruel to let a human suffer?

dcmraad · 02-01-2011 02:37PM

ScumLord wrote: »

A person has the right to do whatever they like with their bodies whether anyone else likes it or not. Every effort should be made to offer every alternative to the lose of human life but at the end of the day it's up to the individual what is the best course of action from their point of view.

Yeah I agree with you. Watched a family member go from active, to blind, deaf, incont, to empty over a 10 year period.

We do not need religious nonsense clouding judgements, stem cell research will change everything.

kylith · 02-01-2011 02:38PM

Wolf Club wrote: »

That's a bit extreme, don't you think? Fair enough, morphene is an incredibly heavy duty painkiller to be used only in circumstances that require it, but to say it has a death sentence attached to it?

I know someone who used to be a nurse. She said that if someone was obviously on the way out they would often be given a painkiller that was known to effect breathing, thus hastening their death rather than dragging it out.

dcmraad · 02-01-2011 02:40PM

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Shoud we not be testing anti agony drugs on them. Or maybe we could use them for stunts in movies.

Renault the car company used the dead bodies of children to crash test their cars.

Dr_Phil · 02-01-2011 02:41PM

Horse_box wrote: »

should they be allowed decide that enough is enough and voluntarily end their life through the system of euthanasia?

Yes, and whoever thinks otherwise should feel themselves a pain of dying from cancer, which would probably slightly verify their proud and pathetic statements.

Pherekydes · 02-01-2011 02:42PM

Agree.

Someone go and put Bertie out of our misery.

OutlawPete · 02-01-2011 02:47PM

We already have a form of Euthanasia which is not really discussed and that is when doctors use morphine in excess. It happens all the time and I witnessed people die where doctors have all but admitted that is what they did, sure happen more often when it obvious that it is needed.

I don't understand letting people die in agony.

To this day I wake up in the middle of the night with images of my father staring at me in agony but yet unable to say anything to me as he was so far gone. ****ing priest came into the room and gave him the last rights and made his suffering even worse by screaming in his ear and saying he had to get his attention, I felt like ****ing the guy out the window.

Have heard similar stories about Children's hospitals too with regards to over medicating to end suffering. An adult can somehow come to grips with the fact that they are dying in pain as cancer spreads throughout their bodies, but a child dying like that is barbaric and as the cliche goes, we wouldn't put an animal through that.

I total agree with Euthanasia and find it a nonsense that sufferers of Motor Neuron Disease and the like have to travel abroad to get help so that their final days in this world are not spent in insufferable agony.

barbarians · 02-01-2011 02:52PM

I agree with Euthanasia for terminally ill people but not if people just want to end their lives by suicide because they're going through a rough time.

The one thing is though where do you draw the line on it ?
There's bound to be some evil fúckers convincing their elderly, sick parents or whatever to go for Euthanasia just so they can get rid of them and clean up on insurance.

krudler · 02-01-2011 03:03PM

If I ever get to the stage when I'm mentally incapabable of looking after myself, and have to rely on nurses to change my adult nappies or spoon feed me, I want out of it. Why do we feel its a good thing to make people suffer to their last breath? cos its "gods plan"?

ebixa82 · 02-01-2011 03:06PM

Cheap Thrills! wrote: »

We kind of have it unofficially; Morphene. Once they put you under with that stuff death follows pretty quickly.

My brother was in a car crash in 2006 and broke his back. He was on morphine IV in hospital for weeks and then sevredol (morphine tablets) after...death didn't follow thou..maybe he was an exception to your rule thou!

macquarie · 02-01-2011 03:18PM

"But why should the young people in asia get to decide who lives or not ?"

-Ali G

drkpower · 02-01-2011 03:42PM

barbarians wrote: »

I agree with Euthanasia for terminally ill people but not if people just want to end their lives by suicide because they're going through a rough time..

It is perfectly legal for anyone to end their life for whatever reason they choose; why should that choice not be open to those who have physically lost the ability to end their own lives?

Obviously if someone is suffering from a serious psychiatric illness which affects their decision-making capacity, then that should be identified; but that can be done via a relatively straightforward mechanism.

barbarians wrote: »

The one thing is though where do you draw the line on it ?
There's bound to be some evil fúckers convincing their elderly, sick parents or whatever to go for Euthanasia just so they can get rid of them and clean up on insurance.

And that is why you have an appropriate assessment of each individual to ensure that if there is any suspicion of this, it is identified.

But bear in mind that, right now, there are bound to be some evil fúckers convincing elderly people to refuse certain basic life saving treatments for similar and other reasons, yet we dont have any regulatory framework at all around these decisions. Even still though, doctors do, are entitled and are obliged to respect such refusals.

Any proposed euthanasia regime would be absolutely water-tight in comparison to what occurs currently in respect of refusals of treatment.

Agricola · 02-01-2011 03:43PM

Where the person is suffering greatly, yes I agree with it. Nobody should have to live out their final days in agony. As someone else said, we'd put a dog out of its misery but a human being cant be afforded that privilege? - me arse!

Fighting Irish · 02-01-2011 04:22PM

religion ftw once again

Aswerty · 02-01-2011 04:23PM

I'd agree with euthanasia for people who deem their quality of life to be so bad that it is not worth living and who won't recover from whatever it is they are suffering from.

Euthanasia for all should only be considered when we have pretty much conquered disease, depression, aging and live in a world where your average Joe is as enlightened as the best of us are at our current stage.

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