Euthanasia

[D]

whats your thoughts?

i watched the movie "Million Dollar Baby" a month or so ago and i got to thinking about this

do u support or are u against Euthanasia?

i am for it

i think if someone is brain dead or is terminal they should be allowed to choose how and when they die, i see nothing wrong with doctor assisted suicide.

whats your thoughts?

[Captain Obvious]

First one to use use the joke "kids are kids, whichever continent they live in" should get banned. Wait a minute. I guess that would be me.

Euthanasia places a huge strain on the question of ethics, and not just those dealing with the actual death of the patient. Once patients are legally allowed to give permission to terminate their life, and doctors are given legal permission to do that, suddenly pressure is put on terminally ill patients and their doctors to make this choice, to free up resources for those less ill.

Also, there is a risk of professionals using this in their advantage or in bad intentions. Knowing that the consent of the patient/family is all one would need, doctors may purposefully try to convince families or even medically force patients to agree to pull the plug. Black markets for organs might also make some families give written consent in cases where the law would usually protect the patient.

On the other hand, If a person is in excruciating pain, who are we to deny them the right to choose their destiny. Just because we have holes in the system, does not mean others should have this right denied. This is a two sided issue, that I can't choose a side on, simply because I am not knowledgeable and educated enough to do so. I think it would probably come down to the question of which side involves less sacrifice.

[Walk]

End it now, it is the only way
Too cruel, that is what they say
Release me from this lonely world
There is no hope - Why don't you
PULLL THE PLUG!!!
Let me pass away
PULLL THE PLUG!!!
Don't want to live this way

Death- Pull the Plug 

I think it's a good idea if the person agrees to it.

[Nightfall]

If you don't want to suffer unnecassairy you can put it in your will that you don't want to be reanimated or be on life-support or something like that. Atleast in Holland you can.
In the case of a baby..well it's difficult but i think it should be discussed by politics that they make a list of certain illnesses where the baby has no chance of a normal/long life WITHOUT pain that the parents and doctors are allowed of ending the babies life. I don't think such list will be something ppl grab to end their kids life...it is still and always will be a difficult decision to make.

And black market organs..well that's happening now too..so i don't think that will change alot. I think in case of adults ppl should write it down in their will and discuss it with their family so they know of their decision.

It's a complicated subject.

[Gunnerguy]

I don't have a problem with it. If someone is in such pain and misery that they want to end it all then why force them to live an extra couple of months (or years) of pain and misery just because of some misguided ethics system.

The baby thing is different not sure about that after all who are you to decide if they are worthy of life or not? Where do you draw the line then? All handicapped people should be put out of their misery? all people with an IQ less than 90? Anybody who can't run the 100 meters in under 13 seconds?....thats crap. Only the person themselves should be able to decide ... then again i dunno shit so...

[MCT]

Why don't we just leave the Oriental kids alone, huh?

[Drew]

I don't think anyone terminally ill should have to live in pain. People shouldn't be forced to suffer.

[D]

like Terri schiavo, they are taking off her feeding tube, so she gets to die a slow miserable agonizing death

they should take out her tube, take off her life support and inject her with something and kill her, no pain no more suffering.

[SLCPUNK]

like Terri schiavo, they are taking off her feeding tube, so she gets to die a slow miserable agonizing death

they should take out her tube, take off her life support and inject her with something and kill her, no pain no more suffering.

I agree. The doctor on that case says her brain is not really aware of what is going on. But who is to say?

Right now we have two ego-driven sides, political and religious leaders grandstanding around this poor woman. Only person we can't hear from is her....an American tragedy at it's worst.

If they do take her off the tube, they should inject her and let her die right there. To do otherwise is cruel I think, since nobody really knows what she is feeling. From personal experience I have found doctors to often be stubborn, not willing to listen and in some cases dead wrong.

Reminds me to write a living will.....if this ever happened to me...pull the plug...please.

[Nightfall]

The baby thing is different not sure about that after all who are you to decide if they are worthy of life or not? Where do you draw the line then? All handicapped people should be put out of their misery? all people with an IQ less than 90? Anybody who can't run the 100 meters in under 13 seconds?....thats crap. Only the person themselves should be able to decide ... then again i dunno shit so...

i was referring to some illnesses that some babies have like they don't get older then 1 or 2 years and that period of life would be so painfull (they hardley can be touched by their parents without pain. Their was a discussion about those babies (maybe 20 in Holland alone) about how to deal with it. In my opinion the only reason why they don't pull the plug on these babies is because of research...they're used as testing material. Ofcourse it's necesarry but none of the parents want that for their baby, and now they can't end the suffering because of some stupid law.
And ofcourse we can't always decide what's best for a baby but there are some cases in which the doctors can and i think the politicians have to listen to that and make a proper law about it.

[Narcissa]

I don't think anyone on this forum is qualified to make credible discussion on Euthanasia.

It's easy to talk about it and take sides,
but when it's actually happening in front of you, your opinions will fly out the window.

[Axl4Prez2004]

   First off, Pretty Hate Machine, you are wrong.  I happen to be rather qualified.  I have worked with hundreds of folks who are either terminal or close to it.  The biggest problem the general population has (and I think everyone can agree on this) is a fear of death and they don't plan on shit like this.  In my eyes it's irresponsibility that is to blame.  Alot of folks on this board are pretty young (at least that's what I saw on the latest poll) so we don't think about death, and therefore we don't put our wishes down on paper.  Poor Terri Schiavo is made to suffer years and years in a vegetative state because she never made her wishes known (other than to her husband, apparently in private). 

   D makes a great point about how we treat suffering dogs better than suffering humans.  It's true.  It really sucks.

-Axl4Prez   

[D]

dude im qualified to discuss every subject except maybe hang gliding and sky diving

Seriously, if that were my mother lying there, i would much rather the doctors give her a shot and she feel no pain and die, then to lie there and fuckin starve to death for maybe a week or two.

that is cruel and barbaric. If she has a death sentence, why not let her die easy? that makes the most sense to me.

i personally think her husband is a dick that wants to collect insurance money or something, her parents have offered to take care of her and keep her alive etc

so he should file divorce papers, sign away his power of attorney rights and let her live

but he wont, so at least let her die with some dignity and with as little pain as possible.

[SLCPUNK]

I don't think anyone on this forum is qualified to make credible discussion on Euthanasia.

If you have an opinion then you are qualified.

I don't think anybody was asking for a medical viewpoint...but rather an opinion.....

[Acquiesce]

I agree with you, D. I think it is extremely cruel and barbaric to let her starve to death. She isn't being kept alive by artificial means (life support), she is being kept alive by food and water. No one should be denied the basic right of food and water. I don't think they should go by her husband's word either. He never mentioned these wishes back when he sued for $20 million when he was claiming he was going to take care of her for the rest of her life.

As for euthanasia, I do think it should be legalized but as someone pointed out it does bring up many ethical issues. However, I don't think it's right letting a terminally ill person suffer. We put animals down when they are suffering. Why can't we relieve the pain of our loved ones?