Doctor Assisted Suicide

Euthanasia/Right to Die Forum

I wanted to start a post to get some views from people on how they feel about doctor assisted suicide. I'm have mixed feeling on the subject and was hoping maybe I can discuse it with some of you. So what do you think?

Ok since noone wants to start this off I will. The reason I ask is my mom works at a nursing home. I vist the people up there often. There was a lady there that had cancer, I'm not sure of exactly what kind but eventually her throat would close up and she'd choke to death. Now this could have happened anytime, 2 days 2 weeks 2 years noone knew for sure. But after talking with the doctors her husband gave the go ahead for them to pull her medicaton. They keep her in bed, with no food and no water. Basically they let her dehydrate and starve to death. It took her 13 days to die. Basically I believe it was murder. I woman wanted food, when they came in to feed her roommate she would ask for food and water. She couldn't take care of herself. They just decided to go ahead and end it now as opposed to later. So if they are gonna starve someone to death why not go ahead and just give her something to go to sleep and her no wake u p instead of going through all that pain? This kinda of thing happens all tha time. They did it to my grandmother. So what do you think?

I think that is a horrible thing to happen to someone. The reason they decided to go was to end their suffering...not prolong it. 13 days!
The worst thing was that the woman was actually asking for food and water.
So sad.

Sad indeed.

From a Biblical view, God makes it perfectly clear that He alone has power to give life, and He alone has power to take it.

From a medical view, a doctor takes an oath to protect life in ALL CASES. A doctor starving a patient to death is not doing everything in his power to see that the patient is treated, and is therefore breaking his oath. His license should be stripped.

True, but this sort of thing happens all the time. The doctor wasn't breaking the law, its actually stardard practice. Espically after Hospice is call in. After that starts the Morphine and then its bacisally all over. They stop wanting food so your instructed not to even offer, thats what happened with my grandmother. But this lady wanted food. She asked for it, but they decided it was best to basically end it so they starve them to death. So which is better. Either way its killing someone, but which way do you think its more humane, starving to death or taking something where youll just go to sleep and not wake up? It's tough thats why this has troubled me so much.

That is terrible. I agree, if someone is terminally ill and has the ability to make that decision that there needs to be something else. Starving an old woman is plain old SICK and disgusting. Someone ever starved my gramma there would be all sorts of hell to pay.

There was nothing artifical keeping her alive. She was old she had cancer, she couldn't speak but communicate with hand signals. Since she couldn't speak they ruled her incopitent. This gave her husband power of attorney over her. With comsulatation from the doctor the husband decided it was best to withhold meds, food , and water. I agree if they were going to do this they should have moved her to a private room. She would strain her neck looking at the other ladies food and grunt and cry pointing to her mouth. She knew she was hungry. Another bad thing about it is with new laws personal info and residents can't be posted, so they couldn't hang the usual sign up over the bed saying in code not to give food or water. So NA's filling in not knowing the situation would on occasion give her water which prolonged her suffering.

Nymph, thanks for the added information. I just think it's cruel the way they treated her. Choking to death would have lasted a few minutes. Being starved to death lasted 13 days. And, during all of that time, she can't help but felt abused, unloved, and unwanted. The emotional impact must have been horrendous.

Just out of curiousity, how often did the husband visit during these 13 days? What did he do to comfort her? Did anybody comfort her?

That is so horrible that they did this to the lady. She realized that she was hungry and thirsty. What a horrible way to die. Im curious as well, as to how many times the husband came to visit.

I mean, if she were in a coma and did not realize what was happening, mabye it wouldn't be so horriffic. But to see an elderly lady ASK for food and water and not give it is just plain cruel (that and the fact she was in a room with someone that was being fed).

I'm sure the lady did feel horrible. And they didn't even know how long she had she could have still been alive for years. The husband did visit pretty much every day. She also had some other family members visit towatd the end. They left very upset with the staff saying why doesn't someone feed her, she needs someone to feed her. The staff couldn't tell them anything because of new laws so apperantly the husband didn't explain to the entire family what was going on. Now I know it sounds like the husband was trying to off his wife. I personally don't think that was the case. Dealing with stuff like this is hard, and he was going on what the doctors and nurses felt was the best decision.

BTW.. of relevance to this conversation is a previous topic that's been around for a while now: http://www.inreview.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=36

I just found this thread.

In Oregon we have a law for Medically Assisted Suicide and I am in full support of it. But there are strict rules regarding Death With Dignity, as it is sometimes called. The patient must be terminally ill, they must go through extensive therapy and must be cleared by their therapist with a clean bill of mental health so that the doctors and family know that the patient knows exactly what they are asking for, and the doctor can not be the one to administer the fatal dose of medication. The patient must sign forms stating that they know what they are doing and it must be their own hand that administers the fatal dose. They can take the dose at any time that they chose, and many just keep the medicine by their bed as a safety net to take when they are truly ready, if they ever end up taking it at all.

The law has been around for a few years and has been voted on and approved twice by Oregon voters, and very recently Bush tried to get the Supreme Court to get rid of the law but they voted to let us keep it.

I don't think this is as hot a topic in Europe as in the states, certainly in The Netherlands and Switzerland this is doctor assisted suicide is perfectly legal, it is pretty much like in Oregon.
what happend to this lady though is pretty bad, why was she not just given a fatal dose of morphine and it is over and done with.

nikiTa i don't think you really understand the situation. You say murder. Your right either way it's murder. But if they are just going to stop feeding someone or giving water to someone who can't get it themselves than that is going to kill them. It's perfectly legal and happens on a daily basis. So if you can kill someone by starving them to death and it last weeks, why not do the humane thing and get it over with. I'm not talking about just whoever wants to die let them do it, I'm talking about these situstions where things are already set into motion that are going to cause their death anyway. How can you not see that? Can't you atleast agree that that would be the less of the two evils?

Its wrong in the method they used, simply letting her starve, and I know as a new user I wont get much respect, but I do believe Doctor assisted suicide should be perfectly acceptable. Although, it should not be anyones choice other than that person, it is they're life, not anybody else's. Good for them if they're secure enough to die. But I reiterate *NOBODY ELSE HAS THE RIGHT TO TAKE YOUR LIFE*. The method itself should be a painless pill or injection, similar to putting animals to sleep.

I think that in Switzerland and Holland euthanasia is carried out by a massve cocktail of mucle relaxant, morphine and sedatives pretty much what is used to execute people by lethal injection it's menat to be humane and dignified way to go out.

Someone wants to die, they should be allowed to die, and competant authority should be able to assist without sanction. Everyone else should butt out. It isnt their life.

gaylon

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Your cited death was NOT a "doctor assisted suicide" it was, by definition, MURDER, unless you left out a little detail.

Any act that causes the involuntary death of another is an act of murder as defined under your local law.

Wow.. The story about the woman with cancer actually made me naseous. It's just sick of them to do that...

My personal feelings on assisted suicide in general: Like rubicontao said, it's their life. If someone has an incurable illness that leaves them bedridden and they want to die, it's their right to do so. But it should only be done after a thorough analysis by psychiatrists to make sure they are actually in their right mind. They might ask for suicide because they're content with the life they've had up to this point and are ready to go, or they might ask for it because they have severe depression that could be avoided if treated correctly. If they're just ready to go, then give them the chance to take that option. If they're suicidal, treat them like you would any other suicidal person until they can kick their depression. And if they're ready to go after they've fought through that, let them make the decision.

Euthanasia is perfectly legal in countries like Switzerland and The Netherlands and wht you see is terminally ill people making the physically painful journey to these countries to die so it's not like banning it in one country is going to stop it happening.

Personally if I found out I had cancer or Motor neurone disease or something like that as soon as the symptons got bad it's the first plane to Switzerland for me. I know there are relgious objections but the way I see it god gave you life and if he gives you a terminal diesease he wants to take your life all you are doing is speeding up the process and retaining a little dignity with it.

I wouldn't say that's God's way of saying he wants to take your life (never mind that my concept of God is different). My mom has the worst type of multiple sclerosis there is and has been stuck in a wheelchair for twelve years. But the funny thing is, having a crippling disease made her realize she shouldn't take being a mother for granted. She was self-centered to a ridiculous, ignorant fault before, but after she was diagnosed, she actually started making efforts to smooth things over for me whenever bad stuff happened. I only have one happy memory of her before it happened, and even that was probably just her showing off her cute little kid to her friends. I have lots more after that. Quite frankly, I don't think she got MS because her life was supposed to end- more like our's weren't supposed to because of some stupid thing she neglected, or so I'd be able to think fondly of her.