Euthanasia: Ok for animals but not people?

[Jaskalas]

There's already cyanide and lethal injections that are used for death on demand.

So far I notice there's no on here that's been against assisted suicide. Maybe as time passes, social norms will allow it to be a reality. I know personally, I rather die than spend years bed-ridden or otherwise disabled.

Amen to that. We just have to be certain and careful about how we approach authorizing it.

 

[crashtestdummy]

From a personal perspective, the most important thing you can do is have a living will, and make sure your family understands what your wishes are. If you don't want to be left on a machine with a tube down your throat write up a legal document that says so.

It's also worth noting the difference between what what doctors will do for their patients and what they want for themselves. The graph below (when asked what treatments they would want with an irreversible brain injury) makes it startlingly clear:

Yet despite this, they are required to perform all of these if the next of kin says to go for it.


Edit: On the original topic of euthanasia, I'm a little squeamish about that because of the potential for adverse motives of the next of kin, or the imprecision of doctor's diagnosis. I see doctor-assisted suicide as a relatively straightforward topic, though. If the person states that they want to die and are at the end of their life anyway, why not help them? I was sad to see my state (MA) turn this down by only 50k voters.

 

[waggy]

From a personal perspective, the most important thing you can do is have a living will, and make sure your family understands what your wishes are. If you don't want to be left on a machine with a tube down your throat write up a legal document that says so.

It's also worth noting the difference between what what doctors will do for their patients and what they want for themselves. The graph below (when asked what treatments they would want with an irreversible brain injury) makes it startlingly clear:

Yet despite this, they are required to perform all of these if the next of kin says to go for it.

i agree with having a living will.

My mother died a few years ago and she didn't have one. My sister was in charge of her medical decisions. she kept her on life support for 3-4 days even after the doctors all said that there was no way she was coming out of it.

after that i had a will done.

 

[blankslate]

One factor is that humans are much more capable than animals of choosing to commit suicide.

Depression and suicide are a reason why euthanasia for people is rather problematic.

Now I agree that if a person is terminally ill and the chances for recovery are so close to nil so as to be practically a miracle if it happens, then a person should be allowed to think about euthanasia. However, it's just not a simple issue when one gets down to how to implement that policy.

Sure society can put in safety measures however, some people might find ways to abuse the system in order to commit suicide.

 

[evident]

i agree with having a living will.

My mother died a few years ago and she didn't have one. My sister was in charge of her medical decisions. she kept her on life support for 3-4 days even after the doctors all said that there was no way she was coming out of it.

after that i had a will done.

3-4 days is much better than the months or years that some families are put through.

 

[K1052]

I saw a story on TV a while back on Gunderson Lutheran Hospital in La Crosse, WI and how they implement end of life planning. I think every major medical institution should have such a program.

http://rockcenter.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/19/13945441-in-the-end-making-hard-decisions-about-dying-brings-personal-financial-benefits?lite

As far as euthanasia for the terminally ill I think that should be their own decision. Who am I to tell other people they should suffer tremendously for a few extra weeks or months of very low quality life.

 

[nanette1985]

There's already cyanide and lethal injections that are used for death on demand.

So far I notice there's no on here that's been against assisted suicide. Maybe as time passes, social norms will allow it to be a reality. I know personally, I rather die than spend years bed-ridden or otherwise disabled.

Where is death on demand legal and possiblel?

 

[Charles Kozierok]

CTD -- That chart is pretty staggering. Thanks.

 

[TraumaRN]

CTD -- That chart is pretty staggering. Thanks.

The chart doesnt surprise me in the least. Its because we see the suffering and don't want that to be us.

 

[Emos]

CTD -- That chart is pretty staggering. Thanks.

There was a recent podcast of Freakanomics that discussed this, it blew my mind and I work in the medical field! I work in a clinical laboratory setting so I'm somewhat insulated from the patient front line.

EDIT: my mistake it was a RadioLab podcast episode "The Bitter End"

 

[werepossum]

I think human life is sacred, but I'm not against assisted suicide. If we are free creatures and own ourselves, we should all be free to determine at what point living is no longer worth the cost, as long as we are first determined to be of sound mind. I am generally against government acting against our will for our own good.

However, euthanasia is often functionally someone else deciding when my life is not worth living, which is functionally the same thing as deciding to keep us alive against our will. It's still someone else deciding what is best for us.