Should we allow euthanasia?

ninerbuff

I'm sure sooner than later this will end up being on a bill. I currently have a good friend who's terminal with a rare cancer. She's down to 80lbs, and in hospice. Every 15 minutes she has to hit a pain button to release morphine to tolerate pain. She wants to die with dignity, but doesn't want to break the law to do it.
The cost of care is tolling on the family and she does have a small charity trying to help them out. But she's been in hospice for over 5 weeks now and she wants to let go, but somehow is still surviving.
So should euthanasia be allowed in circumstances like this?

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besaro

it already exists in oregon, since late 90s actually. i wont get into states rights vs federal, but, im glad i live in oregon.

George_Baileys_Ghost

I was really in support of this post until I realized that it didn't say "enthusiasm".

broox80

The youth in Asia are just as important as the youth in America!!!! Oh wait......

Sabine_Stroehm

Very sorry your friend has to go through this.

Absolutely. OREGON has it right.

A family member moved to oregon upon diagnosis, in case it was needed. It was.

emdeesea

Yes. We treat our companion animals far kinder.

I worked for a short time on an oncology floor. There is nothing dignified in losing your hair, puking up everything you eat, and being in pain all the time, every day, until your organs finally shut down.

PinkyFett

Yes. Definitely.

alychil820

Absolutely! People should have the right to end their lives with dignity and on their terms. In Oregon, the patient needs to be able to administer euthanasia themselves - doctors will write the prescription, but they aren't allowed to administer the treatment. I think that's a start, but I'd like to see euthanasia being delivered by healthcare providers if necessary - like in cases where the patient can't self-medicate, such as with ALS.

FJcntdwn2sknyluv

http://euthanasia.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000132

It didn't come without it's controversy but I'm glad that the 2 states I have lived in have passed it Oregon and Washington People should have the right to end it in cases like your speaking of...

I'm sorry for your friend and send thoughts of release to them *hug*

mccindy72

I've been on both sides of this - as a caregiver, and now as the patient.
I worked in health care for years, and watched patients die slowly in pain, knowing that nothing would stop their deaths. The agony they suffered, and the expensive care they received that left immense bills for their families to pay afterward, were just senseless. Some of them wept and wished for it all to end. Why shouldn't they have that right? We make that decision for our pets when they are suffering; we should do no less for our family members.

Now, I've been diagnosed with a disease that will sometime in the next two to ten years render me terminally ill and cause a slow and painful death for me. I'll eventually sleep more and more and lose the ability to care for myself, and suffer. There will be no saving me. When that day comes, I would like to have the right to decide when it's time to end my life with dignity and to save my family the pain of watching me suffer slowly and wait for me to finally die.

Euthanasia is just the right thing to do.

wheird

Absolutely.

ETA: The one thing that absolutely every human being should have is the sovereignty of their own body. If they choose to no longer live, they should be allowed that choice, because no other person has the right to tell them they have to live.

SunofaBeach14

At risk of wading into what will undoubtedly be a train wreck, let me say (1) I'm very sorry, and (2) yes. Self determination is a big one for me and I think we all have a right to it, perhaps subject to serious mental health issues, but that's not part of the above question.

JenAndSome

Yes, it absolutely should be allowed. I will never understand why we grant animals more dignity in death than we do our loved ones.

kinkyslinky16

I'm a nurse and most definitely think it should be allowed.

RaspberryKeytoneBoondoggle

Such a difficult time OP. I do hope that your friend is peaceful soon.

blakedebo

I absolutely believe we should "allow" people, and allow doctors to assist when necessary, to die with dignity. I do not understand the opposition to this, and I am not trying to bait or offend anyone, I genuinely do not understand the reasoning behind not allowing someone the right to pass with dignity and at their choosing.

Forty6and2

I agree with euthanasia for sure. Last semester, I had to do blog posts on news articles and one that I did was on a little girl who was deprived of oxygen for so long that she was going to die in a matter of days. The hospital she was at did not allow euthanasia (it was in Texas) so they "withheld nutrition" to make her go faster. I couldn't imagine being her mother, sister, aunt, etc and having to watch this little girl starve to death. Maybe she couldn't feel it, but does that mean her family doesn't matter?

Also in Texas, there was a pregnant woman who died and her baby was also deprived of oxygen (she was in the first trimester, I believe) and the hospital kept her on life support for more than a month to "save" the baby. There was no way her baby could have been saved, it was not viable outside the womb and it wasn't getting proper nutrition from its dead mother.

It's sad that our culture is more ok with executing a criminal (and try to do it humanely) but we won't do the same for a child or let a pregnant woman die peacefully? Ridiculous, really.

tmauck4472

Def. YES. And because I believe in it my MOM won't let me be her POA for living will, LOL, she doesn't understand it.

kdeaux1959

My mom is in a similar, though not yet as dire situation. She is 99 lbs with lung cancer and on hospice. It does make one re-evaluate one's stand on such matters.

mank32

as someone who has tried (and failed) to end my life on account of chronic pain, i approve this discussion. and yes, i'm pro-. it wasn't the answer for me, but some people are much worse off than i ever was and i can understand (a bit of) how they feel. :brokenheart:

Golightly17

I think that people should have the right the end their life with dignity.