Life and death decisions

Quick painless death

If I had to choose I would want to just go to sleep and not wake up. If I had a terminal illness and were in pain I absolutely would want to have the option of having a doctor assist me with ending my life.

i did not have terminal illness, but i had chronic pain so bad i didn't want to live anymore. i tried (and failed at) the quick & painless approach, 3+ yrs ago.

i came away from that firmly believing that anyone, anywhere, anytime should have complete dominion over his own life and death.

what's the kurt vonnegut story with the ethical suicide booths? that one's a trip!

I would like to be put to sleep. If my family wants to be there, that's cool. Even if I wasn't really in pain, but was unable to do anything for myself and my quality of life sucked, and I was becoming a burden financially, yeah, put me to sleep.

THIS

Hard to say because I'm not in that position right now, but I think that I would rather not be able to make my own decision. I am of the opinion that you never know how your life affects others - I'm a fighter and would fight to the end.
That said, if you asked me after a significant period of a particularly painful illness, I might change my mind!

Yes, I would like to right to say when and how my life would end. Especially if there is unrelenting pain, or eminent mental deterioration where I would have no idea who is who and what is what. Perfect death would be to fall asleep and never wake up. But if I linger, I would want to be comfortable in my own home and around loved ones.

I have a living will that directs my loved ones to terminate life-saving techniques if I'm ever in this condition. Or, as I'm fond of saying when I'm having a bad day - "Somebody shoot me!"

I have already stated clearly to my SO that if it ever comes to a point when my quality of life is too low to be considered humane, I want to die, with assistance if necessary.

After the things I have been through as of late I would agree that it should be ones personal decision on how and when. I definitely think it would also make it easier for the loved ones to process the death a lot easier. Knowing exactly what ones wishes are, and what they want is easier to process than watching them suffer.

***Edited to add***

I am sure a lot of people would just like to go to sleep and not wake up. It would be peaceful in that manner.

Hard to say because I'm not in that position right now, but I think that I would rather not be able to make my own decision. I am of the opinion that you never know how your life affects others - I'm a fighter and would fight to the end.
That said, if you asked me after a significant period of a particularly painful illness, I might change my mind!

^^^ This. I have no idea what I would want because I am not in that position. I feel like I don't know what I would really choose until I am placed in that position. I would say that I prefer the easy way out because being in pain scares me. But I have been in pain before and I fight through it.
So I can't really say....

My grandmother was in this position 2 years ago. She was dying. She had a tube in her lungs to help her breathe because she couldn't do it herself. Everyone came to visit her and she saw her whole family. One night she felt she had seen everyone and had said her goodbyes. She, as weak as she was, pulled the tube out herself. The doctors/nurses called my dad and asked what to do and he said to let her be. That was the hardest decision I think he ever had to make. He went straight over to the hospital with 2 of my aunts and another uncle and they sat there with her till she passed.
I respect her decision. She didn't want to live unable to do anything and hooked up to a machine.

If I had to choose I would want to just go to sleep and not wake up. If I had a terminal illness and were in pain I absolutely would want to have the option of having a doctor assist me with ending my life.

I agree. People have fought so hard to give us freedom for living our lives. We should be equally free to choose how we die (in the case of euthanasia, not suicide cuz yikes)

Quick and painless.
I can't afford a doctor, but guns are easier to get anyway. I will outlive my husband most likely, based on our health. So once he's gone, I will get a gun to "defend" myself with the excuse of being a woman who lives alone. When I reach the point that I am either too sad or in too much pain to go on, I will pack all my stuff, pay all my bills, and take care of the problem myself.

I'd want to go quick and painless, we put animals to sleep when they can't do any more for them to stop them suffering so why can't humans have the same rights

i believe in doctor assisted suicide.

my grandfather spent the last years of his life in incredible pain. whether or not you feel it's enough pain or not, doesn't change that for him it was incredible pain.

if he could have ended it he would have. I believe we should have the rights to make those decisions about our bodies.

i don't like to think about this but i suppose we all do/have/will at one point or another. hopefully, i'll be blessed to live a looooong and healthy life--i want to be in my 90s and have great, great grandchildren! so if i had to choose, i'd rather just go to sleep and have that be my peaceful transition.

but yeah, you know the line from bohemian rhapsody? " i don't wanna die. i sometimes wish i'd never been born at all.... i'm so happy to be alive but i understand the sentiment. for me, death is scary. hopefully i'll be at peace with it sooner rather than later since it happens to every single living being on this planet.

You just reminded me of a quote by Albert Camus:

In the end one needs more courage to live than to kill oneself.

Everyone's thoughts on this?

Makes sense to me.
In the end one expects to die soon as one's way of life has usually drastically changed for the worse. In the end one would rather die and be done with it that continue to live in that situation.
Some say it's the "easy way out". Personally I think you never know if its easy or hard without being in the mind of that particular person.
It could be the easy way out. Or it could be the hardest decision that person has ever made.

ETA: Some people have a loss of hope and/or faith in the end. That could also play a part in the decision to end one's life.