Euthanasia! should it be legal?

Do you think that euthanasia should be legal?

If someone is suffering from a serious illness should they have the right to ask for assisted death?

There are obviously a load of rules that would have to be in place to prevent as far as possible the abuse of this, but I have always found it odd that we would never stand by and watch an animal suffer unnecessarily yet we allow our fellow human beings to.

Surely if that individual wants to be put out of there misery they should legally be allowed to, without any come back for the person who assisted them?

Your thoughts?

laura, as you have just said it happens anyway! relatives telling doctors to withhold treatment, or telling them to continue treatment just to prolong the inevitable.

Living wills, special clinics with highly vetted Dr's/nurses, if the person is unable to communicate then it can only be done with agreement of court and three Dr's.

It would have to be strict and in no way a free for all.

Original Post by laura42:

If euthanasia becomes legal, what's to stop someone from saying Aunt Betty is suffering, we need to put her out of her misery, don't worry, I'll take good care of her millions.  It becomes a legal quagmire. 

 The legal quagmire is mitigated by narrowly defining exactly who gets to use doctor assisted suicide. The person has to have multiple doctors testify that they are terminally ill with zero chance of recovery (AIDS, End-stage cancer, etc) they have to demonstrate that they have been in chronic pain and that they are of sound mind. So Alzheimers patients for example are 0 for 3 and wouldnt be considered eligible. Also the person has to be able to self-administer the pills, you cant just have an old family member knocked off. Its actually pretty hard to abuse.

Original Post by azirra:

Original Post by laura42:

If euthanasia becomes legal, what's to stop someone from saying Aunt Betty is suffering, we need to put her out of her misery, don't worry, I'll take good care of her millions.  It becomes a legal quagmire. 

 The legal quagmire is mitigated by narrowly defining exactly who gets to use doctor assisted suicide. The person has to have multiple doctors testify that they are terminally ill with zero chance of recovery (AIDS, End-stage cancer, etc) they have to demonstrate that they have been in chronic pain and that they are of sound mind. So Alzheimers patients for example are 0 for 3 and wouldnt be considered eligible. Also the person has to be able to self-administer the pills, you cant just have an old family member knocked off. Its actually pretty hard to abuse.

 That works in theory, but extremely difficult to put into practice.  How many people don't have wills for their estates, let alone a living will?  "Multiple doctors testifying" is a quagmire right there.  And how will it all be paid for?  It's difficult enough to pay for the medical care, now the the legal ramifications would have to be paid for too.  I have seen enough of "cans of worms" in the veterinary office when it comes to euthanasia, to know that it will multiplied by a factor of a zillion for people.  I am opposed to it.  The slope is more than slippery - it is trecherous. 

I am not opposed to ending suffering, I guess I just don't have enough faith in human nature to believe that legal euthanasia would not be severely abused. 

i think azirra's talking about how the current law in oregon works.

it's not ideal, certainly.  personally, i don't think the right to die should be limited to those with terminal illnesses.  but as a starting point, it's not bad.

Laura - So you dont think I should have the right to die (as long as I fit all the aforementioned criteria) because other people are irresponsible about their personal financial matters? Youre punishing a group of people with a horrible painful death on the basis of the irresponsibility and stupidity of an entirely different group of people. Im sorry but not having a will is your own fault, it shouldnt affect my quality of life.

Thats like saying no one should be allowed to have kids because it complicates the legal paperwork and sometimes kids will fight over estates.

PS - Yes, I was explaining Oregon's system.

Original Post by beaner20:

I euthanize animals everyday as a living, and they are sick and dieing and i feel its the right thing to do so they dont suffer needlessly, My grandfather is ill, and he asks to die everyday, would you want to lay in a bed, urinating in diapers, and not being able to do anything for yourself? when my time comes, i hope i am allowed to be euthanized.

I agree. My grandmother, before she died, kept asking to die also.

Original Post by azirra:

 Your punishing a group of people with a horrible painful death on the basis of the irresponsibility and stupidity of an entirely different group of people.

No, I am a big proponent of hospice care.  My grandfather died in his own home with pain meds and a nurse to help with physical needs.  He chose no further treatment for his cancer and died at home.

My cousin had a serious brain injury.  After several days in the hospital it was clear she was not going to recover.  Her parents chose to remover her from the respirator.  She slipped peacefully away. Our hearts crumbled and broke but it was the right thing to do. 

I don't believe in prolonging life unnecessarily, I just draw the line at a doctor injecting a lethal dose of barbiturate.  It is a lot to ask of a doctor, (I wouldn't want to do it) and it has a huge potential for abuse. 

Okay I hope you all don't mind, but I felt I should chime in here.

Last March the love of my life overdosed on anti-depressant medication (at the time he wanted to die.) and slipped into a coma. For 10 days they had him on life support, his kidneys shut down and all the fluid made him balloon up so much he was twice the size.

The doctors insisted that he would not survive, and if he did..he would be a vegetable because they were getting very little brain activity. But his older sister demanded they put him on a dialisys machine. She pretty much gave them no choice, despite the fact that even his parents were saying turn off the machines and let him go. After all, he overdosed..so they thought  that's what he wanted.

After 2 treatments with the dialisys machine he woke up! Granted it was scary, he was choking on the breathing tubes trying to breathe on his own. But eventually he came around, with no brain damage at all! I ask him now if he really wanted to die, and his answer always shocked me. It wasn't a rational thought. He acted completely on impulse at the time.

So, while I believe in some cases it's best to let people go peacefully...there's a fine line, medical science has no explanation as to how he survived. It's a humbling experience to go to see a doctor with him and have them stare at him, mouths hanging open and say "Oh my god, you're alive" then proceed to keep touching him on the hand and arm, as if they just can't believe it.

In some cases tho, I believe people should be able to go peacefully. I just think people need to be careful with that, if they had taken him off the machine he might not be here when he has so much life left to live.

Original Post by gi-jane:

Well said pgeorgian....   In the previous example when someone claims 'I know my grandmother wouldn't want to live like that' (with Alzheimer's)... how do they know?  

 

And you don't know my grandmother either, do you? 

I definitely think it should be legal.

I think the premise is that the person must be of sound mind and be able to take the drugs by themselves.

There is a lot that would have to be thought about regarding things where relatives make the choices. I have a living will to ensure mine aren't allowed to make choices for me because I wouldn't trust one of them as far as I could spit.

I think it's important to make the distinction between assisted suicide/"right-to-die" legislation, like they have in Oregon (which I support) and euthanasia, which is someone (a family member, a doctor) making the decision for someone else. I do not support euthanasia but I do support a regulated right to die, and I think the system they have come up with in Oregon is reasonable.

I think it should be legal as long as the decision is the dying persons, and not for example, a tired caregiver etc.....