Assisted suicide not real answer

You know, I really doubt a doctor would ever recommend suicide to someone. Even if the state and medical establishment allowed physician assisted suicide, I’m sure there would be miles and miles of red tape and regulations to prevent exactly the kind of abuse you are talking about.

Yes, while it would be better if we could cure illnesses instead so people didn’t have to suffer from chronic, unbearably painful conditions, there are people suffering right NOW from those conditions, and the science/medical technology is nowhere near being able to alleviate their suffering.

Not all of us believe that longevity is defining factor of a good life. Many people like to live their lives with quality.
Some people’s lives are so miserable that it is worth it for them to end it.

A really good movie to watch about this is called ‘the diving bell and the butterfly’ — it is about a man who is paralyzed except for his eyelids. Its about his fight to die. (its a true story)

1. You said, “I’m not sure if any one person should be granted that kind of power”. Actually two different doctors must agree the patient is terminal before allowing it. So you are wrong on that.

2. You said, “I believe that assisted suicide is taking the easy way out”. Tell that to your self when you are 90 years old, have a foley in, crapping your pants, and drifting in/out of conciousness while a large tube is down your throat in the ICU and you are just waiting for a heart attack to do you in.

3. You said,“doctors’ efforts should have gone into finding a cure for her disease”. Yes, I really think in the last month of my life they will miraculously cure cancer or find a new heart transplant. Some new cure will come about and be approved by the FDA all in the time I am dying without me ever hearing about it years before it is approved.

It is humane to shoot a deer when it’s hit on the side of the road, it’s humane put your dog down, but it’s wrong to allow a person to decide how they want to die? I find lots of problems with that

Finally, I don’t think you even read about this issue, otherwise would have not made the comment in my #1. Here is a link about the law “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Initiative_1000_(2008)”. Read, come back, and then provide us with an intelligent opinion.

You are a moron Gabrielle. Until you have a mother or father dying painfully shut your mouth. You don’t know what you are talking about. Like most people at the state news.

1: See everyone else above
2: Why shouldn’t people be allowed to take the “easy way out”?
3: Well actually pretty much everything else I was going to say was already mentioned in some form.

The “Oregonian” did a great series about suicide, assisted or otherwise in the early 1990s.

Case 1: ALS victim. Those with brains the size of Fat Mike Moore — ALS weaken the muscles. So, in essence, the patients suffocates to death. Painful and ugly. In story, patient was surrounded at death by family, friends, and minister — sad and happy, at same time.

Case 2: young man who used a shotgun but failed. Permanently disfigured so badly, a new face would be needed. Grim.

Read “How We Die” by Sherwin Nuland, MD, a national best-seller. His brain much larger than Fat Mike’s. Death can be less painful.

I’ve read hundred of opinion pieces from the State news over the years. I have to say that this is the most inane, poorly-thought, and downright inhumane one I have ever read.

Your apathy is amazing, Gabrielle. Your lack of medical knowledge is astounding. You talk about the woman dying from pancreatic cancer as though she didn’t fight enough, and criticize her doctors for not trying to cure her – never mind that pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers with a microscopic remission rate. Stage 4 indicates that it has spread to other organs, and is effectively a death sentence from her own body. You are cold and ruthless if you would prefer for her to die of central respiratory failure, kidney failure, or internal bleeding when she could receive a painless injection in her IV to let her fall asleep and die peacefully.

You says that “I think that doctors’ efforts should have gone into finding a cure for her disease.” Researchers are years, if not decades, from finding a cure for cancer, and those researchers don’t see patients. Was this woman supposed to just hang on in misery waiting for her cure? Your lack of empathy is alarming.

As one of the posters above has said, you don’t know jack until you’ve had a relative in relentless and uncurable pain. Until you do, keep your uneducated comments to yourself and let those of us who’ve been there call the shots for our loved ones.

Hey lighten up guys, give the girl a break. There is no reason to call her a Moron, I hate that word, now be nice. I hate being mean. I was recently mean to someone and when I got home I cried. I guess I am a pretty nice person, how about you?

Honestly I can understand some of the arguments here, eventhough I am on the other side of the fence on this issue. Suprised? I didn’t think so. I think that we should be with the dying until their last breath. Giving our love and support and helping them in their transition to eternal life. I believe that it is a purification, a time to have our soul ready to meet the Lord. A time for forgiveness, a time for love, a time for the unsaid to finally be spoken, a time to help to begin to mourn, a time for healing, a time for confort, a time for the Lord and much much more. Now don’t tear me apart for my beliefs, I have already been through that on a cloud thing. Respect me as I do you. I show love not hate, can you too?

While I understand her concerns that some doctors may abuse their power if given the ability to take a life, I feel that some of her comments were very insentive.
take for example when she says, “these solutions are not going to come quickly, and they will take time, but doctors and patients need the motication to fight medical problems without an easy button.” She speaks as if she know what it is like to suffer from a disease like Stage four pancreatic cancer, as if she knows what it is like to go through chemotherapy, or to live knowing that your body is “actively dying.” Choosing to end your life while your family is watching, knowing that your will cause them heartache is not at all like pushing an easy button. I would say the same for a doctor who went through years of medical school because he/ she believed he/she could save people’s live. Taking away a life when you’re supposed to be saving them is not at like pushing an easy button. Another thing that she said was “ I fear that if assisted suicide were legalized… medical innovation would grow stagnant.” Where is the study that proves there is a correlation between the two? Be careful not to state your opinion as fact. I understand that Moore is intitled to her opinion, but she could have expressed it in a more responsible way.

How about helping them to live until they have been given their last breath. The Medical community can help control pain and help the person to ease their way into their fianl moments. I think that we are a disposable community. That we don’t want our life inconvienced.
What if you chose to treasure someone until their final breath and were with them as they die, and they saw you loving them, tell me what do you think. Rather than trying to find a way to rid them from your life, wouldn’t you suffer more to know that those that love you give up hope? I would much prefer to be loved onto my last dieing breath, than to feel I have become an inconvience.

shoot the editor who let her publish this thing. complete nonsense

Assited Suicide I mean, people are afraid to get medical care if they become seriously ill. They are afraid that their doctor may chose to end their life. I apologize for not backing this up, I forgot the country, but I read an article about it some time ago. Google it and compare it to what you really think.

A little bit of sarcasm is kinda cute. You caught me eye. Lots here today, take a look around.

I know you, I really do. Does Farrand sound familar? I HOPE it does.I think that I have spoken with you recently if you know what I mean. Take Care, good to see you here.
Mandy Smith

“I believe that it is a purification, a time to have our soul ready to meet the Lord.”

If your Lord purifies people by slowly strangulating them as cancer spreads into their lungs, or by forcing intense pain into them as their ograns are consumed by cancer cells and pushed into unnatural places, then I want absolutely nothing to do with him.

“I would much prefer to be loved onto my last dieing breath, than to feel I have become an inconvience.”

You heartless lunatic. How dare you insinuate that people who have helped a loved one escape excrutiating pain in the face of imminent death did not love them! I hope that someone you love is never slowly being ravaged by cancer or ALS that cannot be cured while you sit there and tell them to tough it out.

Why such intense anger Zeke? Where does it come from? The answer to your question is yes, I saw my cousin die a slow painful death from ovarian cancer, I saw my father in law so the same, he also died from cancer. It isn’t easy, and no I am not a lunataic. I struggle with it too. But neither one of them wanted to die before their dieing breath. And it brought healing to my Father in law, because he was able to ask for forgiveness, for the pain he had cause his family and he died in peace. My cousin she found the Lord moments before she died and died with a smile on her face, after having suffered in excruiciating pain. God works in mysterious ways and I know you hate to hear that, but that is my belief and I am entitled to it. I repsect you, now you rspect me.

I had to type fast!

“That woman in Washington was able to die at a time she chose, in a desirable situation, and avoid the suffering caused by her disease. However, I think that doctors’ efforts should have gone into finding a cure for her disease, or a way to ease the suffering without resorting to death.”

This is absolutely ignorant, ludicrous, and offensive. Ignorant, because it seems to be based on the assumption that a personal care doctor fills the same role as a researcher, which is completely incorrect. Ludicrous, because it implies that doctors have the choice between curing a disease and preventing suffering. And offensive because it is implying that the woman’s doctors are going around killing people because they are too lazy to do otherwise.

By the logic of this piece, we shouldn’t trust any doctor who would ever allow a patient to forgo painful chemo if there is a greater-than .00000000001% chance that it could stop a cancer.

That is absurd, and this is a terrible, terrible opinion piece. Not because I disagree with the conclusion, but because it is incoherent and betrays an atrocious lack of understanding of its subject.

You know how much I care about you. We are completely opposite in our moral values. It doesn’t mean that all the other good things I see in you don’t exist they do. I love your humor, your brillant mind, your creativeness of all kinds, you know exactly how to be the perfect gentleman when you chose to do so. I find you facinating, and I wish I didn’t caz it isn’t my place to feel this way…I look for you and never know if it is you. I am sorry for the anger I bring out in you, I think I know why. Hey you are a great guy that about sums you up in my eyes. I know I said hi to someone else, but I was trying to find you.

Gabrielle,

I think you’re right to fear that assisted suicide will be abused. While your arguments about medical ethics and apathetic doctors are specious for many reasons, and your suggestion that people need to try harder simply shows that you’ve never seen someone die, it’s quite possible to imagine a time in which there may be a social stigma to lingering past one’s prime, to live to an age where one would be in a nursing home and be dependent on the care of others. (This isn’t the issue here; assisted suicide laws only cover terminal illness, but it’s a step down that road, right?)

Suicide isn’t illegal. ASSISTED suicide is. Get it straight.

Beautifully argued you stated your arguments without calling anyone names. I truely repsect you for that. You truely are an awesome guy.
Thanks J.S.

Come one, relax a lttle all this stress isn’t good for you. Go take a laugh at your favorite place to laugh. I left a funny for you. I left alot of other things too. Now take a break cool off and then come back, and no I am not your mother or your brother or….just smile okay.

I must go my time here today is done, so sad. But know that I read even when I am not able to be here. I love the blogs and the stories. They mean so much to me. A time is coming soon when I won’t be able to be here the way I want to, but I will treasure the time I have. Life has lots of responsibiltites for me. My best to you my dear friend. PS. Thanks for always overlooking my spelling errors, even if that is how you first caught my eye.

To be completely honest I would be lieing if I didn’t say I myself struggle with this topic too. I myself understand much of what you say. But in the end I see the unseen, and I know you hate me for it, but it is my Faith. Bless you.