Post by JohnP on Feb 21, 2013 8:14:48 GMT 1
Yes this is an emotive subject and I have to agree that in cases where there is mental or physical suffering for which there is no cure, assisted suicide should be a consideration. Why should we deny the option to someone just because they are unable to take their own life for physical reasons.
It is difficult for Doctors who have to administer drugs that will take a life but in many ways they already make those kind of decisions when turning off life support machines or having to make a choice as to who will receive a donor organ when several people are in desperate need.
I nursed my wife for the last part of her life and supported her through the knowledge that she had terminal cancer. I watched her lose her looks, her independence, her dignity, her physical ability to do things that we all take for granted and in the end she died in a morphine induced coma. Morphine is a powerful drug used in pain control for many terminal patients and it was probably that that killed her before the cancer. I felt a sense of relief when she died because to watch someone you love go through the final stages of a terminal illness is a heart wrenching experience, no one wants to see a loved one suffer and I cannot find an argument for prolonging the life of someone who has no quality of life and no realistic expectations for improvement.
Some may think it wrong to draw a comparison but if we have a pet that is suffering from an incurable illness and has no quality of life, we take them to the vet and have them put to sleep and hard as it is, we know that is the right thing to do. Isn't it right therefore to have the same option available in certain circumstances for our loved ones, should they so wish to end their suffering?
There has to be strict controls to prevent any abuse of the system but in my opinion, there should be a system in place for assisted suicide in certain cases.
It is difficult for Doctors who have to administer drugs that will take a life but in many ways they already make those kind of decisions when turning off life support machines or having to make a choice as to who will receive a donor organ when several people are in desperate need.
I nursed my wife for the last part of her life and supported her through the knowledge that she had terminal cancer. I watched her lose her looks, her independence, her dignity, her physical ability to do things that we all take for granted and in the end she died in a morphine induced coma. Morphine is a powerful drug used in pain control for many terminal patients and it was probably that that killed her before the cancer. I felt a sense of relief when she died because to watch someone you love go through the final stages of a terminal illness is a heart wrenching experience, no one wants to see a loved one suffer and I cannot find an argument for prolonging the life of someone who has no quality of life and no realistic expectations for improvement.
Some may think it wrong to draw a comparison but if we have a pet that is suffering from an incurable illness and has no quality of life, we take them to the vet and have them put to sleep and hard as it is, we know that is the right thing to do. Isn't it right therefore to have the same option available in certain circumstances for our loved ones, should they so wish to end their suffering?
There has to be strict controls to prevent any abuse of the system but in my opinion, there should be a system in place for assisted suicide in certain cases.
