Do you support suicide assistance?

[jillio]

The hospics just call it dying with dignity and painless. But what people don't see is the morphine speeds up the death process by drowning the respiratory system. Some stop breathing all together due to the morphine relaxes the system so much that the person just dies.

Much preferable, IMO, to dying a pain wracked and torturous death that destroys the last shred of human dignity possible. I can't imagine why you would want that for anyone, much less a loved one.

 

[jillio]

Some people will never be happy with just disagreeing and moving on. They have to legislate morality because they feel it's a personal duty, nevermind the fact that it infringes upon the rights of others.

Very true. Some are never satisfied with being able to make the choice for themselves. They want to make it for everyone else, too. The sheer arrogance in that never ceases to astound me, however.

 

[jillio]

I mean in regards to assisted suicide.

I knew we were going to disagree and all I have to say is that there are things out there that we do not like and we disagree with. However, to allow our religious beliefs and moral beliefs to dictate laws in this country, would be similar to living in a country run by the Taliban or another religious entity. The death penalty and banning access to abortion/assisted suicide are all wrong.

Unpopular choices and unpopular ideas are the cornerstone of a Democracy. Without the ability to make those choices or share your ideas, is to interfere with what makes a Democracy a Democracy.

Excellent point.

 

[Cheri]

The death penalty and banning access to abortion/assisted suicide are all wrong.

Okay, Let me ask you something, if capital punishment was illegal, what do you expect them to do with inmates if their prison is overcrowd? Allowing some of them back on the streets? We need to ask ourselves how we're willing to go to prevent future crimes such as murder. And you know according to the studies, executions can saves lives, murders can be prevented in the society.

 

[Babyblue]

i have watched someone die from cancer. No meds no hospics. It was horrible that person suffered so much. Vomited to death basically.

I have watch other cancer patients that was provided with a large amount of morphine and died peacefully.

 

[jillio]

Okay, Let me ask you something, if capital punishment was illegal, what do you expect them to do with inmates if their prison is overcrowd? Allowing some of them back on the streets? We need to ask ourselves how we're willing to go to prevent future crimes such as murder. And you know according to the studies, executions can saves lives, murders can be prevented in the society.

Which studies would those be? All the studies I have read show just the opposite. Because of the nature of murder, capital punishment does not effectively reduce crime, especially murder rates.

Here are a few resources:


National Criminal Justice Reference Service
http://www.ncjrs.org/
This site, provided by the National Criminal Justice Reference Service, contains an extensive collection of links to criminal justice statistics and data, law enforcement information, abstracts of criminal justice related studies, and other criminal justice resources.

Bureau of Justice Statistics
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/
The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics home page contains an extensive collection of criminal justice studies, statistics, and downloadable data sets. Annual reports on the number of and demographic characteristics of those convicted and executed are also provided at this site. At the time that this page was last updated (3/29/03), the most recent available report is for 2001 capital punishment cases. Annual data on U.S. executions from 1930 to 2002 is also provided on this site.

Cornell Law School Death Penalty Project
http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/lawlibrary/death/default.htm
The Cornell Law School Death Penalty Project provides extensive legal information about the death penalty. This site provides information concerning Supreme Court and Appellate Court cases that involve capital punishment issues, the text of state capital punishment statutes, and links to studies concerning the application of the death penalty.

American Bar Association Statement on the Death Penalty
http://www.abanet.org/irr/rec107.html
This document contains the official position of the American Bar Association concerning the death penalty. This document states that the American Bar Association believes that no executions should be carried out in a jurisdiction unless ABA procedures are adopted that are designed to ensure that death penalty cases are "administered fairly and impartially" and that procedures are used that minimize the risk of convicting an innocent person. The Association argues that these procedures should be designed to eliminate discrimination based on the race of either the defendant or the victim and should prohibit capital punishment for those who are mentally retarded or under the age of 18 at the time of the offense.

The Oyez Project, Furman v. Georgia
http://oyez.nwu.edu/cases/cases.cgi?case_id=131&command=show
The Oyez Project at Northwestern University provides an audio version of the verbal arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in the Furman v. Georgia case as well as a link to the written decision.

The Oyez Project, Gregg v. Georgia
http://oyez.nwu.edu/cases/cases.cgi?case_id=469&command=show
The Oyez Project at Northwestern University provides an audio version of the verbal arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in the Gregg v. Georgia case. A link to the written decision is also provided.

Encyclopedia of Law and Economics, Bibliographic Database - Alternative Sanctions
http://allserv.rug.ac.be/~gdegeest/8200book.pdf
The Encyclopedia of Law and Economics provides an extensive bibliography of print journal articles dealing with the death penalty (and other related issues). (The Adobe acrobat viewer plugin is required to view this document. You may download this viewer by clicking here.)

Michigan State University Libraries, "Criminal Justice Resources: Death Penalty"
http://www.lib.msu.edu/harris23/crimjust/death.htm
This site contains a collection of links to death penalty resources that are available on the internet. Most of the sites listed provide arguments opposed to the death penalty.

About.com, "The Death Penalty: Pro and Con"
http://crime.about.com/msub2.htm
About.com provides this annotated collection of links to death penalty resources.

Facts.com, "Issues and Controversies: Death Penalty"
http://www.facts.com/cd/i00015.htm
This December 29, 1995 article by Facts.com provides a balanced discussion of the pros and cons of the death penalty. A good discussion of racial disparities is provided on this page.

 

[jillio]

i have watched someone die from cancer. No meds no hospics. It was horrible that person suffered so much. Vomited to death basically.

I have watch other cancer patients that was provided with a large amount of morphine and died peacefully.

That's the whole point, isn't it?

 

[Cheri]

i have watched someone die from cancer. No meds no hospics. It was horrible that person suffered so much. Vomited to death basically.

I have watch other cancer patients that was provided with a large amount of morphine and died peacefully.

I understand what you're saying. If you support it, that's fine by me.

My ex boyfriend's mother had cancer, she did not want treatments, she didn't want to fight her cancer, she says if it's her time to die, let it be, she died when her time came.

 

[shel90]

I agree with all of KarissaMann05´s posts.

I support suicide assistance to respect the people´s wish for want to end their long suffering.

I agree...I chose yes.

 

[Babyblue]

That's the whole point, isn't it?

Yup.




I just wish others can understand.

if a person is terminally ill they are facing certain death let them choose to do it with dignity.
I know I would want to.

I am one of those people that has a living will.

 

[Bottesini]

Mostly I would support this for a cancer patient who was terminal and had uncontrollable pain.

 

[shel90]

I voted 'other.' Assisted suicide is, in itself, against what I believe in as a religious person. That said, I also believe that religion has no place in the law.

I own my own life, and I believe that everyone else does too. If you wish to take it in a hospital or with a doctor's help instead of using some barbaric at-home method which may fail and leave you suffering.. I do not agree with either option, but I think it's not my place to tell you that it's not your right to die with an ounce of dignity.

So. I don't support it, no. But I absolutely think it should be legal, and without stigma or judgment. I cannot say I would not be tempted with the choice if facing down a painful death- why or how can I judge someone else for the very same thing?

Nobody has any right to dictate on how a person should live their lives.

 

[Angel]

i have watched someone die from cancer. No meds no hospics. It was horrible that person suffered so much. Vomited to death basically.

I have watch other cancer patients that was provided with a large amount of morphine and died peacefully.

I competely understand, I know how difficult it is to watch someone you love suffering, I will probably feel sad, anger, guilt or confusion but I'm against the "killing". I'm sorry...

 

[shel90]

I noticed that people are fighting about 2 different things. Maybe we should clarify before we discuss more. Are we talking about people like in Terri Shiavo where someone else has to decide FOR them? Or are we talking about people who has a terminal illness but also mentally healthy enough to decide that they want assisted suicide? Maybe those 2 cases are the same to some people, but definitely not for me! In the first case (Terri).... that's tough because people can take advantage of this if it was legal. However, I think we should focus on the 2nd case (competent people who have a terminal illness). I say to allow them the right to end the suffering. (By the way, check out the movie The Sea Inside, based on a real life story)

I agree...the Shiavo case was different since she didnt say whether she wanted it or not.

 

[jillio]

Yup.




I just wish others can understand.

if a person is terminally ill they are facing certain death let them choose to do it with dignity.
I know I would want to.

I am one of those people that has a living will.

And I do as well. I want to make sure that I have that choice for myself.

 

[shel90]

Some people will never be happy with just disagreeing and moving on. They have to legislate morality because they feel it's a personal duty, nevermind the fact that it infringes upon the rights of others.

Yep, I agree. I dont understand how people can think it is ok to meddle with other people's business especially in a grave situation like this.

 

[shel90]

i have watched someone die from cancer. No meds no hospics. It was horrible that person suffered so much. Vomited to death basically.

I have watch other cancer patients that was provided with a large amount of morphine and died peacefully.

That's terrible. I wouldnt want to continue go on living if I was dying like that. I would want the right to end my life with dignity.

 

[Hear Again]

My ex boyfriend's mother had cancer, she did not want treatments, she didn't want to fight her cancer, she says if it's her time to die, let it be, she died when her time came.

That's exactly how my mother felt. She had pancreatic cancer and refused chemo treatments. Towards the end of her life she experienced a great deal of suffering (pain, vomiting, etc.). She kept telling me over and over again how much she wanted to "go home" so she could finally be at peace. Two days before her death, I heard her constantly moan in pain and watched her vomiting blood (sorry to be so graphic) and had to call 911. It was one of the worst and most difficult moments of my life seeing my mother in that kind of condition. As for the issue of assisted suicide, I voted "I don't know," but on second thought, I'd have to vote "yes." I never want to see anything like what my mother went through again. Once is enough.

 

[jillio]

That's exactly how my mother felt. She had pancreatic cancer and refused chemo treatments. Towards the end of her life she experienced a great deal of suffering (pain, vomiting, etc.). She kept telling me over and over again how much she wanted to "go home" so she could finally be at peace. Two days before her death, I heard her constantly moan in pain and watched her vomiting blood (sorry to be so graphic) and had to call 911. It was one of the worst and most difficult moments of my life seeing my mother in that kind of condition. As for the issue of assisted suicide, I voted "I don't know," but on second thought, I'd have to vote "yes." I never want to see anything like what my mother went through again. Once is enough.

Had assisted suicide been an available option, it is quite likely that she could have refused curative treatment as she chose to, and received palliative treatment that might have shortened her life by a few days, but prevented such horrible suffering not just for her, but for those that loved her, as well.

I am sorry for your loss, and I am sorry that these memories are the last you have of your beloved mother. My heart goes out to you.

 

[Cheri]

That's exactly how my mother felt. She had pancreatic cancer and refused chemo treatments. Towards the end of her life she experienced a great deal of suffering (pain, vomiting, etc.). She kept telling me over and over again how much she wanted to "go home" so she could finally be at peace. Two days before her death, I heard her constantly moan in pain and watched her vomiting blood (sorry to be so graphic) and had to call 911. It was one of the worst and most difficult moments of my life seeing my mother in that kind of condition. As for the issue of assisted suicide, I voted "I don't know," but on second thought, I'd have to vote "yes." I never want to see anything like what my mother went through again. Once is enough.

I'm sorry to hear about your mother, my sympathies goes out to you. I understand where you are coming from, I haven't seen much of what she went through, because of that she did not want any visitors at her place of home watching her suffering, but one day everyone received a phone call and was asked to come over because she felt that her time is coming to an end, we all came to visited her that afternoon, then that evening she passed away. I had goose bumps.