Right to die/mercy killing

JM130ELM wrote:Alright folks I got one...
Somebody is terminally ill, in excruciating pain (or not, but terminal nonetheless) and wants to die by medical euthanasia. You know what my question is, should doctors be allowed to grant them their wish to die?

Forgiveness_Man wrote:I don't agree with right to die cases cause a lot of "terminal" cases aren't so terminal. And a lot of so-called "mercykills" are more about ending the FAMILY'S misery as opposed to the actual patient's.

AtownPeep wrote: If they've been diagnosed as terminal, how are they not? No doctor is going to euthanize a terminally ill patient and conscious on the behest of anyone except the patient themselves.

Forgiveness_Man wrote:

I think some would, hence why I don't trust them.
LOL.
IMO, life is always sacred and while I agree with making somebody more comfortable, I do not agree with suicide under the guise of mercy. It makes it too easy to justify it under other means. All suicides are in a sense, "mercy kills." I don't feel "mercy" excuses it. Make them comfortable but don't kill em.

Nystyle709 wrote:IMO, life is always sacred and while I agree with making somebody more comfortable, I do not agree with suicide under the guise of mercy. It makes it too easy to justify it under other means. All suicides are in a sense, "mercy kills." I don't feel "mercy" excuses it. Make them comfortable but don't kill em.

Forgiveness_Man wrote:

As I said, murder under the guise of mercy just doesn't float for me. Once it's okay to kill people under that guise, ANYTHING can be made a "mercy" kill if people spin it well enough.

Yes, sometimes you can't make somebody comfortable. That doesn't mean you should kill them. It seems to me people's answer to any kind of problem is to kill people anymore.

CeCe wrote:So even if the person is terminal & in excruciating pain, & recognizing that it sometimes isn't possible to make them comfortable it's your belief that they should suffer? What's the logical reason behind that?

Forgiveness_Man wrote:It's my belief that killing to eliminate suffering isn't the answer. I believe in taking every reasonable effort to aid their suffering, but I don't support just outright murdering people under the guise of relieving suffering. Plus, it opens a door that you have a lot of trouble closing again. And besides, I think a lot of times, mercy kills are less about relieving the patient's suffering and more about other things.

Marc wrote:So if someone who is lying in bed, dying an excruciating death and begging to be put out of their misery, they shouldn't be.

Assisted suicide of terminally ill patients isn't "murder" if the dying party is asking for their pained life to be terminated.

Forgiveness_Man wrote:It's my belief that killing to eliminate suffering isn't the answer. I believe in taking every reasonable effort to aid their suffering, but I don't support just outright murdering people under the guise of relieving suffering. Plus, it opens a door that you have a lot of trouble closing again. And besides, I think a lot of times, mercy kills are less about relieving the patient's suffering and more about other things.

CeCe wrote:The OP's question was about the wishes of the individual who wishes to end their suffering. This has nothing to do with any other people or opening doors or any other factors. This is the persons own wish for their life. There does come a point with some illnesses where all a person has is pain & agony. Meds don't even always work. So are you saying that a person doesn't even have a right to decide for themselves what they want for their own life? And who has the right to over rule them? To force someone to suffer through that kind of pain is barbaric, even more so when it's based in some imaginary possibility.

Forgiveness_Man wrote:How do you propose we do it, shoot them? Stab them? Flood their body with drugs? How do you propose we kill them?

If a depressed teen hands you a knife and asks you to kill her because she hates her life she much, is it murder to do it?

Besides, what if the terminally ill patient ISN'T begging for it

Marc wrote: By either turning off their machine, or injecting them with a drug that will end their lives. Suggesting that they be shot or stabbed was you trying to be crass for the sake of exaggerating your stance.


A depressed teen isn't terminally ill...


Well then they don't get factored into this equation. The OP specifically noted that the patient was terminal....that they WANT to end their lives....and have ASKED for assistance from their physicians in the matter. Nobody said anything about taking out someone who isn't interested in dying and wants to live until their bodies naturally give out....we're talking about suffering patients who have made it clear that death is their wish.

Forgiveness_Man wrote:Well, turning off their machine, as we've seen, doesn't always guarantee to end their suffering. Which machine do we turn off? Breathing machine? Okay, I am for that if they want it actually, it is extraordinary measures. But what about a feeding tube? We turn that off too? Newsflash, starving to death is only going to add to their pain. And as somebody pointed out, gasping for air can be a bad way to goo too. Now, as for the drug, we gotta drug them to death? Ah, a bit more humane, putting them to sleep like a dog. But again, drugs still aren't exactly the best way to go. Killing under the guise of mercy isn't noble.

So? They are still in pain. Once it's okay to kill one group of people solely because they want to die, it's okay to do it to another. Once it's okay to mercykill the terminal, maybe it's okay to mercykill the non-terminal under the guise of mercy as well. I know exactly the arguments they'd use.

But, a lot of times, people act on their desires to end someone's life but use the best interest of the person to defend it. All too often, it isn't the deceased who asks for it. And that's the dark little secret those defenders won't tell you, but as long as they claim the deceased wanted it, then they get away with it. Frankly, again, does somebody asking you to kill them have a right to be killed? Again, I think not. Suicide is wrong, and everyone who does it has a reason usually stemming from ending unbearable pain.

Marc wrote:Man, it's not a "so." Someone being terminally ill (with certain death looming) and living on a day to day basis in agonizing physical pain that can't be helped is in no way comparable to a depressed teenager....who dim emotions are likely the result of out of whack hormones. The depressed/suicidal teenager can be helped to overcome their affliction. The terminal cancer patient cannot.