Q: An elderly relative has a terminal illness and asks you to help them end their life. Helping them commit suicide is against the law but your relative begs you. Would you assist with their suicide?
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Q: An elderly relative has a terminal illness and asks you to help them end their life. Helping them commit suicide is against the law but your relative begs you. Would you assist with their suicide?
Book a Ryanair flight (The flight alone may kill them)to Switzerland or Holland where it is legal. But on failing that it truly is a tough ethical dilema and one that is frought with legal consequenes. I assume this is only a hypothetical dilemal Alec or has some old deary asked you to kill her?
Depends on what is wrong but if on a morphine drip you could always get them to up their own doseage which would leave you in the clear of all legal aspects.
Rover hasnt asked to be put down has he?
But where do you draw the line concarning quality of life? If a person was old and withering away and couldnt do anything for themselves would you end their life
Or a child who is severly mentally handicapped and will never be able to do anything for themselves and is guarenteed no quality of life would you end theirs too?
I don't know. It would all depend. It's a tough one that...
Ha fucking ha. All I know that if I WAS suffering with a terminal illness and had no quality of life, I would be eternally grateful if somebody put me down and as a bonus, to make my last day, I would like 'Y' to smother me with her ass.
http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscart...s/abrn601l.jpg http://www.encorept.com/webImages/ar...oeppebutt1.gif
i had an uncle that died two weeks ago not going in to the details but he was on a life support machine and couldn't do anything for himself the decision had to be made by his wife about turning of the machine as nicegirlsarenice says its a tough one and it was for my aunt but his heart gave up in the end so in this case i think my aunt was lucky not to make the decicion.
if its what they want then definatly. Dont the doctors and hospitals do the same? You see their comes a point when the battle with a terminal illness is lost and its well before the person dies too.
With cancer for instance there comes a point when the morphine actually begins to help the deterioration then help with the disease. I know this doesnt sound very positive but it is a fact. Its funny really when you think of it. The religous ppl of these hospitals would frown at the prospect of what your post suggests yet have no probs upping the morphine dosage to lethal ammounts.
They have to do it but its pretty much the same thing in the end to be honest.
interesting,
Westside.
Werstside hit the nail on the head..
In hospitals , hospice etc this is known as "pain relief"..
But if i had a loved one in front of me screaming in pain and begging me to help them die, i would do what they wanted..
No prob picking up a few wraps of heroin on the streets and making up a lethal dose that would be totally painless..
i would say yes...and hope it will be legal in more countries than now!but just in case ov a long term illness..i belive its better to die than live a half life with the help ov younger relatives!
the truth is old ppl exactly same than young babies the difference is everyone adores babies but not all feel the same with oldies...:(
thats a touchy subject.I guess it depends on the disability.The problem with disability is two ppl could have the same disability.One lives a life restricted completly by the disability whereas the other lives the best he/she can and is less restricted.Its a tricky subject.
Another unfortunate part of this is alot of ppl born mentally slow die quite young.
depends,
Westside.
It is a touchy subject alright Westie. Even if they do die quiet young , would you end their lfe if you could , hypotheticly if there was no legal consequence, because they dont conform to your standerd of life quality. This goes for anybody with any disability
i didnt say that:(:( sorry i just try to say that there are sum cases when this way suits better...
maybe my english is not perfect.....
i just saw my grandmother..we been with her and take care ov her all day long..for few months and belive it was hard for her as well...
i think handicapped and disabled people r different category.......
i know a couple who lost their first child after a week and it was just after the first bowel movement of the child.They live in the country and i drove out the night the childs body was brought back.Anyway the place full of ppl all broken down and crying all over the place.Later on that night the friend went out for a stroll up the road with myself and we were talking about it.He said that he hoped all week and prayed that god would help the child and i said that he did.You see if the child had lived she would have had a very bad quality of life and only god knows what health problems.I told him that this was the best possible outcome even though it was heartbreaking for the couple.He understood exactly what i meant.
Going back to this topic i think that if a disabled person was disabled to the point of a very bad quality of life and alot of suffering then it isnt really fair on that person at all.I guess in this instance it falls under the same bracket as the terminally ill person.
The day my father died was the easiest day of that year.The hardest were the days looking at him sick and not being able to help.I can accept someone dying.We all will but what is hard to accept is suffering.So if he asked me to end it for him i would have.Sure life is life but ppl have to look at it logically as well.Nobody wins in these types of situations.In fact when my father was getting chemo and he couldnt do much and was sick alot he said to me one day that he would be better off dead than being like that.I have very very thick skin and i was defo lost for words when he said that because he knew that i knew he was right.Remember we are talking about bowel,pancreas and liver cancer here. I say this because ppl might read this and loose hope if they are in or know of someone who is suffering for something.If someone has a chance then great but some dont and in those cases then the sooner the better.
The way i look at it is if nobody is winning then its best that its over sooner than later.I hear ppl saying that they pray and pray that god helps the sick person and he does.He helps by taking them out of their suffering but by taking them out of their suffering it adds to ours so it seems like the opposite.
Hard but best for everyone,
Westside.
I understand what your saying Naomi. It is hard on those who look after the sick andthe elderly. I am not saying that I fully agree with what I am saying either. I am just playing devils advocate and giving the otherside of the argument. But as you said there handicaped and disabled people are in a different category, but really if you think about it they are not. If its quality of life your that is affected then anyone whose quality of life is affetced should be in the same category
I understand what your saying Westie and I actualy agree with you, but still wantedo give the otherside of the coin. Myondolences to your , pancreatic cancer is the worst. You are right it is a no win situation
God does take them out of their suffering, not before suffering with them first.
Now, unfortunatly the disabled person
I do not think that anybody can understand unless they are put
into the situation of watching a loved one go through so much pain.
I am all for life, but watching somebody that I love wishing to end the pain. A horrible
position to be in.
If an animal was suffering and had no chance of getting better would it not be the decent thing to
end the suffering? Should we not deserve the same respect?
Somebody that is severely mentally handicapped is different. Very little quality of life i know, but
having somebody close to me in that situation not in a million years would I end their life. Even watching him getting satisfaction from the simple things, such as the food he eats, is enough for me.
aaah Doozer people with physical and mental disabilities are not in the same category your generalizing there I myself am in the first category I have my cross to bear but hey its a well used cliche but like is what u make it & you gotta really make the best of your life whatever your situation where I do agree with your comment is where a person is physically and disabled yes there is a case for euthanasia there theres no quality of life...
I admit I am generalizing there Ex P but only to make a point. Where do you draw the line. At the end of the day quality of life is quality of life, no matter whose it is. Is it going to get to a stage where we define what constitues quality of life and whoever fails to meet that then kill them off? If they are in pain then surley we should do everything in our power to reduce that pain, but to kill someone I honestly dont know.
I dont even know if the chips were down wheather I could mercy kill/execute, depending on your views, someone.
aaah Doozer people with physical and mental disabilities are not in the same category your generalizing there I myself am in the first category I have my cross to bear but hey its a well used cliche but life is what u make it & you gotta really make the best of your life whatever your situation where I do agree with your comment is where a person is physically and mentally disabled yes there is a case for euthanasia there theres no quality of life...
thought provoking thread!..