|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 12:17 pm
Euthanasia is by definition a death that is good for the person dying. By their own choice, for rational, sane reasons, exactly how they prefer it. So you can't call someone being pressured into being killed "euthanasia."
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 12:32 pm
La Veuve Zin Euthanasia is by definition a death that is good for the person dying. By their own choice, for rational, sane reasons, exactly how they prefer it. So you can't call someone being pressured into being killed "euthanasia." But I can worry about the legalization leaving room for things that aren't really euthanasia but still considered the same. I can worry that this will give people opportunities to manipulate those that are a burden into choosing euthanasia. Like I said, my mind's not fully made up, I just see so much room for it being used for purposes other than the intended purpose. I wonder how this would affect life insurance, as a side point...but I know that has nothing to do with the topic, it's just an interesting thought.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 12:48 pm
If it is legal I'm sure they would have laws against doctors manipulating pateints into dying.
That would go against the oath of doing no harm and if they get caught i'm sure they would go to jail unless the justice system fails us and lets them go.
Doctors get in trouble if they pull the plug if the family didn't consent to it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 5:20 pm
sachiko_sohma If it is legal I'm sure they would have laws against doctors manipulating pateints into dying. That would go against the oath of doing no harm and if they get caught i'm sure they would go to jail unless the justice system fails us and lets them go. Doctors get in trouble if they pull the plug if the family didn't consent to it. I'm not so sure just going off of other countries where it is legal. There's nothing they could possibly put into the law to keep you from telling your parents that you think it's their time, or from a doctor going, "It's probably not worth living," etc. Doctors aren't saints. Yes, a lot of them are in it to help, but that doesn't mean they're perfect and they always want to do what's best for their patients. They took the oath, that doesn't mean they'll follow it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 7:49 am
lymelady I'm not so sure just going off of other countries where it is legal. There's nothing they could possibly put into the law to keep you from telling your parents that you think it's their time, or from a doctor going, "It's probably not worth living," etc. Doctors aren't saints. Yes, a lot of them are in it to help, but that doesn't mean they're perfect and they always want to do what's best for their patients. They took the oath, that doesn't mean they'll follow it. And, sometimes, it's just hard to know. Maybe a given person might seem to be suffering too much to a given doctor, but that person is determined to wait until their son can make it from across the country. Maybe that person has religious reasons to want to die naturally. Maybe that person might have been able to fight, and gain a few more months, had their doctor not just told them it was hopeless. I agree that there is some cause for worrying about doctors not always doing the best thing for their patients if euthanasia was legal. But, at the same time, there are people slowly dying who wish they could "die with dignity" and end their lives before it gets too bad. It's a really hard sort of choice. Perhaps some sort of signed contract, where terminally ill patients needed a document filled out, maybe before they were admitted to a hospital, which would need their signature, their doctor's signature, their next of kin's signature, and to be notarized?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 10:29 am
La Veuve Zin Euthanasia is by definition a death that is good for the person dying. By their own choice, for rational, sane reasons, exactly how they prefer it. So you can't call someone being pressured into being killed "euthanasia." I believe that the definition of the word is simply Mercy Killing. It is not inherently implicated that the patient has consented to it. That's only what most people believe the laws should allow. Now the problem with Euthanasia is on several levels. First off, there's the problems with limiting access to medicine and "life support" to people who are considered to have too poor a quality of life. The scariest story I heard was of an older woman who'd signed a form saying that she could be taken off life support if she was dying. Well she got injured and was considered unlikely to wake up, so her family consented to have life support removed. That meant they stopped giving her food and water. She apparently woke up and tried to steal food from another patient only to be tied down. Now I can't actually verify this story, but I do know that food and water is considered part of "life support" and that people who have signed living wills not understanding this have been denied food and water even though their chances of recovery was fairly high. Additionally a lot of people who are coherent and decide to be euthanized may do so for a variety of reasons not necessarily influenced by rational thought. if they're afraid of the suffering, if they feel that they are just a burden to their family, if they are in shock from learning of their condition many people might make a decision that they would later regret. But they can't change their mind if they're dead.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
