Euthanasia-How Can Anyone Not See This As Cruel?

[Little Miss Alien]

I wish I hadn't seen this. My younger daughter has just been diagnosed with ME. She's 16, and has been ill since before Christmas, and we are just about to go tangle with the psychiatric lobby which has taken over everything to do with ME here, when in other, more civilised countries, it's recognised as a neurological illness (the WHO recognises it as such, certainly,) and trials are happening into drug relief for it.

My friend who died of AIDS took a morphine overdose while he still could. We all knew he was going to do it, and we saw no reason why we should deprive him of that choice because he had suffered for so long.

I'm sorry if you found it upsetting. For what it's worth, her case was extremely rare in its severity.

I was diagnosed with ME at 17 (had symptoms since I was 3) and at 30 I have gained a Masters, have a full time job, have plenty of friends, raise a 4 year old and run a household singlehandedly.

Stay strong against the psychiatric lot, support your daughter to develop her skills and talents within her limits and life doesn't necessarily have to stop (I know people who are writers, doctors, confectioners, seamstresses. and more, all whilst havin ME).

[takers401]

The addiction angle always makes me angry. Hello, stage IV cancer, terminal soon, she needs pain management, who the hell cares about addiction!

Actually, there are many doctors who d get it and have for years. They quietly go about prescribing morphine or dilaudid for people with end stage disease, be it kidney, diabetes, cancer, whatever. Patients are in pain and they are prescribed what they need. The newer forms of pain patches and slow release narcotics have really helped a lot of people have both pain control and a good quality of life without being so doped up. But there are those health care providers who don't get it.

Kind of a funny story (as my Grandfather found the humor in it). After my Grandpa was diagnosed with bone cancer and blood complications from Hep C, and it became clear that he was towards the end of his battle, the doctor was talking to my grandparents about how much morphine he'd be given and stressed that they needed to pay close attention to instructions so as to not give too much less Grandpa become addicted or die. With a smile on his face, Grandpa patted the doctor's hand and said that it was okay because he was going to die regardless. Up to the end Grandpa loved to tell the story of that doctor's face as he realized how little overdose concerns really mattered.

[MrsYoungie]

I am a colon cancer survivor (have you booked your scope yet?) so I have looked at this from a personal view point. My husband & I are both pro euthanasia. We believe that a qick painless death is preferable to a horrible lingering hopeless one. It gave me a renewed zest to live a full life full of experiences and occasional adventure (rappelling & zip-lining at age 50+)

I have a friend who is terrified of flying. More than her fear of any disease. I told her (or tried) that dying in a plane crash was at least relatively quick and certain. Also there is at least enough warning to give one time for a good loud primal yell before oblivion. It also would make for a much more intriguing obituary!

My obit, for sooner or later, should start with the words: "suddenly, while exploring the Amazon jungle" rather than "after a brave and lengthy struggle".

Pardon the poor typing - I'm going one-armed after breaking my wrist on holiday in Cancun. The flight was lovely and uneventful - this time!

[debrand]

but in the first post, why did the man have to push pain killers down his wife's throat? Why wasn't she on some sort of IV drip?

I don't understand unless they didn't want to risk her dying from the morphine but refusing available pain medicine just increased her suffering.

[AudreyE]

My mother died of cancer when I was a teenager, and I saw things that no daughter needs to see at any age. There was absolutely no hope for her to get better after a certain point, and she suffered for long after that. In the end, my father and I were praying for her to die. (This was back when I believed in a God who made case-by-case choices about these things, instead of allowing the natural consequences of life on earth to play out as they will.)

People should have choices.