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| 9 FEB 2003 at 7:15am |
JoGuild Master
Posts : 3313
Joined: 3 NOV 2002
Location: AU, Qld.
Status : Offline | Sorry, perhaps this should have been on Hot Topics!!
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| 9 FEB 2003 at 12:34pm |
AyaGrand Inquisitor
Posts : 7277
Joined: 16 OCT 2002
Status : Offline | normally i am in favor of euthanasia... i certainly don't believe life is worth living under certain conditions... but there are some details that can make this a tricky subject... like for instance if someone has suffered a severe head injury and is left "a vegitable", who is to decide about euthanasia? and then maybe heritage issues might appear... if the person suffering is actually very rich, how can someone know the relatives won't choose euthanasia only in order to inherit him? difficult subject
You have gotten the attention of the mysterious lady. She turns to face you. Her face is devoid of any flesh. You are frozen with horror as she begins ripping your body into a bloody mess.
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| 9 FEB 2003 at 1:54pm |
| Deleted User | In the UK you can make a 'living will' - while you are still in possession of all your faculties.
In it you can state that, should your health deteriorate to a point where you can no longer communicate your wishes, you do NOT wish your life to be extended artificially with medical intervention.
This applies to life support machines etc.
Now - the sad fact is - you can make such a will - but if the doctor treating you chooses to ignore it - he can.
I think it is really just an official way of letting the doctor know how you feel.
In no way does it sanction the doctor/carer intervening to actually kill you.
It's obviously a very personal choice and not one that others should be allowed to make for you.
I think it terribly sad that relatives are often pursued by the law when they take responsibility for this final act of love for a dear one.
Although the law in the UK doesn't allow euthanasia - there are few prosecutions.
No one is going to ask for help dying unless they are in terrible pain and despair.
I think we have to take this into account.
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| 9 FEB 2003 at 2:08pm |
AyaGrand Inquisitor
Posts : 7277
Joined: 16 OCT 2002
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By medicro (9 FEB 2003 1:53pm)
In it you can state that, should your health deteriorate to a point where you can no longer communicate your wishes, you do NOT wish your life to be extended artificially with medical intervention.
i didn't know this existed, and of course i don't know if it exists here... if it does though i'd certanly sign one! i'd NEVER want to live like this
It's obviously a very personal choice and not one that others should be allowed to make for you.
it definately is... but what if you suddenly end up a vegetable due to an unexpected event, before being able to sign one of those... then someone should decide i guess... but who would that be, and, most importantly, how nobble will the motives be?
I think it terribly sad that relatives are often pursued by the law when they take responsibility for this final act of love for a dear one.
really sad... such a law makes no sense... letting someone suffer being legal, while putting him out of his misery being illegal :
No one is going to ask for help dying unless they are in terrible pain and despair.I think we have to take this into account.
exactly
You have gotten the attention of the mysterious lady. She turns to face you. Her face is devoid of any flesh. You are frozen with horror as she begins ripping your body into a bloody mess.
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| 9 FEB 2003 at 2:27pm |
| Deleted User | Aya wrote:
it definately is... but what if you suddenly end up a vegetable due to an unexpected event, before being able to sign one of those... then someone should decide i guess... but who would that be, and, most importantly, how nobble will the motives be?
Exactly - without such a will there's a chance you may be kept on a machine.
You can probably word such a will yourself and sign it - NOW.
that way your wishes are know in case of sudden accidents.
Just remember - these wills are not legally binding.
They simply demonstrate your support for your relatives if they make the decision for you.
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| 9 FEB 2003 at 4:45pm |
GayleSchattenjger
Posts : 2544
Joined: 12 OCT 2002
Status : Online | We have the same living will here. We did it for my mother, who was a nurse. She said she did not want to be kept alive by artificial means so that is what we did, we didn't do it for my father and they were still giving him tests up to a few hours before he quietly passed away.
Which is best, who should decide? It is easy to say, to make the end comfortable and to relieve their suffering but in practice, this is a person you have history with, and it would be very hard and at that time you would hope that there is an afterlife for them and yourself.
My stand is that if a person who is in sound mind requests it then it is their choice to go ahead. Most people who would request it, are probably so far gone physically that it would be a relief.
Could I actually be the one doing it for another person, No,I don't have the makeup for it, I would keep clinging and hoping like a little child that some wonderful thing would happen to change everything.
Do I think people should be arrested for this. No, not if it is a loved one and you have their permission, probably should have a written one. However, the dividing line for me is someone who goes around doing this service every day. Are they sure there is no hope? Isn't there something macabre about doing this as a living?
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| 9 FEB 2003 at 11:32pm |
JoGuild Master
Posts : 3313
Joined: 3 NOV 2002
Location: AU, Qld.
Status : Offline | One of the things about turning off life support machines that has always bothered me, is that sometimes people who are presumed to be in a coma are actually fully aware of what is going on, but the medical profession are not always able to ascertain this. How awful if hypothetically you were presumed to be brain dead, but could actually hear doctors and relatives deciding to turn of the machine.
Reminds me of a book I read many years ago called "The Ka of Gifford Hillary" by Dennis Wheatley. I forget most of the details, but what stuck in my mind was that he had a horror of being cremated while still alive and in his will left instructions to be buried. He was either supposedly murdered or given some drug that made him appear dead and then subsequently buried alive! Anyway his Ka or spirit sets about trying to contact people to rescue him. All highly silly really, but left a rather nasty feeling. Of course it all ended well - just like a soap opera.
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