Doctor Death gets out of Prison

[dgreco]

What is the difference between putting down a dog or cat suffering from the final stages of cancer and ending the life of a terminally ill patient suffering from the final stages of the same type of cancer? If there is no hope of recovery for the terminally ill patient and he/ she is suffering in horrible agony to point of laying in a hospital bed screaming and mowning in pain and pain killers are no longer effective, are we not adding to that patient's suffering by keeping him/her alive? If I where termialy ill and at this stage of the game where I'm out of my mind in pain, I would without question want somebody to pull the plug and just let me go.

[GRDadof3]

What is the difference between putting down a dog or cat suffering from the final stages of cancer and ending the life of a terminally ill patient suffering from the final stages of the same type of cancer? If there is no hope of recovery for the terminally ill patient and he/ she is suffering in horrible agony to point of laying in a hospital bed screaming and mowning in pain and pain killers are no longer effective, are we not adding to that patient's suffering by keeping him/her alive? If I where termialy ill and at this stage of the game where I'm out of my mind in pain, I would without question want somebody to pull the plug and just let me go.

[Snowguy716]

I see no basis to your argument.

You are actively campaigning to keep people that are in a world of pain and suffering alive against their will and calling anyone with the compassion to end their suffering a murderer?

I think THAT is sick. I think it's sick because I am very close to some people that have been in a world of pain and suffering. They told me that if they ever end up in a situation like that again, that they will refuse treatment and that we should pull the plug and let them die.

That's a very hard thing to do, but that is their choice, and I'm not going to stand their like some self-righteous holier-than-thou morally superior coward and fight to keep the person alive.

This is what I don't understand about some people: They're so keen on keeping vegetables and other people in extreme pain alive.. but they are against the research that could find cures for their sickness so that they could live life in a someone normal manner again. THAT is sick.

[GRDadof3]

I see no basis to your argument.

You are actively campaigning to keep people that are in a world of pain and suffering alive against their will and calling anyone with the compassion to end their suffering a murderer?

I think THAT is sick. I think it's sick because I am very close to some people that have been in a world of pain and suffering. They told me that if they ever end up in a situation like that again, that they will refuse treatment and that we should pull the plug and let them die.

That's a very hard thing to do, but that is their choice, and I'm not going to stand their like some self-righteous holier-than-thou morally superior coward and fight to keep the person alive.

This is what I don't understand about some people: They're so keen on keeping vegetables and other people in extreme pain alive.. but they are against the research that could find cures for their sickness so that they could live life in a someone normal manner again. THAT is sick.

[Snowguy716]

I didn't say you were self righteous, blah blah blah. I said I wouldn't be that person. If you thought I meant you, I'm sorry, and I hope you didn't take offense.

But it greatly pains me to watch people suffer, and there is nothing worse than seeing someone who WANTS to die because they have made the decision that death would be better than continuing to live the last 2 months or 6 months or whatever length they are given by a doctor.

Of course, if the person is curable, that should never be an option. Especially with depression, etc. We should be getting help to suicidal people with mental health issues. Somebody who is mentally healthy and makes a conscious decision to die for physical reasons is a very different circumstance.

I just really can't fathom other people telling me what to do with my own very body and life, especially in such a position of pain and suffering... especially when they're doing it "compassionately" in the name of God. That's what I mean by "holier-than-thou morally superior" types.

I was disgusted with our president when he made a special trip to sign legislation to keep the tube hooked up to Terri Schiavo... as if he knew better than the husband, who had power of attorney, to decide whether Terri Schiavo should live or die. Then again, he is 'the decider'.

I am in a unique position here because these issues have affected me personally. I get very heated about this, and therefore maybe I shouldn't take part in this discussion.

[Charlotteman]

^^^This discussion heats me up as well. I have personally seen human beings in the sort of agony most people couldn't even fathom. They know they are going to die. There is no hope. How is it immoral or wrong to help that poor soul to let go????

Calling Dr. Kevorkian "sick" is just utter nonsense.

[GRDadof3]

Statement from Judge to Kevorkian at sentencing

It's hardly nonsense. It's immoral to take another's life except in self-defense. He didn't "help people let go", he injected them with the same poison used in some lethal injection methods in this country, and probably very painful. No one likes to suffer, and no one likes to see suffering take place, but our quest to immerse ourselves in pleasure at all times and at all costs, and to never have to endure pain or suffering is going to be our own undoing.

[dgreco]

Statement from Judge to Kevorkian at sentencing

It's hardly nonsense. It's immoral to take another's life except in self-defense. He didn't "help people let go", he injected them with the same poison used in some lethal injection methods in this country, and probably very painful. No one likes to suffer, and no one likes to see suffering take place, but our quest to immerse ourselves in pleasure at all times and at all costs, and to never have to endure pain or suffering is going to be our own undoing.

[tamias6]

I agree with the Judge, in that the trail was only about breaking the law and not about the moral implications of assisted suicide. I also agree that Kavorkrian should have promoted his stance about assisted suicide within the bounds of the law. However [Transistion edit], The Judge never said he / she was for or against it but did what a judge should do by taking an unbiased aproach to the case. Therefore by passing sentence the Judge was not morally condemning assisted suicide, but was imposing a punishment for breaking the law forbiding the act. Nothing more. With that in mind and because the trail and sentancing was not about the moral implications of assisted suicide, one's opinion for or against it should not be based upon the outcome of the trail alone.

Statement from Judge to Kevorkian at sentencing

It's hardly nonsense. It's immoral to take another's life except in self-defense. He didn't "help people let go", he injected them with the same poison used in some lethal injection methods in this country, and probably very painful. No one likes to suffer, and no one likes to see suffering take place, but our quest to immerse ourselves in pleasure at all times and at all costs, and to never have to endure pain or suffering is going to be our own undoing.

[nowensone]

Statement from Judge to Kevorkian at sentencing

It's hardly nonsense. It's immoral to take another's life except in self-defense. He didn't "help people let go", he injected them with the same poison used in some lethal injection methods in this country, and probably very painful. No one likes to suffer, and no one likes to see suffering take place, but our quest to immerse ourselves in pleasure at all times and at all costs, and to never have to endure pain or suffering is going to be our own undoing.

[GRDadof3]

Religious upbringing may be part of the basis of my beliefs, but not much other than the "Thou Shalt Not Kill' part of the Ten Commandments. It may be more of a spiritual belief, that you have to draw the line at taking another person's life, no matter how much they want you to kill them. I certainly understand long, drawn out dying, as I have had many family members and a few friends who have passed away, including my Grandmother who died a long and painful death IN OUR HOME when I was very young, maybe 10 or 11. But I try not to let my emotions cloud my judgment as to what is right and wrong.

But Kevorkian is a great example of what happens when the faucet is turned on. There is no controlling when it gets turned off. 70% of the 130 people he killed had no terminal illness. They were in a curable state. Why did he not use his medical training to do the right thing and get them the real help they needed? 5 people he murdered had no sickness whatsoever, according to autopsies conducted on the corpses. But they were able to convince him that they wanted to die, and he was there to pull the trigger. Of course we'd all like to end suffering of those around us, but a lot of bad decisions are paved with good intentions.

Interesting discussion, but that's where I stand.

[Charlotteman]

This is an enlightening thread. Thanks to everyone who has shared their feelings:)

In my first month of nursing school, several nursing professors mentioned "when people are going to die soon, they know it, and they don't deny it." You won't find it written in medical books, but everyone in the medical field knows this is the case.

When a very sick patient says they are dying, it's almost always correct. If they know they are dying, and medical science knows they are dying, and they are suffering beyond comprehension, and they want to die, then PLEASE help them let go. To extend their suffering is so damn inhumane. Breaks my heart.