physician assisted suicide poll.

This happens everyday in the United States, it just doesn't get talked about or acknowledged - we call it Hospice.

 

Hospices don't provide physician assisted suicide do they? I think they manage pain only.

 

so far 33 to 9. glad people are really chiming in and giving their beliefs and opinions. beautiful..

 

Incurable disease, sure. Not for ''mental illness'' though.

 

You should instruct the government in that philosophy. I disagree with your statement, by the way. No one has the right to murder someone else, but killing is fine in instances of self defense or similar situations as everyone has the right to self defense, even if it means killing another. Suicide in my opinion is an option each person must decide for themselves.

 

I highly support physician assisted suicide. If it is the choice of the patient and if they choose no longer to live in pain, it is up to them to tell the physician to pull the plug. Now, it's best not to think of such a horrible thing to take place, but if it happens it is up to the patient.

 

Doctors give lethal doses of morphine to terminal patients everyday - in hospital and hospice situations - "pain management" becomes a euphemism in the end. Morphine depresses respiration - enough morphine can stop respiration altogether, and if the truth be told, I'd say about half of the people (especially the elderly) in the United States essentially die from morphine overdoses - yes, they would die in short order anyway - the morphine just makes the ride less bumpy and more certain. I'm not critical of it either, in fact I think it's morally correct, but the danger does exist that this becomes a tool of euthanasia either deliberately/systematically, and perhaps it already is being used that way. I am critical of the fact that it has become a universal, unwritten rule in medicine in the U.S., and yet goes deliberately ignored and unacknowledged. When a loved one is "dying" according to the attending physician and the POA and/or spouse says "Make them as comfortable as possible" you are witnessing euthanasia, if there are advance directives (agreed upon or drafted by the patient) which essentially provide for this, you are witnessing assisted suicide. Most hospice programs require advanced directives which coincide with pallative "care".

 

I don't doubt anything you said but when I use the term "physician assisted suicide," I mean that in the legal sense. Physician assisted suicide is illegal in every state except Oregon, Montana and Washington- and in those states it is restricted to the terminally ill with other qualifying conditions.

 

I understand where you're coming from, and I agree. I'm just trying to make the point that the legalities (or illegalities) of the "Physician Assisted Suicide" is really just rhetorical and a convenient way for legislators to avoid the uncomfortable position of officially legalizing assisted suicide and thereby avoid alienating themselves from euthanasia and suicide ethics sensitive groups within their constituency. Here we have a fine example of government gladly allowing the private sector (in this case the medical industry) to dictate and control social policy that literally has the power of life and death in its hands.

 

Oh,it's just lovely to watch your grampa get down to 90 pounds and lay in bed groaning with pain. Especially when it gets so bad that he staggers/crawls out of bed when no one is there to get his gun and shoot himself because of the horrible unending pain. Laugh a fuckin' minute,I tell ya'. Fuckinay there should be PAS. His doctor was a god damned sadist. I should have shot the prick.

 

Right on. This is exactly why it's outright dangerous and immoral to leave these decisions in the hands of a private, profit driven industry. There IS in some cases, an incentive to prolong an inevitable death needlessly when money enters into the equation. The private sector has no business having any kind of say in these matters - pro or con. I, for one, would feel much better about having democratically determined legislation with regard to PAS than the wink and nod private sector "hands off" method of handling of this very important rights issue.

 

I read a study on the Oregon assisted suicide law (there the docs give the patient a script for a lethal dose of barbiturates and they can take it at home at their discretion).

One of the main things that study found was that doctors became MUCH MORE concerned with pain management presumably because they did not want to write the scripts or have their patients offing themselves.

Surprisingly there were very few actual suicides from that program. Most of the folks that want to die due to pain or declining health (terminally ill or the elderly) have access to plenty of drugs that could be used for an overdose anyway.

 

double post: delete

 

Right- at this time we in the land of the free have only one option: institutionalized death.

 

I would vote yes but only if the physician can prove the person wants to kill himself. You're basicly giving physician's freedom to kill people, so their has to be some precautions.

 

of course it's a delicate matter. i say sign a contract, maybe have a verbal agreement on tape in front of relatives. make sure it's on tape, written down, family knows, etc. it is a big deal of course..

 

Definitely, no back alley jobs. right

 

i grew up where dr. jack kervorkian is from, and i remember all that controversy

so i say yes.

 

so it's a win for physician-assisted! I figured it would turn out this way because any sane person wants to settle someones agony, not let it continue. We have to think rationally in 2012 and beyond. our progress can't be halted because of some old-fashioned thinkers.

 

yeah totally, when dealing with life you have to take those extra precautions.