The state of Washington says 63 suicide prescriptions were dispensed during the first nine months of the state's "death with dignity" act to people between the ages of 48 and 95.
Article Source: msnbc.com
from:msnbc.com63 suicide doses given so far under Wash. law
Seeded on Thu Mar 4, 2010 2:50 PM EST (msnbc.com)
— Filed under: health, health-care, social-affairs, social-issues, human-rights-and-civil-liberties, death-and-dying, euthanasia
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I'm wondering when the rest of the nation is going to let people, in the final stages of their lives, die with dignity.
This is a bane to the health industry because they aren't able to soak the last dime out of someones meager estate before their death.
What do they charge for the "killing treatment"?
A whole lot less than months of futile intesive care.
The real problem is slippery slope. The control was taken out of my family's hands when it came to my dad suffering.
The issue is that life and death decisions are seldom made by loved ones' families, anyhow. I agree with the second half of what Ken Pac says, but not the first part. True, some in the institutional health industry want to keep patients alive as long as possible, despite the family's wishes.
On the other hand, I am disturbed by the growing trend in Europe AND Washington state to "pressure" critically ill and older patients to die already and stop being an inconvenience to others.
That's a true danger. And it's already arrived.
I watched my father suffer a long slow death from cancer. I've told my family that I refuse to go that way. I will do anything that I can to go quietly and in peace. I also believe there is no dignity in any death, just death.
When a person is so sick and in so much pain they should have the right to end their suffering. It's so sad they die but it's good they get to choose when and how they will die. I watched my dad die a terrible death filled with pain and anger because he wasn't allowed to die when he wanted.
@Dana6
Thank you for your reasoned response. Oregon, (my state), was the first to pass such a law and by all accounts, has been a godsend for those who've opted to use it. Whether it's due to pain or just a lingering long term death, it gives us the OPTION.
In no way is there any pressure to make people opt in. In fact, it's quite the opposite. You have to have 2 doctors say that you've got less than 6 months to live and there is no viable cure for whatever is going on. There is also a psych evaluation just to make sure that this is what YOU want, and not being pressured by anyone, (including family members who may find your passing "convenient").
@MDC
I appreciate your take on death and if it was just a "lights on/lights off" kind of thing, I would agree with you. But there are some pretty ugly ways to go, especially with cancer and other illnesses that can linger, and the pain associated with them.
I think it should be our choice if we want to live or die.
Pro-choice eh?
Bruce, choosing to kill an unborn child because you were too stupid to stop a pregnancy is quite different than chosing to end your own life.
Thank goodness individual states are taking the courageous position of talking about, and, in these cases, enacting sensible laws to address an issue that is taboo at the national level. With so many baby boomers about to enter the last third of their lives, this discussion can't be put off any longer. More damage comes from not talking about hard issues than from facing up to our realities.
I'm honestly conflicted for a number of reasons about whether one should be allowed to commit suicide if it is believed they will die within 6 months. While I don't think we have the right to commit suicide, I find it terribly difficult to watch loved ones suffer near the end of their lives as they deal with bodies that are falling apart. At what point does a doctor stop trying to sustain a life and simply let nature run its course? I think modern medicine has done a dis-service by artificially prolonging life when the body, on its own, would have died.
Hmm.. you don't think it's someones right to decide what to do with their body?
What about tattoos, abortion, plastic surgery?
I don't think it's anyones right to tell someone they HAVE to live.
Why would we not? We have the right to manipulate every other facet of our lives: we can get cosmetic surgeries, we can change jobs, we can marry or divorce...why not this final and most vital aspect of our life?
Try being one of the suffering ones. Go visit a nursing home where someone has turned into a vegetable after losing their mind to Alzheimer's, or where the staff can only offer palliative care to a bedridden resident because their incurable illness has progressed to the point where they know only pain and have to linger with it for untold weeks or months until death finally comes.
I personally don't want my kids' last memories of me being an invalid needing to be changed and fed like an infant. I'd rather they remembered the trip to Yellowstone or going fishing or something. I want the option to end my life with dignity and a minimum of suffering (with the added bonus of not losing every penny I have to some damn nursing home's profit margin.)
Honestly, people willl put a dog out of its misery if it's old and suffering, but they'll let Grandma linger for years on life support, deaf and blind to the world, bedridden and tube-fed because they love her so much you want her to enjoy her last years of life? W-T-everloving-F? I'd hope that, in my last years, my kids treat me as well as they would a dog, then!
The difference is that people may not want to use a gun to blow their brains out and would like an alternative method. There is nothing illegal about killing yourself. I thought the law was to more protect the people involved in the suicide.
What if you allow yourself to be "assisted", and the next day they come out with a miracle cure for your disease? Oops!
If coulda and whats were candy and nuts, it would be Christmas every day!
I probably wouldn't care, I think.
Of course. You'd be dead. lol
Seriously, they come out with a cure, you just have to wait for it to work. IF it even works. You might be dead before it can do anything. Like giving a dead man an aspirin, it can be pointless.
Oh and don't forget the FDA would have to analyze it. Then the insurance companies would have to spend a long time deciding how much it should cost. Then you need to be referred by 8 Drs, get a credit check, turn over all of your assets.....
No one but the super rich could afford it and the insurance companies wouldn't pay for it claiming it's "experimental". And of course, if it's "pre-existing", the insurance industry has long since written you off.
Wow, didn't know this was finally sanctioned by law!! I'm so happy that we can if need be, die with dignity. The thought that someday I might not be able to move my body or have any type of quality of life because of an illness or stroke is teeeeerrrifying!!! Everyone should have the right to die with dignity!!
The "quality of life" argument is exactly what this is about. Nobody can define "quality" as being an invalid or being hooked up to machines 24/7 or on course after course of expensive medications just so you can live with your incurable ailment just that much longer.
If I know I don't have any time left, I'd rather it be quick and painless. One last dinner with the family, maybe a movie or two, then *click*. Lights out and done. Beats the stink out of disintegrating into paralysis and dementia.
I agree Pist. I used to work with geriatrics, Alzheimer's and dementia patients. Oh and the minimum wage aides!! Broken bones, bed sores, bruises, liquid food, crusts faces, left alone for hours in their own piss. Broke my @!$%#ing heart. People frozen inside decaying bodies.. not knowing what they felt, heard... treated with disrespect, worse than animals. And it wasn't ONE place. It is the norm in a lot of cases.
None of that was dignified.
Yes they should Irene, but only 3 states so far allow it. During the Bush years, the Feds tried to get Oregon's law overturned 3 times. It was voted on by the people and overwhelmingly passed.
Just think about how much money the insurance industry is saving now, the law wasn't about ending life with quality, it was about saving money. It is fine and right for the government and industry to allow the ending of a life, but not OK for an individual, who for years has been trashed for his assistance. He was not working for the insurance industry was he now.
If anyone has witnessed and/or been associated or related to ones who suffer from such ailments as ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), or terminal forms of cancer...perhaps they will realize the need to allow people to choose to be OUT OF SUFFERING. We treat our pets, in their "time of need," better than we do humans. It is man who has created medicines to prolong lives, long after nature would have terminated the life. I applaud the states who have seen that this law/act of mercy has become acceptable. Laws, here on Earth, are merely manmade. I sometimes wonder if people truly understand the Laws of God, as they see Him.
If anyone has witnessed and/or been associated or related to ones who suffer from such ailments as ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), or terminal forms of cancer...perhaps they will realize the need to allow people to choose to be OUT OF SUFFERING. We treat our pets, in their "time of need," better than we do humans. It is man who has created medicines to prolong lives, long after nature would have terminated the life. I applaud the states who have seen that this law/act of mercy has become acceptable. Laws, here on Earth, are merely manmade. I sometimes wonder if people truly understand the Laws of God, as they see Him.
From my heart I truely believe that an individual should have control of "their" life...... I beleive you should do what you want, when.... where... with whom.... or any other cirmunstances..... I have myself known of two individuals whom were doing what they enjoyed..... and you know what..... they were happy when they met their demise....... so live life to it's extent..... and never look back........ in other words..... Have Fun!!!!!!!