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Looks like Physician-assisted suicide is losing in Massachusetts

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by Dan82, Nov 6, 2012.

  1. Dan82

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    it's down 51-49 with 90% reporting.
     
  2. Pret Allez

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    That really sucks. I don't think that people should be forced to suffer.
     
  3. Miz Purple

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    That's sad , people should have the right to choose , and not have to suffer a long painful death.
     
  4. Paper Heart

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    I voted in favor of it. Upsetting that it won't pass this time.
     
  5. The Escapist

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    Not sure how I feel about this... I'm all for having complete control of your body of course, it just rubs me the wrong way... "assisted."

    ---------- Post added 7th Nov 2012 at 02:54 AM ----------

    And I'm all for having the choice of suicide, it's your body, your life. Again, I'm just weird about this. It makes me sad?
     
  6. spirithawk

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    If an adult makes an informed decision to end their life, and a doctor consents to prescribing a lethal dose, there shouldn't be anyone getting in the way of that.
     
  7. aeva

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    I don't mean to rant, but I have A LOT to say on the subject.

    I have worked in veterinary medicine for 8 years, so of course euthanasia is part of my daily life. Clients often ask how we handle having to perform the procedure. My boss (the vet) typically responds "I don't think I'd be able to handle it if I couldn't", and I whole-heartedly agree. We both call it "the best and worst part of our jobs". Our job is to alleviate suffering, and death is the ultimate relief. As a professional, it is much harder for me to see an animal whose owners are selfishly holding on, causing the pet extreme pain and misery in their last days or weeks than it is to end their torment. Even at 8 years old I understood that, insisting that my parents euthanize our terminally ill and rapidly declining cat, despite their protests.

    I also have an aunt who is a hospice nurse, and I have accompanied her on many house-calls and visited many dying patients. Some of them no longer have control over their bowels or bladders, some have lost their motor functions. Some have lost their vision or hearing, and some are completely paralyzed. Many of them have expressed how tired they are: tired of fighting a losing battle. They have lived their lives to the fullest, and are ready to rest. And they're terrified of what awaits them as they continue to lose control over their own bodies. They don't want to be a burden to their families, and they don't want to be a prisoner in their own bodies.

    Death is not pretty. It never has been and it never will be, and it doesn't matter how you go, or how much you wish it wouldn't happen...we all die. I think that as long as the patient's affairs are in order and friends and family have had their chance to say goodbye, then the ultimate decision lies with that person, and everything possible should be done to allow them to die the way they see fit, including getting assistance from professionals.
     
  8. Alan Lewrie

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    This resonates with me a lot, I cared for my Grandfather (he partly raised me, and was a second father to me) in the last year of his life--it was a privilege to know and love him--and he was ready, tired of doctors contradicting themselves, tired and confused as his incredible intelligence and cogency slipped away. Death is not pretty, as you say, so why must individuals be forced to sit/lay around, often in horrible pain, waiting to die?
     
  9. Dan82

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    it's official it didn't pass.
     
  10. Linthras

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    ^This^