Comments on: The right to dignity=The right to die

By: Link Love (08/09/2012) « Becky's Kaleidoscope

Link Love (08/09/2012) « Becky's Kaleidoscope — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 17:16:45 +0000

[...] “Your fear (or society’s fear) of death should not be used to hold back the rights of others. Just as religion should not be used to hold back the rights of women, blacks, the oppressed, etc. Those like Nicklinson who conscientously choose the warm embrace of death over the continued pain of existence have made their own choice. We should accept that and allow them to die with dignity. If the shoe was on the other foot, wouldn’t you want to be able to choose for yourself? I know I would.” The right to dignity = The right to die – The Atheist Pig [...]

By: Michael Gilhespy

Michael Gilhespy — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 00:07:04 +0000

“Mr Nicklinson died from pneumonia at his home in Melksham on 22 August after refusing food and fluids.” – BBC

By: Jeff-MN

Jeff-MN — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:57:31 +0000

Agreed. Just because we are medically able to keep someone alive doesn’t mean we should. Particularly in a situation like this… The whole battle over Terry Shaivo comes to mind as well…

By: sleepingkirby

sleepingkirby — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 14:44:55 +0000

So wait, the religious groups are not okay with assisted suicide. But if they dope you so high that you happen to die from being dosed so high, it’s okay? I’m not going to say that this is a surprise considering the religious groups’ logic but…

By: Dave Dell

Dave Dell — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 13:36:56 +0000

In Nebraska the Hospice system is the next best thing to assisted death. The pain killers you can get are very hard on the heart and heart failure can follow relatively quickly. Doctors and most religious groups seem to accept, even encourage Hospice and the quick death that follows.

By: L.G. Keltner

L.G. Keltner — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 03:30:43 +0000

I understand the suicide usually isn’t the answer. A bullied kid surely has better options though they may not see them in the moment. Assisted suicide in situations like this, however, are a whole different story. It does seem evil that we let people linger in perpetual hell because the idea of assisted suicide makes us uncomfortable. Cases like Tony’s are a perfect example of why people suffering from incurable ailments should be allowed to decide when they die. I can’t imagine the horror of suffering through what he did. I’m glad his suffering has ended, and I’m sorry his wife had to watch her husband go through this. I can’t imagine it, and I really don’t want to.

By: Duke Rylon

Duke Rylon — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 01:30:41 +0000

The right to decide what happens to yourself should make this a serious legal avenue to pursue. There are huge areas of misuse so a system to regulate or advocate for the patient is needed.

By: sleepingkirby

sleepingkirby — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 18:01:41 +0000

While I can understand the fear of, once allowing legal assisted suicide, abuse of the law by doctors to be less caring, that’s a bit of a misnomer considering we’re talking about the idea of allowing someone to die if they so wish so due to medical reasons (like in this article). Just because an implementation *can* be abused by someone, doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea or shouldn’t be allowed. Just about everything *can* be abused. If that’s the argument, when we need to figure out a way to get rid of or minimize abuse, not just sit on *ss and pretend people aren’t suffering…. Like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tB5e7U-YBJI

By: Hausdorff

Hausdorff — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 17:23:54 +0000

It seems completely insane to me that someone could be in this position and not allowed to end their own life.

By: Amphankh

Amphankh — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 16:26:17 +0000

I don’t understand how someone who’s in incredible pain– physically, emotionally, psychologically, all at once, with no hope of recovery– can be denied the right to end his suffering. To wholeheartedly request the right to die on his own terms, rather than wait for his body to waste away enough to slowly and painfully deteriorate into death. To request that he die peacefully, surrounded by friends and family, happy.

I’m glad he got what he wanted, even if it wasn’t because the court respected his his rights and wishes. I hope he’s in a better place.