Physician Assisted Suicide

[Kibet Hillary]

Personally, I do not support euthanasia. It would be really hard to agree that one should undergo an aided death. Whether the person agrees or not, it still does not become acceptable.

[AliceofX]

I think euthanasia has to be offerd in each and every country

Really? Including the ones where human rights violations happen every day, where people of a different race, religion, etc, are treated as second-class citizens? Wouldn't it just be a convenient way to get rid of the "undesirable people."

Also, have you heard of the Roy Zimmerman song Dear Number 1036924053887? Of course, it's comedy but it does raise the interesting question of how euthanasia could be treated in today's capitalistic world where medicine is big business.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

I think euthanasia has to be offerd in each and every country

Really? Including the ones where human rights violations happen every day, where people of a different race, religion, etc, are treated as second-class citizens? Wouldn't it just be a convenient way to get rid of the "undesirable people."

Also, have you heard of the Roy Zimmerman song Dear Number 1036924053887? Of course, it's comedy but it does raise the interesting question of how euthanasia could be treated in today's capitalistic world where medicine is big business.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

I think euthanasia has to be offerd in each and every country

Really? Including the ones where human rights violations happen every day, where people of a different race, religion, etc, are treated as second-class citizens? Wouldn't it just be a convenient way to get rid of the "undesirable people."

Also, have you heard of the Roy Zimmerman song Dear Number 1036924053887? Of course, it's comedy but it does raise the interesting question of how euthanasia could be treated in today's capitalistic world where medicine is big business.

Anything can be used for both good and bad. You will not tell so, if you see the suffering of patients who just live because of medication and other supportive measures, without any quality of life. Just go to a tertiary care hospital and see. If you get into same situation, believe me, you will beg for death

[AliceofX]

You will not tell so, if you see the suffering of patients who just live because of medication and other supportive measures, without any quality of life. Just go to a tertiary care hospital and see. If you get into same situation, believe me, you will beg for death

Here's a tip for you - don't assume you know the life experiences of complete strangers online.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

You will not tell so, if you see the suffering of patients who just live because of medication and other supportive measures, without any quality of life. Just go to a tertiary care hospital and see. If you get into same situation, believe me, you will beg for death

Here's a tip for you - don't assume you know the life experiences of complete strangers online.

Thank you. Still I hold my end of argument.

[LaurenHaupt]

He never had his consent. He didn't ask to be killed so it more sounds like murder. What's the difference between assisted suicide and pulling the plug?

[LaurenHaupt]

You will not tell so, if you see the suffering of patients who just live because of medication and other supportive measures, without any quality of life. Just go to a tertiary care hospital and see. If you get into same situation, believe me, you will beg for death

Here's a tip for you - don't assume you know the life experiences of complete strangers online.

Thank you. Still I hold my end of argument.

I agree but I don't think this was assisted suicide. He didn't have permission to do it.

[GabbiV]

I think that so long as the patient is fully cognizant of what they are getting into, I support physician assisted suicide, especially if they are painful!

[daydreaming reader]

I am of the belief that I can not make such a decision for anyone, other than myself. There are a lot of should have and could have arguments against and for euthanasia, but I think it all comes down to the person wants it, the person assisting and the reasons for doing it. In regards to the book, I am of the opinion that Hiram simply blamed Jeremy for every bad thing that happened and wanted to be rid of him. This, I do not agree with.

[daydreaming reader]

He never had his consent. He didn't ask to be killed so it more sounds like murder. What's the difference between assisted suicide and pulling the plug?

I felt it was murder as opposed to assisted suicide as well. I believe the difference between assisted suicide and pulling the plug, is that pulling the plug requires the patient to be brain dead (which Jeremy more or less was I believe).

[Dael Reader]

I think physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia are two different things. Assisted suicide indicates that a patient is fully aware of their condition and has the mental capacity to explain their reasons for pursuing suicide. This person then has the capacity to ask for and authorize assistance. Euthanasia or mercy killings involve patients who are not capable of making their own choices or wishes known. Someone else decides they will be better off dead than alive. I am willing to support assisted suicide, with strict guidelines. Euthanasia is a lot trickier. It's one thing to turn off life support when someone is unconscious, not expected to recover, and is only alive because of machines. It's another thing to just suffocate someone who is unconscious or unable to speak for themselves because you think they will be better off dead. In the novel, McDowell is not assisting a suicide. I think he kills Jeremy because he believes the boy is evil and he thinks the rest of the family will be better off--financially and emotionally--if the boy is dead. No trial to endure and no medical bills from what would certainly be a long and expensive recovery. McDowell is guilty of murder, not mercy.

[Dael Reader]

I don't agree with the way Hiram approached euthanasia by killing Jeremy. However, if his parents had wanted to, it would have been fine to withdraw feeding tubes, fluids, etc if there is no hope for the medical situation to change. Death would come pretty quickly that way. It wasn't Hiram's decision to make.

Good point.

[fernsmom]

This topic wasn't addressed in the usual manner. Normally I feel empathy for not only the person suffering, but also the person that "assists" with the suicide. In this book though Hiram is not a lovable character. I'm not even sure if he did it for anything other than selfish reasons and anger. But towards the end of the book I started having other feelings about this and many other of Hiram's actions.
But back to the physician assisted suicide would this boy have any quality of life? Was he suffering? But is that something a physician gets to decide even if the physician is family? Does a physician play God?
Good questions, and I'm sure will be debated back and forth for years to come, but I honestly in my opinion think it really matters if the patient is suffering, the patient's feelings on the subject if known, and also the family's input. The doctor's role should be whether there is any brain activity or any chance of the patient having any sort of quality of life. But in McDowell, the doctor was family so it was a little different.

[LV2R]

There are surely legal ways to euthanasia that I kept thinking McDowell, as a doctor, would surely know how to do it legally. The problem seemed to be that he took Jeremy's life with his own decision and knew it was wrong when he repositioned the cameras. I would not think that is the way doctors would assist the suicide of patients.