Because we don't have nearly enough threads that could turn into pure hate towards each other, let's add another one! LOL. Please be respectful of EVERYONE'S opinions on this topic. You can respectfully disagree with people without name calling, etc. In light of Tony Scott's suicide due to the fact he had inoperable brain cancer, what are your thoughts on assisted suicides? Reading the comments on articles about his death made me think this would be an interesting topic to discuss. Some people find it appalling that only 2 states allow terminally ill patients to die with dignity. These same people scratch their heads that we allow our beloved animals to be euthanized when they are old and in pain. The question remains, why do we treat our pets better than we treat fellow humans? Shouldn't terminally ill people be allowed to die with dignity instead of having to resort to jumping off of a bridge to end his/her life? I find it unnaturally cruel that a person cannot end his/her life (when they have no chance for survival) with dignity and instead must endure unspeakable pain, wasting away to nothing, putting your loved ones through the horror of watching you waste away, and watching you in pain when they can't do a damn thing about it. It's a shame that Tony Scott had to resort to those measures, but kudos to him for dying on his terms. Thoughts?
First off, excellent thread. And while we've actually touched on it a long time ago, it's always good to breathe new life into topics as this. I'm perfectly fine with euthanasia under any circumstance. The Tony Scott case puzzles me a bit. This is a person who has enjoyed unbelievable success, and basically has made a mark in the entertainment business. Why did he do it? I didn't check up on the answer, as the police have yet said anything about what the suicide note contained. I can tell you that there are legitimate reasons to end your life, most notably if you are practically a vegetable. Who would want to live for the rest of his or her life, bedbound and unable to experience much of life like those around them? I see people like that and I wonder what they are feeling and how are they really coping simply being an empty vessel with wandering eyes...it kills me to no end that they cannot experience life of that nature. As for those who are able-bodied and can do something with their lives, I'm more puzzled by their reasons as to why they would want to commit suicide. I wouldn't consider them weak, but I do think that they tend to look at things too narrow of a path and not realize that there are many ways to make their lives all the more fruitful. But, if they personally feel that their lives are simply worthless and lack any real meaning, then I do think they should just end their lives, not out of anger, but out of release from what they call "travesty."
Dying with dignity always sounded like an oxymoron to me. How does one do that? Dying sucks no matter which way you slice it. Dying in comfort sounds much better to me. A bag of purple kush some Jay-Z's Blueprint/Black Album in the background and a little morphine pumping through the veins as I slip out of existence. Now that's a death worth having. Anything observed after that is bullshit since you're dead and it won't matter anymore.
Dying with comfort is pretty much what happens now. The dying person gets plugged into machines and feeding tubes and morphine drips whilst they waste away to literally skin and bones for days, sometimes weeks, as the family looks on, powerless to do anything. Dying with dignity is where you die before you waste away. It's where you die before your family is put through hell and limbo as they watch you slowly fade away from them. If a person is terminally ill, they should be allowed to go out when they want, IMO.
I can agree with this sentiment. Though I cannot imagine some of the pain and mental gymnastics some people have to do to get out of bed every day. I don't think we should be providing assisted suicides. I saw an episode of Futurama years ago, In this episode , there was a such thing as a suicide booth. People who were suicidal would walk into the booth, pay a fee, and select a method of doom. Can you imagine going to the bank or grocery store and see lines of people at such a place. People go in and never come out. Frustrated about life? Well pay the 100 bux and choose your method of suicide. All transactions are final...
It's been reported that Tony Scott had inoperable brain cancer. I agree with you with people who are in essence vegetables, as well. They should be allowed to die as they can't experience anything anymore and they're basically just a "shell". I don't want to discuss perfectly healthy people (physically not mentally) committing suicide. That's a whole other topic. That involves depression and other chemical imbalances in the brain.
I'm not talking about otherwise healthy people committing suicide. I'm talking about terminally ill people who have been given months or days or whatever to live. I'm talking about those people that there are no treatments that can give them quality of life anymore. There is a HUGE difference between regular people committing suicide and people who have been given a, in no other words, death sentence, wanting to die before they waste away to nothing.
Doctor's take an oath to do no harm. I can see them placing the life support switch closer to such a patients bed though so it is within arms reach. If you want to pull the plug on your self then so be it. But doctors should not be the ones pulling the plug.
That is the major thing right there. I agree with assisted suicide, but I understand why doctors would not go for it.
I wasn't the one who brought it up. Plus, I don't believe that one should be assisted if one is suicidal. I believe that if a physically able person is suicidal then that person needs outside help to overcome his/her extreme despondency.
i've watched my grandmother fight 3 cancers and so much more that my dad and i joked about the local hospital naming a wing after her. all 3 times the doctors gave up on her and one thing i remember her saying when they recommended pulling the plug was "i'm still away and i will say when i will die". when she finally went, i was in la, and she told my dad that she was ready, then she went as she wanted, quietly, without fuss. she lived through WW1 and WW2 in england and was the strongest woman i have ever known. her death was her choice in the end and i completely respect that. she was 92
Yep, ppl should be allowed to die with dignity. If you have explored every possible venue and no cure is out there for your condition. Or if your condition is getting worse and worse, like metastatic cancer, then you shoud be allowed to chose comfort care. That is why service like hospice care is there for.....what is the point of getting poked and prodded if there is not going to bring any clinical improvement to your condition? when time is up, time is up.
People should be allowed to commit suicide if they feel they need to. I could never assist anyone in taking their life. Just don't have it in me. His wife said TMZ has it wrong......he didn't suffer from a brain tumor. So I have not read why he did it.
I think the option should be there, so that if a person wants to commit suicide they can. Those that don't want to, don't have to... but at least the ones that want to will be able to. I've always told my parents to kill me f I ever go blind. I'd hate to live as a person that is deaf and blind. Yet, when I leave the apartment, I often see an older deaf-blind man standing at the street corner waiting to cross the road (holding the button you push to cross, can feel the difference between beeping of the sign, and when it talks to say you can cross..). I'd never be able to consider that... yet the man does things absolutely fine. There's lots of deaf-blind people out there, but I'd never want to be in their shoes... rather be assisted to commit suicide if I was in a situation like that since I would feel like too much of a burden to others. Perhaps someone that lost their hearing suddenly would want to die... while others consider Deafness as a culture. The thing for me... is how to draw the line at when it's appropriate to allow for assisted suicide/dying with dignity.
