Posted on 10/15/2011 1:39:32 PM PDT by wagglebee
Professor Raymond Tallis is a distinguished emeritus professor of geriatric medicine, philosopher, poet, novelist and cultural critic. He is also a patron of the pressure group Dignity in Dying, previously known as the Voluntary Euthanasia Society. He is additionally chairman of Healthcare Professionals for Assisted Dying (HPAD) which aims to change the law, medical culture and medical practice ‘so that needless suffering at the end of life becomes a thing of the past’.
In today’s Times (£), Professor Tallis argues passionately in support of ‘assisted dying’, which he claims is all about
‘...permitting physicians to assist the death of mentally competent, terminally ill patients, who are suffering unbearably despite receiving optimal palliative care, at their request.’
The phrase ‘assisted dying’ or ‘assisted death’ is, however, deeply disingenuous. Indeed, in the context of this whole argument the word ‘dying’ has turned into what one might classify as a piece of terminal spin. It is used to avoid spelling out that what is actually being proposed by Dignity in Dying is killing -- either helping people to kill themselves, which is what assisted dying is, or causing them to be killed either by a positive action (for example, a lethal injection) or the absence of life-sustaining action (for example, depriving them of food or water).
(Excerpt) Read more at phillipsblog.dailymail.co.uk ...
This is EXACTLY what happens whenever assisted suicide or euthanasia is allowed.
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And of course insurance companies love the idea.
Thankfully insurance companies don’t make government policy, until the government becomes the insurance company.
That’s exactly right and that’s why, no matter how conflicted I have found myself on this issue, I always come back to No.
Right to Die is Duty to Die.
bfl
My problem is that I see both sides of the debate.
- There is a level of suffering that comes under the definition of ‘torture’. It is immoral to allow a fellow human being to suffer. (*I* don’t want to suffer any more)
BUT
- There are medications that can ease suffering - even going so far as to put someone in an induced coma to spare them.
- I am a firm believer of the ‘slippery slope’ argument. I’ve just seen it proven true too many times. Any acceptance of euthanasia will quickly turn into ‘putting grandma down because she’s inconvenient.’
I am a chronic pain sufferer. I have reached my limit many times.
The War on Drugs is contributing to this need for euthanasia. By denying people pain relief, you instill a sense of hopelessness that makes suicide a realistic option.
I, myself, have considered suicide many times as a result of undermedicated pain. Hell, the only reason I’m not dead now is that I haven’t exhausted every option available to me and I promised my family that I would do so before I took the dirt nap.
I don’t *want* to die, but many days I feel like I can’t go on living. What I’ve been going through for the last two years is not life. It is hell.
For those of you who are against euthanasia in every instance, I will say this: There are things worse than death. Open the doors to pain relief, and you do away with the need for euthanasia.
I do get furious that it’s my fellow conservatives who are so insistent on keeping the War on Drugs alive in it’s current form, then deny people who they’re hurting an ‘out’.
Put a 1/3rd of the money being spent on the WoD into rehab for addicts, get the gov’t out of my doctor’s office and you’ll be more effective.
Yes, that’s exactly what it becomes.
See my post #9.
I firmly believe that the War on Drugs, combined with the ‘gentle’ pushing of euthanasia is deliberately designed to kill off our elderly and infirm.
I mean think about it...
You make suicide easy and legal and deny the suffering people any form of relief...
Hell, they’ll willingly jump off the bridge.
I know that I’m almost ready to go.
We are already half way down the slippery slope with abortion on demand. If we become accustomed to killing or allowing to be killed, the helpless, then God help us.
Obama has all but approved of this in his “health care LAW”, that must be overturned. As we age we become an inconvenient user of oxygen, space and treasure the government considers its own.
Our lives are to be valued from beginning (in the womb) to the end. I would hope that all fight to live and for life. End this evil thinking.
Assisted dying use to be called MURDER.
My decisions to accept treatment or to decline treatment is one that stays between me and my God. It has nothing to do anyone else.
I am well aware of, and quite sensitive to the ‘wishes’ of others...in my immediate family, and beyond. However, that in no way serves as a substitute to the decisions that I make with the help of God.
Even in light of the ‘moral absolutes’ often espoused, I recognize that there is a point in life where my continued existence on this earthly plane is for naught; there will be nothing to be gained by extending my life. At that point, I have directed that my wishes be honored, via my personal DNR and NHM instructions.
That is my moral absolute.
People dying from COPD/Emphysema, are routinely administered dosages of morphine guaranteeing swift death. It is a merciful thing, and I cannot see anything wrong with it, if that is what the patient wants. If you live long enough, and are unlucky to the point of having a mother, aunt, or brother sucking at air, and receiving no benefit, you would think differently on this debate. I have lost 5+ relatives from emphysema, and the last real decision they made was to “ease on out”. I was there, and supported them completely.
Tell that Terri Schiavo and her family who husband and his lawyer murdered her; just like the government wants to do.
It comes down to one question, who owns my body? In a free society, the answer has to be, no one but you. On that principle, the state has no business interfering in a private matter....unless Conservative now want all citizens to be wards of the state.
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