[Mariner]

Your source references what I consider to be euthanasia and what any reasonable person would consider euthanasia.

Sedation and Dehydration. The way a very large number of the very old die, not only in the Netherlands but in the good old USA too. Just about every terminal cancer patient dies from morphine overdose.

Ask any hospital or hospice nurse.

But it doesn't count for the data point.

[muawiyah]

The Dutch are doing that WITHOUT HYDRATION. That definitely crosses over to murder in virtually every civilized country.

[Girlene]

Mariner, I get it....you are a Newt guy. You spend a lot of time showing what you perceive as Santorum’s weaknesses. That’s fine. I like both Newt and Rick....I still wish we had a stronger candidate than either of them, but we don’t.

Fact is, Santorum is right on this one. Netherlands is a mess. What they are doing over there doesn’t even begin to compare with what you just described. This is where we are headed someday with our govt run health care.

Santorum got into this race because of the Health care act. He actually seems to know his stuff on this issue. Whether he becomes president or not, he is opening a lot of eyes as to what we are entering into. For that, I am grateful.

[Girlene]

Mariner, I get it....you are a Newt guy. You spend a lot of time showing what you perceive as Santorum’s weaknesses. That’s fine. I like both Newt and Rick....I still wish we had a stronger candidate than either of them, but we don’t.

Fact is, Santorum is right on this one. Netherlands is a mess. What they are doing over there doesn’t even begin to compare with what you just described. This is where we are headed someday with our govt run health care.

Santorum got into this race because of the Health care act. He actually seems to know his stuff on this issue. Whether he becomes president or not, he is opening a lot of eyes as to what we are entering into. For that, I am grateful.

[muawiyah]

Your claim is not supported in practice. I don't think you quite understand the use of pain management in terminal cases. To a degree you have a trade off between breathing and unbearable pain. It is possible to misuse painkillers (morphine particularly) to suppress breathing to the point where you die.

Some of us don't fear pain though, so any use of morphine would be to kill us. I have some orders out on that part BTW. No DOPE. But that's just me.

Ethical pain control does not include total suppression of breathing. Unethical pain control would be to sedate someone and then withdraw hydration.