DO NOT GO GENTLE: Battling the Culture of Death

Blogger News Network ^ | 03/11/05 | Becki Snow

[STARWISE]

Awesome article .. thank you! The Beast is truly at the door.

[STARWISE]

Bump for LIFE Ping!

[Petronski]

Here are some who Poles understand.

[Petronski]

Ach! Corrected: Here are some Poles who understand.

[Former Dodger]

Very Interesting article!

Pure Medical Practice PING!

[Servant of the 9]

Imperfect children? Kill them.
Ill elders? Kill them.
Disabled adults? Kill them.

The difference is that even 50 years ago all those people would die without anyone doing anything to them.

Today a lot of us are terrified of being trapped half-dead by obsessive compulsive do-gooders who don't know when to quit.

There is no serious move anywhere to kill the unwilling. This is just a stalking horse for religions that want to force people to live as long and painfully as possible.

You don't need any laws to protect you from anything. The only danger you face is from your own negligence in not making out a living will. The hospitals are full of people ready to sustain you.

Even with a signed and sealed Living Will I don't have the right to be put down when the time comes if I am physically unable to do it myself and am not on a machine of some kind.

Have the kindness to pass laws allowing those of us who think we know when it is time to leave to have some help if we need it. .

So9

[Servant of the 9]

When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
An' go to your Gawd like a soldier.
Go, go, go like a soldier,
Go, go, go like a soldier,
Go, go, go like a soldier,
So-oldier of the Queen!

--Rudyard Kipling

[STARWISE]

Today a lot of us are terrified of being trapped half-dead by obsessive compulsive do-gooders who don't know when to quit

Speak for yourself. I'll take a do-gooder on my side any day over a cold-hearted and indifferent soul, intent on starving me to death.

[Servant of the 9]

I'll take a do-gooder on my side any day over a cold-hearted and indifferent soul, intent on starving me to death.

Then all you have to do is have a living will and your wishes will be fulfilled.

So9

[jwalsh07]

There is no serious move anywhere to kill the unwilling.

40 million aborted babies beg to differ.

[DJ MacWoW]

Swervy we're trying to stop the helpless from being "helped" out deaths door and nothing else. You should have every right to make your wishes apparent and NONE here would say you have no right to them being carried out. But what you want may not be what someone else wants and it's their right to be heard too.

There are people in this that are members of the renamed Hemlock Society. What do you suppose their purpose is? I can share some links with you if you want.

[dandelion]

Not necessarily. My mother signed a "living will" - while she was lying in bed with a broken back, while I was out of the room. A kind soul came in and asked her to sign it while she was clearly in pain and under medication. She had no idea what was on it, and the witness was not anyone I know.

Now we are going back to re-sign this document to make sure that she does not end up like some of the other poor souls who signed it, not knowing that they were signing an agreement to withhold FOOD and WATER...

[jan in Colorado]

Thanks for the ping FD.

Roe vs Wade was the beginning!

[Servant of the 9]

You should have every right to make your wishes apparent and NONE here would say you have no right to them being carried out.

Every State says my wishes could not be carried out by outlawing 'assisted suicide' if it should be necessary.

So9

[Servant of the 9]

Not necessarily. My mother signed a "living will" - while she was lying in bed with a broken back, while I was out of the room. A kind soul came in and asked her to sign it while she was clearly in pain and under medication. She had no idea what was on it, and the witness was not anyone I know.

Tht is why a responsible person makes out a living will, a regular will, a durable power of atty and if they wish an organ donor card while they still don't need them.

Too many people avoid it because it is unpleasant, but it comes back to get them and their families in the end.

So9

[DJ MacWoW]

Then all you have to do is have a living will and your wishes will be fulfilled.

Envoy Magazine

This supposed "Living Will" is a document allowing you to sign your own death warrant.

This is typical of Living Will practice. My personal doctor is required by California law to display a sign in his office advising us that "Advance Directive" forms are available. The introductory pages are upbeat and tell us that these forms "ensure you receive the care and services you desire," and the forms do leave adequate room for writing your wishes. But there is one and only one pre-written directive available for you to choose: "I do not want efforts made to prolong my life and I do not want life-sustaining treatment to be provided or continued" in case of irreversible coma, persistent vegetative state, terminal illness, or burdensome treatments which would outweigh the expected benefits,

Take note of certain omissions in this order to end your life. There is no timeframe for the coma or a definition of "irreversible," no request for therapy or treatment of the persistent vegetative state, no definition or prognosis for the terminal illness, and no hint of what constitutes burdensome treatments.

The pressure is subtle, but it's there. The "Living Will" guides you towards determining the circumstances of your death. My husband and I have personal experience with this. When updating our wills, we sought out a good, Christian attorney. When she asked us about health care decisions, we explained that we had strong religious feelings against "pulling the plug." We were firm and clear. Fortunately, we also read the wills before we signed them. The section on health care decisions included the standard, boiler-plate language stating that we would not want our lives artificially prolonged. Needless to say, the documents had to be re-typed before we'd sign them.

If you approach your attorney, you might be directed to the on-line "Tool Kit" prepared by the American Bar Association's Commission on Legal Problems of the Elderly. (Heres an obvious prejudice: why are health-care issues classified as "legal problems"?) It claims to be designed to help you discover and clarify what is important to you in the face of serious illness. In reality, every section of the "Tool Kit" is geared towards helping you decide when you should die.

Some examples are in order. One "Tool" is titled, "Are Some Conditions Worse Than Death?" and proposes that you consider whether or not you'd want "treatments that might keep you alive" if you are faced with less-than-perfect health. The situations are not limited to ventilators, feeding tubes, or even wheelchairs. The "Tool" also asks whether you'd want to refuse life-saving treatments if "you spend all day at home," or "can no longer control your bladder." (Note to menopausal women: Watch out!)

[DJ MacWoW]

Every State says my wishes could not be carried out by outlawing 'assisted suicide' if it should be necessary.

Suicide isn't something I'd back but your choices are yours.

(You could always try ticking off a woman with a gun.) (Sorry, Swerve. couldn't resist it)(Darks made me say it)

[trisham]

Speak for yourself. I'll take a do-gooder on my side any day over a cold-hearted and indifferent soul, intent on starving me to death.

***************

I agree.

[Chocolate Rose]

THE TERRI SCHIAVO INFORMATION PAGE