Posted on 09/30/2007 10:01:27 AM PDT by wagglebee
When my husband passed away a couple of months ago, God gave him all the dignity in the world. He wanted me to hold him, told me that he loved me and slipped into a coma for the next 6 days. We had time to get used to the fact that he was gone while still alive. It was perfect for him and our family.
Well, if I were in this situation, I wouldn't actively try to end my life (I think). But if my pain is such that the only way to control it is a dose which might end my life, so be it. I do realize that this decision isn't much different from the woman in the article, but it's different enough that I am comfortable with it, and my family would be comfortable with it too.
Am I the only one who sees this whole "party" as extremely self-centered? Command performance! Come and experience my death! Of course, don't we all want our loved ones with us as long as we can have them?
I don't know. I'm really struggling with what bothers me so much.
I am very sorry about your husband.
The reality is that all of us will eventually die and in many cases the conditions are unpleasant. However, this DOES NOT deprive a person of their dignity.
That’s good... hospice can be a wonderful thing. Or a horrible, evil, awful thing.
My husband and I made that choice when he was given a cancer life sentence. We did everything possible to keep him alive naturally until he went into a coma. No regrets.
We just turned it over to God, and He made all of the arrangements. Again no regrets.
Only if one thinks that know better than God.
It is the epitomy of hubris.
I understand they don’t actually TAKE the Hippocratic Oath any more.
When my husband was a spy for this country, he would have taken his own life in a heartbeat if it meant selling us out. When it was a matter of a terminal illness, he left that up to his maker. He is the HERO!
“Lovelle fits the mold of many FReepers. Her life belongs to her... and not the church, the state or the courts. It certainly doesn’t belong to the zealots here who would have her suffer in great pain so that their agenda can be fulfilled. It’s Lovelle call.”
It seems to me that the agenda is coming from the pro-euthanasia crowd. I wont criticize Lovelle; but, will criticize the Oregonian and the smarmy dog who wrote the article.
I would say that euthanazia represents nazi thinking and propaganda. Lebensunswerte leben. You bet.
Death with Dignity Act
Let’s think about the meaning of dignity. Does the publication of this article by her family detract from the dignity?
I think the problem is the last part of that 6 months is not much living. She knew she was getting close to the point where she had no control and couldn’t do anything. Nature would have to take its course in a few more weeks.
I once had a much different view of this, until I realized that I must face it. I visit friends in nursing homes, hear them beg, “get me out of here”, and have no power to do so. I know what they want, it is the dignity they are no longer allowed. I know, ahead of time, that I do not want to be trapped that way. I still function, to some degree. I can get out a few times a week, can still handle the basic life functions, reasonably well, but they get harder with each day.
I don’t dwell on dying, but some of the ways to do it sound better than others.
Don’t anyone panic, LOL, the seasons are changing, and the Red Shouldered Hawks will soon be hunting the hay fields, and I need a few more memories and pictures. I’ll be around for a while. Next year? I don’t have a clue. Don’t say what you will do, or not do, until you get there.
http://www.pbase.com/tsiya/root
http://photobucket.com/albums/v244/tsiya/
My prayers are with you!
Good for her.
Her doctor washed his hands after he wrote the prescription; the same way that archers washed theirs before they walked proudly among the swordsmen.
The dignity lies within the person dying, not in the uncomfortable spectacle that proceeds apace.
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