I think she was making the point that a person could sign an agreement requesting life not be continued after certain set of deterioration is met.
My father-in-law developed dementia in his early 80’s. My husband and I spent three years visiting him in a lockdown unit for dementia sufferers in a nursing home. All I know is that he would have hated what he became. We saw several people in that unit slowly descend to a state in which they ended up bedridden, sleeping most of the day and not interested in anyone or anything. My father-in-law’s case reminded me of someone whose brain was dead, but his body was on life support since he continued to receive blood pressure meds, heart medications, etc.
Maybe someone would not have to sign an agreement authorizing euthansia when certain criteria are met, but I would certainly sign something that provided I receive no medication to prolong my life after a certain point.
After one of our depressing visits I asked my husband what I should do if he developed dementia. He told me to put him in a car, put a rock on the accelerator and send him over a cliff.
I am only relating our personal experience and I realize it probably will not be a popular view on this board.
I am watching a dear friend care for a demented parent and another parent in the early stages. Both are in their 70s. My friend is the very best nurse practitioner and trauma nurse I have ever seen. She served in Gulf War I and is now diagnosed with MS as a service-related disabilty brought on by exposure to chemicals encountered by the troops, who came into the hospital in their field uniforms/gear which were full of the poisons. She is only 54.
While she has been prepared to continue her practice from a wheelchair, the organ most affected is the optic nerve.She has 20/20 vision, yet her visual field is full of what she describes as *holes*.
None of us are assured that her 25-year-old daughter will be able to care for her, should she need that care.
She didn’t even tell anyone until the MS became obvious. While she would never in a million years allow either of her parents to be *put down*, she herself will quietly do whatever she must if she can when the time comes.
I have had someone I loved ask me to end their life. It would have literally involved pulling the plug on life support equipment. I could not do it. It is not that easy to take that responsibility. For me, it was impossible.
There should be no state coercion in such matters. They must remain in the hands of each individual and apply only to themselves. The corruption that would ensue from any sort of mandate by so-called objective observers is far more frightening to me than the conditions being endured. And those conditions are indeed quite horrible.
I think I would agree with you that I would not want to have my life prolonged if I was extremely debilitated. But we must each make that decision and not give it up to anyone at all. The outsider cannot weigh the value of a stranger’s life if they have no connection to them. The close family cannot be made to bear that burden of being the one to end a loved one’s life.
I think no one wants to have to make such a decision for anyone else.
I for one (on this board anyway) sympathize. We had a tough situation with my elderly mother over the summer. I won’t go into all the details. Clearly expressed in her health care proxy were directions not to allow any medical procedures to prolong her life. DNR, no intubation, respirators, etc. (She recovered and is doing well now, enjoying her grandchildren).
She was a nurse all her life and most of her patients were elderly. She hated how families extended the lives of their very sick relations while their quality of life was horrible.
How can we not respect our parent’s wishes? If they don’t want to waste away in pain or pain-killer induced fogs they shouldn’t have to.
Just my $.02