Australian Politics Forum - Euthenasia - tough to argue against this case...

polite_gandalf

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Euthenasia - tough to argue against this case...
Aug 5^th, 2019 at 10:44am

I am still undecided on the issue of euthenasia, but it is difficult not to feel happy with this outcome - from the first taker under the new Victorian law:

Quote:

Ms Robertson's daughters, Jacqui Hicks and Nicole Robertson, told Go Gentle Australia: "It was a beautiful, positive experience.

"It was the empowered death that she wanted."

"We were beside her, David Bowie playing in the background, surrounded by love, with final words spoken, simple and dignified," Nicole Robertson said.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-04/bendigo-woman-first-victorian-use-volunta...

Compare this peaceful, serene experience with what the women would have been facing with paliative care. Not only would she suffer immensely for who knows how long, but she would slowly lose all her independence and her dignity - as her physical and probably mental capacities slowly but surely failed her.

Would all cases be as idyllic as this? Probably not. I still have grave concerns about what we might term the 'normalisation of suicide' - and the very real risk that terminally ill patients will feel pressured to take the euthenasia option if the option is there - even if they don't want to. The burden of responsibility they would feel to save your family a fortune in paliative care costs, not to mention the burden of sacrificing their lives to care for you - would be enormous.

How to safe-guard against that? Or is the opportunity to save people months even years of pointless suffering worth this price?

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Gnads Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 27973 Gender:	Re: Euthenasia - tough to argue against this case... Reply #1 - Aug 5^th, 2019 at 10:49am Who would be pressurizing patients to take that option. If it doesn't come from their own mouths that that is what they want ... it doesn't happen. I still think Victorias regulations have far too many restrictions/qualifications anyway.
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cods

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Re: Euthenasia - tough to argue against this case...
Reply #2 - Aug 5^th, 2019 at 10:55am

my daughters father in law was basically kept alive by the medication he took....he was a heart transplant recipient but towards the end his heart was rejecting and he was so low not in pain but so unwell he went into Palliative care where it looked like he would be sent back to hospital...when he decided he would stop the medication....two days later he fell asleep for the last time.........what is the difference????... it was his choice he had had enough...

I dont understand the dilemma over this one most are kept alive through medication... Sad

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polite_gandalf

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Re: Euthenasia - tough to argue against this case...
Reply #3 - Aug 5^th, 2019 at 11:15am

Gnads wrote on Aug 5^th, 2019 at 10:49am:

Who would be pressurizing patients to take that option.

If it doesn't come from their own mouths that that is what they want ... it doesn't happen.

You have to understand the cultural change that will inevitably take place as soon as that option is on the table.

How could you not feel a sense of duty towards your family - in the case where you know that you will be a massive burden for them for potentially years to come? Of course the family themselves will not say anything, but you will know that their own lives will be much much better if you could just go away, quickly and effortlessly.

Or maybe the family will say something. You can't discount that possibility either. There are a heck of a lot of bitter, loveless families out there.

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A resident Islam critic who claims to represent western values said:
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Outlawing the enemy's uniform - hijab, islamic beard - is not depriving one's own people of their freedoms.

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polite_gandalf

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Re: Euthenasia - tough to argue against this case...
Reply #4 - Aug 5^th, 2019 at 11:21am

cods wrote on Aug 5^th, 2019 at 10:55am:

my daughters father in law was basically kept alive by the medication he took....he was a heart transplant recipient but towards the end his heart was rejecting and he was so low not in pain but so unwell he went into Palliative care where it looked like he would be sent back to hospital...when he decided he would stop the medication....two days later he fell asleep for the last time.........what is the difference????... it was his choice he had had enough...

I dont understand the dilemma over this one most are kept alive through medication... Sad

Most? Certainly not the case with this woman. She had already stopped treatment - but she was not necessarily about to die any time soon (as I understand it). Your daughter's father in law would be one of the lucky ones if he really wasn't in pain. Case after case you hear about in arguments supporting euthenasia are of patients who are in immense pain - and for which no medication can help.

Not everyone seemlessly fades away peacefully and painlessly simply by stopping treatment.

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A resident Islam critic who claims to represent western values said:
Quote:

Outlawing the enemy's uniform - hijab, islamic beard - is not depriving one's own people of their freedoms.

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