Oregon - The Right to Die law upheld

[The Prince]

Originally Posted by LeafHog

Prince, what is this belief based on? I am asking the question honestly, no malice at all, just want to know.

No offense taken. Look, these are my beliefs, I am not trying to convert anyone. If anyone disagrees, just do it respectively, as I have done. The below website is very informative on the Bible regarding suicide. And I am sure there are websites out there that would refute every word on this site.

http://www.whatsaiththescripture.com...s.Suicide.html

[LeafHog]

Originally Posted by The Prince

No offense taken. Look, these are my beliefs, I am not trying to convert anyone. If anyone disagrees, just do it respectively, as I have done. The below website is very informative on the Bible regarding suicide. And I am sure there are websites out there that would refute every word on this site.

http://www.whatsaiththescripture.com...s.Suicide.html

Thanks. I disagree strongly, but I will leave it at that unless someone specifically wants to go down that road......

[colgate]

Originally Posted by RcktS4

I couldn't agree more with this take on things, Greg. (BTW - having lived most of a decade in Oregon, I can say it is a fantastic place to live if you can tolerate the weather). I have been reflecting a lot on these issues lately, and my feeling is that for someone with a terminal, physical condition the dignity of choice regarding their own death is the most fundamental of human rights. I understand some would disagree, but that's my feeling.

Suicide for reasons of mental and emotional illness or dissatisfaction are a completely separate issue as far as I'm concerned.

No problemo as long as I'm the one pushing the button. Otherwise, pass.

[celticgent]

I don't think it's right to force people to suffer due to relgious reasons or archaic laws.

I think that if somebody wants to die, it's their choice.

[IHT]

Originally Posted by celticgent

I don't think it's right to force people to suffer due to relgious reasons or archaic laws.

I think that if somebody wants to die, it's their choice.

the shocker.

[celticgent]

yes, i too believe in death by THE SHOCKER!

[colgate]

Originally Posted by celticgent

I don't think it's right to force people to suffer due to relgious reasons or archaic laws.

I think that if somebody wants to die, it's their choice.

Suicide is not the issue. The issue is what to do with grandpa when he can't ask to be terminated. Living will stuff. I don't want people offing me for expediency. That's the religious angle where I sit. It's kind of like abortion rights at the other end of the tunnel. I'm a burden. I'm a PITA (pain in the ass). But I'm also enjoying the little birdie sing outside my bedroom window. Let me decide.

[SeanGAR]

Originally Posted by colgate

Suicide is not the issue. The issue is what to do with grandpa when he can't ask to be terminated.

Saw a joke: woman on the stand in courtroom ....

"It was assisted suicide .... but he was just too stubborn to ask for it".

[Jeff]

I do believe that a person who commits suicide will go to Hell. However, that is my religious belief, and I would not impose that on anyone else.

[celticgent]

Originally Posted by colgate

Suicide is not the issue. The issue is what to do with grandpa when he can't ask to be terminated. Living will stuff. I don't want people offing me for expediency. That's the religious angle where I sit. It's kind of like abortion rights at the other end of the tunnel. I'm a burden. I'm a PITA (pain in the ass). But I'm also enjoying the little birdie sing outside my bedroom window. Let me decide.

i never said that we should kill all old people.

i think that people should have a choice.

if they can't decide for themselves, then it's not 'suicide'; it's murder.
let me just say on the record that i don't think we should murder people.

i just think that it's horrible if a person is in extreme pain 24 hours a day and they just want the pain to stop; yet somebody tells them they they cannot do something to their own body because it's against a law or a god or something.

i know many people who have commited suicide - and believe me, i do NOT condone suicide....but in a couple of cases i would say that i felt good that the person no longer had to suffer.

and although it really hurt ME, i got over my selfishness and realized it was that person's choice.

[AAlmeter]

Its all well and good as long as its someone who is in a sound state of mind and is terminally ill that wants it to be done. But what about someone who is terminally ill, no longer in a sound state of mind, but had previously asked (in writing) for assisted suicide should this situation occur? Or what about someone who made mention verbally to their spouce that this was their choice? What happens when insurance companies make it known to doctors just how much money assisted suicide saves them?

My prediction is that from this ruling, we will end up with a mountain of laws and paperwork. While Joe Sickdude is waiting in pain for his OD, his family, doctors, insurance company, Uncle Sam, and the Rev. Jackson will be in court battling it out. But at least we will get a Dateline special out of it.

In theory, I believe in the right to die (though I personally believe suicide is wrong), but as the bureaucracy f's it all up, it could be a dangerous slippery slope....and we all know how dangerous those are (right Dave? )

[colgate]

Originally Posted by celticgent

i never said that we should kill all old people.

i think that people should have a choice.

if they can't decide for themselves, then it's not 'suicide'; it's murder.
let me just say on the record that i don't think we should murder people.

i just think that it's horrible if a person is in extreme pain 24 hours a day and they just want the pain to stop; yet somebody tells them they they cannot do something to their own body because it's against a law or a god or something.

i know many people who have commited suicide - and believe me, i do NOT condone suicide....but in a couple of cases i would say that i felt good that the person no longer had to suffer.

and although it really hurt ME, i got over my selfishness and realized it was that person's choice.

When I had a tube down my leg after my second kidney stone operation I wanted the pain to stop. I took so much pain medicine I was hallucinating. Glad nobody was around to listen to my pleas. Death was preferable then. Not now. Like AA said, slippery slope. If it was easy everyone would be doing it. Usually the decision is made under financial duress by someone other than the ill person. That suxors for the sick dude/dudette.

[RcktS4]

I think some of you guys have misunderstood what the law says. As I understood it when it was being legislated in Oregon (I lived there then) and as I understand it now, it has nothing to do with living Will stuff - I don't believe there is ever a situation where "someone else pushes the button" - or makes that decision for the sufferer. This is not the same thing as decisions about whether to PROLONG life.

it requires an imminent terminal prognosis (less than 6 months) with independent confirmation from at least 2 doctors, and provides the means, but not the action itself, for terminating one's own life.

As a number of people have said, I am generally against suicide, but I definitely want the ability to make that decision for myself, and to change my mind if I find myself in the kind of situation Greg's father was in - and the kind my father will probably be in in the next few years.

[colgate]

Originally Posted by RcktS4

I think some of you guys have misunderstood what the law says. As I understood it when it was being legislated in Oregon (I lived there then) and as I understand it now, it has nothing to do with living Will stuff - I don't believe there is ever a situation where "someone else pushes the button" - or makes that decision for the sufferer. This is not the same thing as decisions about whether to PROLONG life.

it requires an imminent terminal prognosis (less than 6 months) with independent confirmation from at least 2 doctors, and provides the means, but not the action itself, for terminating one's own life.

As a number of people have said, I am generally against suicide, but I definitely want the ability to make that decision for myself, and to change my mind if I find myself in the kind of situation Greg's father was in - and the kind my father will probably be in in the next few years.

that's cool. now to get started on my reverse mortgage paperwork. I wonder what'll happen with Medicaid once all the baby boomers start going to a reverse mortgage to get some enjoyment out of their house instead of inevitably willing it over the the Gub to pay medical bills.

[celticgent]

Originally Posted by colgate

Glad nobody was around to listen to my pleas. Death was preferable then. Not now.

ok, imagine that you were sentenced to that pain for the rest of your life.

your opinion of having the CHOICE to end your suffering might be different.