Sensible adieu

From today’s “Hindustan Times”:

Sooner or later; we will have to accept euthanasia as a right over my dead body

Worldwide, the buzz is getting louder; is the right to die a legitimate right?

Countries wil, sooner or later, have to allow reason and religion to work out ways in which the terminally ill will be allowed to end their life if they want.

The arguments for making euthanasia are many, as are the opposing points of view.

As medicine and technology extend lifespans, a growing ageing population is demanding quality of life in its last years, and in the event of lack of that, the right to die with dignity.

The concept of euthanasia is not that of withdrawing treatment that has been shown to be ineffective, too burdensome or unwanted. It is instead the expression of the right to die with dignity.

The constitution of India only upholds the sanctity of human life. It does not define life. The fundamental right to life in the constitution says a person cannot be denied the right to live except in acceptance with procedures defined by law. But since laws are only man-made and not always perfect, they can be changed, adapted and even improved.

Regulating euthanasia is not a wish or a dream or something unreasonable. At the same time, the frequency of requests is also growing.

The real challenge in framing a law would be to protect both the doctors’ and the patient’s autonomy. This could be made possible if reasonable palliative care is taken into account in any patient’s decision-making process about assisted suicide. The idea is to allow the patient to make informed choices.

The way things are, the real buzz is why shouldn’t euthanasia be a legitimate right?

:huh:

All I can do is answer this by pointing once more to my post above!

Quote:

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The way things are, the real buzz is why shouldn’t euthanasia be a legitimate right?

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Though I was of the opinion that euthanasia should be legalised the following points places me in doubt.

Euthanasia is not about the right to die. It's about the right to kill.

Euthanasia is not about giving rights to the person who dies but, instead, is about changing the law and public policy so that doctors/relatives & others can directly and intentionally end another person's life. Suicide and attempted suicide are not criminalized in most countries (India is an exception). Suicide is a tragic, individual act but euthanasia is not about a private act. It's about letting one person facilitate the death of another. That is a matter of very public concern since it can lead to tremendous abuse, exploitation and erosion of care for the most vulnerable people among us.

Should people be forced to stay alive?
No. And neither the law nor medical ethics requires that "everything be done" to keep a person alive. There comes a time when continued attempts to cure are not compassionate, wise, or medically sound. That's where palliative care, including in-home palliative care, can be of such help. That is the time when all efforts should be placed on making the patient's remaining time comfortable as well as to the provision of emotional and spiritual support for both the patient and the patient's loved ones.

Unbearable pain as the reason for euthanasia
Field of medicine has advanced to an extent that people can be drugged into a no-pain state. Every person is entitled to pain relief. But most people dont have access because of economic reasons and lack of awareness amound health care proffesionals. But the solution to this is not killing.

Countries that permited Euthanasia
Australia (law was repealed later),

The Netherlands (Only country where Doctors organization have supported Euthanasia. As of 1991 9% of annual deaths where through Euthanasia. Of which 1/3rd was without consent or knowledge of the patient)

Belgium


Death-by-laptop (Australia)

The method used in Australia was described as "death-by-laptop." To facilitate the deaths, Doctor made house calls. He carried an old grey suitcase that held his laptop, plastic tubing, and a pump-driven syringe filled with barbiturates. After the patient was connected to the computer a series of 3 questions appeared on the computer screen:

1) Are you aware that if you go ahead to the last screen and press the ‘yes’ button, you will be given a lethal dose of medicine and die? Yes / No
2) Are you certain you understand that if you proceed and press the ‘yes’ button on the next screen, you will die? Yes / No
3) In 15 seconds you will be given a lethal injection. Yes / No

Clicking "yes" for each of three questions, activated a syringe driver and a sequential delivery of death-inducing drugs.

The sole doctor who conducted Euthanasia in Australia later acknowledged, "You can’t help but feel like an executioner." "You get to know people," he said, "and then you just end up one day killing them."

This software was available as a freeware over the internet.
You don’t need a doctor the "COGen" machine (Australia)
In Dec 2002 "COGen" machine was unveiled. The device generates carbon monoxide delivered to the recipient through nasal prongs.

As the celebrity speaker at Hemlock’s 13th Biennial Conference held in San Diego, the inventor told a cheering audience, "You don’t need a doctor! You can die without one! You can do it! You can do it yourself!"

"euthanasia kits" (Belgium)
"euthanasia kits" would be available soon in more than two hundred Belgian pharmacies so that doctors could carry out in-home deaths with greater ease. Reports indicated that the kits will contain a barbiturate, a paralyzing agent, an anesthetic, and instructions for use, and will cost approximately 45 Euros

Informative :shock: :(

I can't even think of legalising Euthanasia.

My Grand mom was in bed for more than eight years. Name a disease and she had it. She had High blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, breast cancer and she had broken her hip bone and they couldn’t operate on her because of all the complications involved. She couldn’t even talk. Her eye sight was ok, as in she could recognise us but that was it!

My Grand Dad was the one who used to take care of her full time, we had her in a hospital for more than two years, in a private room and we all would take turns spending time with her. She was bathed and cleaned everyday, we would take her out in a wheel chair everyday. You know what kept her alive through all this, her will to survive! She wanted to live to see her children and grand children around all the time. My summer vacations were more hospital vacations as I spent my two months doing nothing but spending time with her and still I didn’t mind. In fact they were some of the best days!

In the end she died of food poisoning. As far as I know she was sick and in bed, sometimes even making her sit to feed her would be a big hassle for me to handle alone and never once did I think that she was suffering and she was better dead than alive.

Even in her last days, she enjoyed when we sat beside her and told her stories of how she would tell us the same two stories. She could not tell us what she felt but her eyes would tell us her joys of seeing us around her and the fact that she was alive to see us graduate and start working, etc.

I don’t think I would ever want to miss any of those moments. If Euthanasia was legalised then maybe doctors would have suggested that she be killed years before she died. We would have missed precious few years of spending time with her. I would have missed doing for my grandma what she did for me – taking care! I would have missed those cute “bokkai vai” smiles when I told her little incidents that happened during the day.

I remember another relative coming to see her in the hospital thinking she was in her last stage (6 years before she actually died) and in a few weeks he died of heart attack himself. Death comes naturally, no one can say who will die when. So why do we want to take it in our hand and decide for some one else?

Anoushka, euthanasia is not for people like your grandma. Definitely not. Nobody will welcome the idea of putting a person to death just because of of a number of handicaps. There are people who are terminally ill, at death's gate, in the pangs insufferable pain, in comatose condition, beyond hope of recovery & in practically dead state who need not suffer unnecessarily any longer. People with keen awareness of their surroundings, near & dear ones, and an active interest in the happenings around them can never be considered as fit candidates for euthanasia by anybody in their right senses. But there ARE situations when euthanasia is a blessing. Of course, like all blessings it has the disadvantage of being abused.

My aunt is suffering from a rare form of bone cancer.
She has been fighting it for the last 5 years.Yes it is a very very painful
disease and we know it is terminal.But we are still fighting to keep her alive.Why??
So that she can enjoy life more?Hell!! She is in so much pain that she probably feels that life is
the worst punishment a person can get.
I lost my father suddenly last month.It was unexpected and a great shock.Even now it is so hard for me to believe he is gone.
I live in the US and my dad was there in Chennai.I spoke to him once a week for maybe 10 mins and hadnt seen him in 2 years,
then why is it so painful to let him go ?Because somewhere he was there...alive.
Yes even if a loved one is not in front of us but alive somewhere,
or is fighting to live in front of us but alive neverthless, just the thought that they are there gives us a kind of peace.
So we will do what ever necessary to keep my aunt alive.Struggle
hard to see that she experiences a little less pain but nonetheless do what it takes to keep her alive.
Its selfish of us agreed.But human nature is selfish!

Mrs.PP, I should say the same grandma that lived through all this was in a stage where she was brought back from the operating theatre because she was dying! The doctors nearly suggested taking her off drugs and life support machines then. None of us had the mind to give up, she lived for another six years after that.

If we had listened to the doctors and the people around us we would have lost her. It would have been a sure case for Euthanasia then, the pain she was going through was enormous, but she came through everything! So who are we to say who should die? If abortion for any reason is a crime then how can Euthansia be justified?

pp,Anoushka and sanjinika,

Euthanasia is being promoted in the west (US) by some doctors to end suffering by terminal patients ( mostly at the patients' requests). Unlike India, the sick parents and grandparents are not taken care of by their children and grandchildren in most cases. They are sent to hospices or nursing homes for terminally ill.
I have seen that done by Indians here against the advise and request by friends. There are a number of reasons for that kind of action.
The people who could take care are too busy with their own lives and are also selfish in many instances. The cost of home care is not affordable for the average wage earner. Even for the well to do it is a burden. The cost of nursing home care is also very high. A good percentage of the population in the US does not have health insurance. Above all, the children and grandchildren do not want to see their loved ones suffer. If the quality of life for the terminally ill is so low, the loved ones exercise the option for euthanasia. It is the difference in culture between the US and India makes us look at it differently. May be , the west is influencing India a lot more these days!