Comments on: Opposing The Legalisation Of Physician Assisted Suicide

By: Nicolas

Nicolas — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 01:56:20 +0000

Thanks for your comment Robyn. I think people saying that the right to die is a basic human right aren't too concerned with it being legislated :)

I like this: "The emphasis was on protecting the lives of disabled people from violence, abuse, cruelty and neglect"

By: Robyn

Robyn — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 08:53:21 +0000

Really interesting post. I must say I am in agreement with your points. Eugenics theories and the holocaust have had a great deal of influence, and must be included in any modern disability analysis.
The statistics are particularly interesting. I have always thought disabled people are very resilient. We experience depression because we sometimes have difficult lives. I have experienced depression so I know how it feels.
As for the right to die as a human right, there is no such right codified in human rights law to my knowledge. In most parts of the world people are struggling to live, not to die. The right to die was not discussed during the development of the UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled people - I was at most of the meetings. The emphasis was on protecting the lives of disabled people from violence, abuse, cruelty and neglect, which sadly is the fate of many.

By: Karen

Karen — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:35:14 +0000

Wow. There is lots to think about in this post, Nic. Reading it carefully, I see that the real problem involves education.

Does the person know all the living options available to them? (I.e. they don't know that this-and-that technology or service can help them do what they think they cannot do.) We need better education about living with the various disabilities.

There is also a language and attitude adjustment. It's terrible if someone wants to kill themselves because they feel they are a burden. Who says they are a burden and why do they say that.

I found your comments on the doctors interesting, that is, that they could be biased. It does seem like it is the concept of making rules about this that is the dangerous part. How do we ensure that the person involved really expresses their true wish?

When discussing organ donors, I have heard people express the fear that medical people would not exercise 100% help to an organ donor in an accident; that they would subconsciously hope the person died so they could use the organs for other people. I was horrified when I heard that. (I am an organ donor.)

You've inspired me to write about attitudes and language.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. This is a tricky subject and vital to discuss. Many do the ostrich on this topic. It's painful, but important. It's especially important to be open with your family, I think.

By: Nicolas

Nicolas — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 02:34:14 +0000

Thanks for your question Patrick :)

At the moment, a person that wishes to, but can't, could find someone to help them. It's not easy, and anyone who helps them would be acting illegaly. But there are many people who do help. Including nurses and doctors. In the vast majority of cases these individuals are not charged, much less prosecuted. Even mass murderers such as Kevorkian or Chapman were not charged for literally hundreds of "assists".

This one is a case where the status quo is better than the alternative.

By: patrick h. lauke

patrick h. lauke — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 02:08:24 +0000

But compare "If You Want To Die, Do It Yourself" at the end to "You may require other people's help in daily activities, but as long as your helpers follow your wishes, you are independent. Joe is not autonomous because his doctors are refusing to do what he wants." at the start. What if a person wishes to, but can't, end their life?

By: Nicolas

Nicolas — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 23:38:19 +0000

Just saw a rather interesting article on the Washington Post. Tests show brain activity from those in 'vegetative state'

One by one, the men and women were placed inside advanced brain scanners as technicians gave them careful instructions: Imagine you are playing tennis. Imagine you are exploring your home, room by room. For most, the scanner showed nothing.

But, shockingly, for one, then another, and another, and yet two more, the scans flashed alive exactly like any healthy conscious person's would. These patients, the images clearly showed, were living silently in their bodies — their minds apparently active. One man could even flawlessly answer detailed yes-or-no questions about his life before his trauma.

By: Chelsea

Chelsea — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 08:34:08 +0000

I agree. I don't believe in physician assisted suicide. Mainly, because there are too many factors that come into play. It is never the right or responsibility of any medical institution to end a life. Hospitals are built to save lives and doctors become doctors for the same reason. Also, I think that if someone wants to die, than that is their right. As long as the person is in their right mind and feels that it is their time to go, let them. People aiding in death, especially physicians, is wrong.

By: Liz

Liz — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:33:37 +0000

Thanks, Nic, for this very logical and coherent overview of the politics of euthanasia and assisted suicide! It's helpful - for one thing, it restored a few of my sanity points this morning! 8-)

By: Mimi

Mimi — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 13:33:18 +0000

That is absurd. By the argument that "the right to die is a basic human right", depressed 19 year olds should be assisted to end their lives.

By: Nicolas

Nicolas — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 12:20:37 +0000

Hi Maija, thank you for commenting. You make a very good point.

You say "Suicide is a basic human right". Let's say I don't disagree with you. Let's say we open the door to legal physician assisted suicide. Unless that door is open to *everyone*, able body/depressed/disabled/dying/elderly/etc, you end up with another level of discrimination that doesn't make sense under the "basic human right" argument.

So if we allow doctors to kill people with disabilities or in terminal phases of illness, we would HAVE to allow the same doctors to kill people who don't "apparently" have good enough reasons to kill themselves. Those are the people who ring the helplines and are talked out of killing themselves, and into seeking assistance. Otherwise we're back to a very lethal level of discrimination.

Setting that aside, the fear I have (as I've personaly witnessed several occurences), is that people will NOT be given options for pain relief/independent living/etc, but instead will be processed towards death.

This really is a situation where I think the status quo is best. It is still the discretion of the prosecutors to decide whether or not to charge doctors and nurses that help people die. Let's leave it at that.