Euthanasia: practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering. I decided to talk about Euthanasia because I'm very interested about it and also want to hear it from you guys. Normally, it's only performed on animals who are in too much pain, but now I believe even elders are receiving this. There's been a a lot of arguments about euthanasia on its intentions and controversy. I wanna know from you: Is euthanasia an acceptable procedure to put someone out of their misery? Why or why not? If so, should should it also be applied to humans? Where do we draw the line if this is acceptable or not even of everyone agrees they should be laid to rest? How would the person performing this feel? For me, I don't agree with this method. Even if someone I care for is in extreme pain and it hurts me to see him suffer, how much more would it hurt to see them die right there? I don't want to imagine this. Even for animals, there is a line to be drawn. I'm not very positive with my answer due to having no experience with euthanasia.
I believe in ending someones life, of their on volition, if they are in pain and suffering. The most painless way possible would have to be euthanasia, or death by injection. You say you believe it's okay for animals to be put down but not humans? I love my dog more than most people I know. I'd hate to see him in pain, so if it came down to it I'd have him put down. I don't see a difference in love between him and my family or friends. The only major difference between putting an animal down and a human is animals can't make the choice. You're the one choosing whether or not they should be put down. Humans on the other hand have options. You can either remain living and suffer through whatever it is that is ailing you, or you can choose to be given euthanasia and end your suffering. I'd never make that choice for someone lest I absolutely had to. Really though, if they can't make the choice, what's the difference between euthanasia and pulling the plug? If, for instance, you know that person is going to die, would you choose to let them suffer longer and drag it out? Or, would you choose to let them go peacefully? If it happens to be inevitable, less than days to live, and the person is in too much pain to even move, why let them suffer? If they're not going to be able to enjoy their final days out and about, what's the point in carrying out the pain? I think of it as torture. Of course if they don't want it then obviously you wouldn't have it given to them. If they were willing to go, however, then I'd say my final farewells and put them out of their misery. In closing, I believe euthanasia is acceptable only if the person is willing to go through with it or if that person is in so much pain/suffering they can't regain consciousness.
I may agree what you said, but I feel that there may be a sense of guilt left if someone were to got through this process. Everyone would know that this was acceptable, but on the inside, I would feel horrible. I felt as if their life was taken by my own hand since I agreed with them. I'm not sure since I never had to experience this (and hopefully I never do later in my future), but that's what I would think if I was ever thrown in this situation. Maybe, just maybe if they can't bear the pain, then I will have to accept it, but fr now, I'll keep my answer as a no, unless EXTREMELY situational.
That's just the thing though. More than likely, if euthanasia were thrown into the mix, it's going to be a very bad situation. Of course I'm going to say no about euthanasia over a cold. I'm talking about something that will end that persons life in an extremely painful manner. I couldn't say that I wouldn't feel guilty, because I'm human and illogical like that, but I'd also feel that in a way what I did was right. Letting someone end such pain and suffering like that, rather than force them to live on with it, seems like the better option to me. There's only one situation I would approve the use of euthanasia, and that's a, "You're going to die within the week. You're going to be in unbelievable amounts of pain. You're not going to be able to move, and you'll barely be able to talk," situation. Given that situation, it'd hurt me more to watch them suffer through it than to end it with some peace. It's no longer about a case of right and wrong when it comes to this point. Sure, others might say, "You let them die?" However, I like to think of it as you didn't let them live any longer through that kind of horrendous pain and suffering. At that point it'd no longer be about me or how I felt. It'd be what the best thing for the person was. If I had to live the rest of my life with guilt on my conscience so I could save them a weak of pain I'd do it. Medication can only help so much. Once the pain breaks that threshold there's no stopping it. About the only other method would be anesthesia, but then you'll just be sleeping till you die. I don't see dragging it on helping a person in that situation all that much. If they want euthanasia, you know there's no help and they're going to die for sure, they're in tremendous pain, then let them go.
I totally agree with you. Making the choice of euthanasia is just as painful as watching them suffer until they die. If there is no choice, euthanasia can be beneficial. With prior knowledge, you can save a person from going through unnecessary amounts of pain. But let's put it this way. After their death, let's say that disease suddenly had a cure for it. How much guilt would be placed on you? If only you could've waited for a little longer, you could've saved that person's life. Sorry if this seems like I'm trying to test your will or something, but I'm curious to know when is the time where the guilt is too much? Another factor is age. Normally, euthanasia is performed on the elderly, but how about a child. What if the child had a rare strain of a disease? Some may see this as the same, but I don't. I find this a lot more troubling than an older person. A child just tasted life and now it's inflicted with a deadly disease? Would euthanasia be the same performed on a child? At least with an elderly, they experienced much on their lives, a lot more than a child (I'm gonna say around the ages of 5-10).
The odds of a cure being found within the allotted time the person was given to live are so astronomical there's no way it could ever happen. Not only that, but in most cases had it gotten this far there probably wouldn't be any curing them. You can't cure someone who's on the brink of death with a medicine your supposed to take at the first sign of symptoms, which in most cases is how it goes. So, couple the odds of catching it in time and finding a cure within the allotted time remaining, it's unrealistic to believe either of these would be possible. I'd still agree to giving them euthanasia. Sad as it may be, my choice remains the same. In the situation I had given earlier, I'd rather see the poor child put out of their misery than have to suffer any longer. Yes, maybe they have just gotten a taste of life. What difference does it make if their given a week to live? A child surely wouldn't be able to handle the pain any better than an elder. I'd still have to give the child euthanasia. The only thing at this point would be it's mostly up to you. No kid's going to sit there and ask for it. So the guilt you'd have from this side of things would be far greater than that of giving euthanasia to someone who willingly wants it. I'd still carry that burden if it meant saving the child even just a few minutes of pain and suffering.
My mom is going through a very hard time. My grandmother is getting very old and is starting to show signs of her getting ready for death. She's mostly stopped eating and taking care of herself. My mom spends a lot of the time on the phone bugging her to eat. It's especially getting harder and harder for her to see my grandmother like this and my grandmother is starting to resent the treatment my mom is giving her. The thing is: My grandmother got the flu this winter. She was actually in a coma about the beginning of this year. She laid down on the floor and passed out. My mom dropped everything when she couldn't reach her and drove three hours to her house and brought her back from deaths door. It took her three weeks to recover and at five four at the lightest she weighed was about eighty pounds those three weeks. She has been nursing her every two weeks or so since then because she has to work and can only go on weekends. She also needs some breaks to be able to get enough sleep for the trips as it's extremely draining for her to go there. The thing is: She still regrets to this day that she went to her house and brought her from death. She hates the fact her mother is going to die enough to not let her die in her sleep, but she told me personally a few days ago she hopes that she dies in her sleep instead of starving to death which my grandmother is basically now doing. I know it's not fully euthanasia, but if she dies starving to death my mom is always going to blame herself for not letting her die when she had the flu and peacefully. I know it's very hard to let a loved one die. Especially when you are as close as my mom is to my grandmother. She tells me at least twice a week she doesn't know what will happen when she dies. I don't know how to put it, but I think honestly it's better to let a loved one go when they're getting older and dying like my grandmother was peacefully than making her suffer and forcing them against their will to live longer to ease your own pain. Especially when it brings resentment from the person you're trying to keep alive enough so they die hating you. She's at the age where she can't fully understand what's going on anymore and can't make the choice on if it was legal she could be euthanized. When the person can't decide and will die peacefully and/or is showing signs that they want to die and will die painfully, disease or not, I think that the choice should be euthanasia.
I have always been going back and forth on this issue, I definitely think it should be legalised in certain cases but only in a way that it's not abused. Firstly, if someone I loved dearly was in hospital in tremendous pain, I think it would be selfish to keep them alive simply for your piece of mind. Seeing them in pain would tear me apart and all I would want is for them not to hurt any more and if that means death then so be it, but only as a last resort. The problem is, doctor's are there to heal people, to make them better, not to deliberately kill so euthanasia goes against that teaching but if a doctor's job is to make people comfortable then perhaps euthanasia is the better option. I have never been through this situation personally so I can't totally empathise. I know I couldn't do it myself to someone I knew and I couldn't do it as a doctor unless it was legalised but I would do what I could e.g. anesthetic. I know there are some countries in the world where it is legalised and I would have to do more research to see if it's working or not. The main two reasons why it hasn't been are of the possibility of a cure being found the day after or the fact it could be abused. Some suicidal people may get through the system and be killed even when they could be saved mentally. You also can't leave it simply down to the person as they may not be in sound mind and body when they say it meaning the choice was the wrong one or some may be in a coma which leaves the idea up to other people which may seem unfair. So overall, there is no perfect way this can be done. I think it should be a last resort and only in extreme cases but it should be allowed.
