Should Terminally Ill patients have the right to hasten their death?

As long as they are of sound mind and not coerced in any way then they should have the choice.

Thank you for your response. I agree that the patient should be of sound mind to make such a decision.

if you dont euthanize with a doctor then they are forced to have to do it themselves in messy and disturbing ways, 38,000 americans perform self euthanasia each year. when the time comes i'll probrably off myself rather then slowly and painfully waste away too.

But it must be their choice not the doctor, hospital or government.

You make a good point. If a person is in enough pain be it physically or mentally, they will find a way. However, I don't want this to turn into a debate about suicide.

Medically speaking, how do we determine if a patient is a candidate for euthanasia? Is a terminal illness enough?

I fully believe that any person that wishes to die should have the right to choose a quick and painless death rather than being forced to live through a struggle that only they have to endure.

We guarantee death row inmates better deaths than people who live good, honest lives.

The phrase 'fate worse than death' became cliche for a reason.

I think that states that allow terminal patients the right to die are heading in the right direction - why not let them float away in a barbituate and morphine induced, pain free haze rather than force them to suffer through 6 more months of agony, struggling until their last, reflexive breath?

I also think that only the potentially dying person should have the right to make that choice and that they should not be coerced by doctors, insurance companies, or loved ones; and therein lies the problem.

I have another question. If we did indeed allow patients to be euthanized by choice, How would we determine who is a candidate? Do we have a team of doctors and psychologists determine if this is the best option for the patient? Or should this be a decision that the patient makes solely, under certain criteria?

Exactly, it's a sticky situation when red tape is involved.

I think it should be your right. To many hospitals and insurance companies milk the system and families to bleed the of all there cash flow just to keep someone alive long enough to extract as much money as possible only to extend an extremely poor quality of life. It is the worst possible form of extortion.

Last Edited by i'sopen on 10/15/2013 11:29 AM

Thank you to those who took the time to vote. 100% of you said yes- a patient should have the right to decide.

In the UK the hospitals were killing off old patients.

[link to en.wikipedia.org]

[link to www.dailymail.co.uk]

Wow. Now this is unethical treatment of patients. Thank you for bringing it to my attention. This is pretty much how hospice operates as well.

If anyone has had any experience with Hospice, would you do it again for another loved one?

Not just terminally ill... But some people should be allowed to end suffering if they can no longer function without the assistance of other people! It's there choice to be independent in life and it should be the same in death!

I understand your point. If you are in an accident and suddenly become a paraplegic, you should also then have that right. Question though, where is the line drawn.

The worst part is that they drug people up with sedatives too, so when any family visit the victim is too drowsy to ask for help.

I knew a nurse who worked in a hospice, patients that were very ill were given *extra* morphine and didn't make it through the night.

Should they have the choice?
Yes

Should they?
No

I don't like how Hospice operates, starvation is a terrible way to go, and in many cases this is what happens to the patient.

I believe that all who want to die should have the right to die regardless if they are terminally ill or not. For example guys like me. I want to die for the past 15 years. I am 30 years old. I am not depressed. I am just bored of this so called life. I am just not interested in it. Never was. Sorry. It is too freaking not interesting. And I know loads of people who feel the same way.
I believe that all people who want to die for a long time and are serious about it should have the right to end their life.

I think all adults should have the right to die if they want to.



I don't advocate suicide though.

My body, my choice.

I don't think anything that doesn't hurt another should be illegal.

Just to clarify for those who may be unfamiliar with the terminolgy. Advance directives are made by an individual for the purposes of assuring that person's wishes for care and treatment are honored only if they become unable to communicate. For instance, my living will states that I would not want to be put on or kept on life support should my prognosis be terminal. If I am dying and still able to communicate, for instance from cancer, I have the right to refuse chemotherapy or a feeding tube or antibiotics etc. Under the conditions of the hospice medicare benefit, I also have the right to be provided expert pain and symptom management for physical, emotional and spiritual suffering. Any patient under hospice care (Medicare reimbursable or not) has this right and any hospice who recieves Hospice Medicare reimbursement has the legal obligation to provide this care to all it's patients. There are recognized and protocoled medication and other treatments to manage physical pain and suffering that are safe and effective. A dying person can be comfortable and lucid.

In my opinion, suicide, assisted suicide or euthanasia should not be equated with assuring a comfortable death. If you knew your death could be physically comfortable, would you feel you needed the legal right to consider assisted suicide or euthanasia? If you are worried about physical suffering and felt assured that clinicians would keep you comfortable would you still feel you need legal rights to consider ending your life? In my experience, suffering prior to death is more difficult to manage when issues of spiritual and emotional pain are unresolved. Physical suffering can be managed.

Thank you for chiming in M.O. I absolutely do NOT advocate suicide.

yup. just plug them into a morphine IV and let'er rip.

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we already HAVE the "right to die" ... and the last thing that we need, is giving dr (who already have a god complex) the right to KILL their patients

terminally ill patients, should have access to all the pain meds they can handle - it is down right INhuman to make them suffer - let them make their own choice ... what if they DON't want to die and a DR says they need too ... can they fire thier dr ... or refuse the meds


we don't need to legislated that - and you know the gov would use it to terminate the mentally disabled next

Yes, they should have that right. I also think people in chronic debilitating pain should have that right too.

As for Hospice, my dad died in May because of lung cancer. He really suffered. Hospice provided him with lots of pain meds to the point it probably hastened his death. I was grateful to see his suffering end. Also at no time was he denied food or water. I was giving him water on the day he died. Hospice can't force you to withhold food and water.

I do agree that is should be strictly the patients choice, not mandated by a panel of doctors, or worse the government deciding that you illness has become so severe that you should die.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this thread, either by voting or by comment. I know that there are more pressing matters at the moment, but this has given me a great understand how other's feel about the subject.


Last Edited by Do you see what I see on 10/15/2013 12:19 PM

What you are asking for is an assisted death. Not to be cruel but an able bodied person can end their life at any time using a variety of methods.

Where it gets sticky is if a person is disabled and wishes to die. If a family member or friend assists them they assistant can be held liable for the death. What liability would the doctor/ hospital face.

The definition of terminal ill is subjective. Is it 6 months, 3 months or maybe you learn you have Huntington's and decide you want to die today.

In many cases family members will disagree about the prognosis. If I were terminally ill and wanted to end my life what rights would my spouse, children and other relations have? I would hope my family would support my decision but I have seen people freak out over ending life support. And ending life support doesn't guarantee a speedy, painless death.

I believe there should be a medical version of suicide but make no mistake, it is suicide. However, it's a slippery slope. Once widely accepted, it would open the door to tptb being able to implementing some sort of standards for government mandated euthanasia.

Yes, in my experience family members can get pretty selfish when it comes to death. This is a normal emotional reaction though. When it comes to liability on the hospital/physicians end. I think there would need to be undeniable proof that the patient was dying. Like I said this is a sticky situation. Thank you for offering your opinion on the matter. ;hf: