- NEW!
by lucylucy on October 3rd, 2008
both...if ya gonna do the crime
then ya gotta pay the time. sorry
if youre not willing to pay the price for this "kindness" ;
dont do the deed
by redcatt63 is around here somewhere...... on March 23rd, 2008
I think it would be kindness. If someone is in constant agony, has in incurable condition, no quality of life and asks for help in ending it with dignity, I would consider that an act of compassion. If I were in such a condition, that is what I would want.
I'm not sure if I could personally help a person do that...I would be torn. I just recall back to when my father was dying of cancer (coincidentally, 17 years ago today), and I know he was in agony...he had a morphine pump that never seemed to stop. However, he did not ask for help in ending his life. When it was close to the end and the suffering was constant, I wished for him to go peacefully so he wouldn't suffer anymore. I don't know that I could have helped my father with such a request if he had wished for it.
(BTW, congrats on making it to number 1 on the Leaderboard!)
by philosopher-saint on March 23rd, 2008
Great question! Imho, it would be a great kindness.
by Symbeline on March 23rd, 2008
No matter how sick or how much pain they're in, it could be kindness only if you have their consent to end their life.
I'm of the mind that keeping someone on respirators and machines and forcing them to live as a vegetable is worse then murder, and that this in itself gets complicated if they can't even communicate, no matter what the laws are, but killing somebody, even as a favour, is never right, unless they absolutely want to.
Either way though, it would be a true sin to myself to act on my own judgement and perception of kindness in regards to someone else's life, no matter what state they're in. Still, I guess guilty conscience in letting them suffer is not always better either though. :/
by Scrappy on January 17th, 2009
You know how I feel about this Aris. Which is why I signed a living will and DNRed it. Keeping someone alive in that condition is "not a life". Letting them die with dignity is the best thing. This is in rotation again.
by Jewel on March 23rd, 2008
I am proud to be a citizen of Oregon where the right to death with dignity has been voted into law, and has been successfully defended by citizens for 10 years.
In the early 1990s, concerned citizens formed Oregon Death with Dignity to write and pass a law that would allow dying patients to control their own end-of-life care. In 1994, Oregonians voted to support Measure 16-the Oregon Death with Dignity Act.
http://www.deathwithdignity.org/historyfacts/
by RosieGHM Jetpacker on March 23rd, 2008
If someone is living in unrelenting agony, there is no "quality" of life left...I think it would be a kindness, if the person wished to be released from the pain. Now, there are those who think that would be a sin...I don't think it would. Only the person in that situation and that person's loved ones should decide...having a hypocritical/conniving/politcally motivated Congress or Supreme Court intervene is the height of evil..who the he** are they to push themselves into such a situation? How dare they assume they know "better"? They acted as if they were "God" doing "God's" work..what a pile of crap! :(
by Ender is back.. And slightly confused. on March 23rd, 2008
I think that people should be allowed to die with dignity, and therefore think that ending the life of someone in that condition is an act of compassion.
by therapist on March 18th, 2009
I consider it dieing with dignity Ari. I too have seen many things in the short time in the medical field and I do not want to live that way when my time comes. It should be legal I totally agree. I believe there comes a time when it's time to call it quits (not suicide, not mental things) when your quality of life is suffering and there is no chance of getting better.
by Ed the Jetpacking Headbanger on March 31st, 2008
Here is my story and reasoning:
My mother suffered needlessly at the end of her life. She had incurable cancer in all her major organs. Her doctors could do nothing for her. They didn't want her taking up hospital space, so we had to find a nursing home to care for her. The final month of her existence, you can't call constant suffering 'living', was horrible for all of our family to live through. When you see someone you love with all your heart in pain all the time, not aware of her surroundings and crying to God to take her, you wish there was a better way for her life to end. Even though many people believe euthanasia is a sin and is wrong, it would have been the humane thing to do in my mother's situation. The helpless feelings, the depression we felt, the anger and sadness tore at us all. Every person in my family would have chosen to aid her in dying rather than see her end like this.
If most people went through what my family endured, they might think differently.
by Jane on March 25th, 2008
not murder in anyway. I think if a person is suffering and wishes to die then it would be kindness
by Taciturnu on March 23rd, 2008
Kindness. It may sound scary, but I am a huge supporter of Dr. Jack Kavorkian. We do it to animals that are suffering because it's humane, but we haven't implemented it on the human race. If it were me, I'd like a ticket out.
by Lady Alathia of Vulcan on March 23rd, 2008
Honestly, I would consider it a kindness.
I FIRMLY believe that if someone of sound mind wants to end their life, they should have the right to do so. If they are INCAPABLE of doing so on their own, there should be facilities made available for their assistance.
by macdjug-Paxvobiscum on March 23rd, 2008
I have nothing against assisted suicide. I have seen people suffer. We will put our pet down so they don't suffer, why not our fellow man.
by mansoor on June 16th, 2009
it is one of the most important question i have seen till now, thanks.
Courts of some countries are still trying to find a rational answer to this question accepted to all.
In my view the answer is simple. Since you are not the one who have the right to give someone birth or death . Even the mother of a child, do not have the right to murder her child in this situation.
It is the destiny/fate of the person to die such a death. ( A very rough statement but facts are rough).
No matter how science and technology get advance and someday find ways to gain immortalty.
But God has its way of giving punishment.And noone can change it.
by Brian on March 19th, 2009
Assuming that they want to die, it would be a kindness.
I think doctor-assisted suicide is legal in Oregon.
Do you know of any other states where it's legal?
by Jaded on March 19th, 2009
In the eyes of most state laws, it would be murder. In the eyes of me, it would be a kindness.
by 23Skidoo on March 14th, 2009
I would like to think so, yes.
Whether in the moment of truth, I could or not is a different matter and I don't know.
+5
by Faithlesstheist on March 11th, 2009
I'd want to die if I was in pain all the time. It probably depends on the law though.
by Docey on December 9th, 2008
I think about this from the dying person perspective. I would want it to end, and would hope someone else could see my side of the issue and help me to the best of their moral values.
I believe in erring on the side of life. But to live in agony is not living. For me, the boundary would be to provide them a method, but not be present when they made their own choice to act. I could never physically assist them in the act itself.
by BOOZE HOUND... nothing is nonsence on June 5th, 2008
I think if the person suffering wants to die you should be allowed to help them.
by 23Skidoo on April 22nd, 2008
I think it would be cruel not too.
by MvL on April 20th, 2008
I would have to say that it would be murder, but that it could certainly come from a kind, if misguided, place.
The problem I have helping people to die (euthanasia) in these situations are several.
My main issue with it is that the question raises another - can someone be considered of sound, competent mind if they want to die? Much of psychology is premised on the idea that a key factor in judging mental competency is whether a person is a danger to oneself or others. A person who wishes to die, and would seek to find whatever means possible to end their life, for whatever reason, is putting their life in danger. This is why suicidal thoughts and a desire to die are diagnostic criteria in a large host of illnesses, and even if it is the only clinical symptom, generally a mental illness is diagnosed (perhaps an atypical depressive disorder). Now, I know it is argued that a terminal patient without any chance of relief from pain might be a special case. But why? Do we have any illusions that the combination of (1) chronic pain and (2) despair and hopelessness in the face of an impending and certain death do NOT impair judgement and critical reasoning? The very basis of humanity's romance with the use of torture throughout its history is that causing intense pain, fear, and hopelessness puts people in a state in which their judgement is impaired, and they will do or say things for which they cannot be reasonably held accountable, and that they would otherwise never do, because these extreme conditions led to serious compromise of mental competency. What is a terminal agonizing illness, other than a natural analog of torture? If we would not hold people as capable of making decisions for which they could be held accountable under the influence of extreme torture (human-inflicted chronic pain and hopelessness), then surely it follows that we must draw the same conclusions in the case of a terminally ill patient in chronic pain - they're judgement is impaired, and they are not of sound mind to make decisions for themselves, least of all the most important decision - whether to live or die.
Another, lesser problem, that I have with euthanasia is that it's a slippery slope. For some people, it's a no-brainer that a terminal patient in chronic pain requesting to die be euthanized, and that this be seen as a kindness. But there are some people who would extend that slightly, to the claim that it would be moral and kind to "help someone die" that is incapable, for whatever reason, to request death, when they are terminally ill and in chronic pain. For instance, someone who is mute - incapable of speech, or people with certain types of mental disabilities and/or brain damage. So in these cases, some would argue that they can easily "assume" that death would be requested if the person could ask for it. Then there are some people who, even if they are rare, would argue that even if a person does not want to die, and clearly expresses their wish to suffer through until the end, that "putting them out of their misery" is the more moral thing to do - perhaps even arguing that their condition has impaired their judgement so that they cannot make the only reasonable choice - to die. But some people in INTENSE pain, who are fully aware that they've got no chance of surviving or even hanging on for long, choose to hang in until the end, pain and all, raging against the dying of their own personal lights. The people who would, and who have, felt this way in the face of intense pain and fast-approaching-certain death fill the camps of both those who believe in an afterlife, and those who do not. So, obviously, "unacceptable pain" is a subjective thing - what is considered "unnaceptable" varies from person to person. Why not let anyone who wishes to commit suicide to do so, unhindered? These people may be in a state that, to them, is "unnacceptable pain". And, just like everyone else, they are terminally ill - dying of the universal degenerative disease of aging. The broader question is: if death is acceptable then, why not now, or, if death is acceptable now, why not earlier? And how can we, as a society, selectively choose, in an ultimately arbitrary way, when someone's definition of "unnacceptable pain" is reasonable, and another's is unreasonable? I do not see how these questions can ever have any objective or reasonable answers.
Finally, I think a legalized, socially acceptable euthanasia reflects a cheapened view on the value of life. When we allow for the idea that death can sometimes be preferable to life, that life is NOT the highest good and our most precious possession (or gift, if you like), then we are already halfway down a slippery slope that leads to nowhere good. Next stop: the suicide booths found in the cancelled FOX cartoon, "Futurama". Worse, it can lead to society making decisions about which individuals are in an "unnaceptable" state of being, and need to be "helped to die", which would be evil regardless of how painlessly and humanely this was achieved.
Maybe I'm pushing it to its logical extremes, but I think this is necessary to show where a little, seemingly innocent talk of "death as kindness" can lead us. I can promise that I will never call any would-be killer of mine kind. I have made it clear in my will and living will, and to friends and family, that if I am ever in a terminal state and in chronic pain, that any requests that I be allowed to or assisted in dying be ignored as the product of mental illness caused by the severe stress on the mind of intense pain and hopelessness, and that, as such, cannot be considered as truly coming from "me".
by judgebill on April 17th, 2008
Wouldn't the person/victim have any say? Whose judgment are we using here? Accepting at full value your conditions the person should still have the opportunity to say if they wish to die or to wait. After all, agony and pain are very much subjective and the person may want to hold on to life with agony. But, if the person was unquestionably incurable, obviously in serious agony and specifically requested me to pull the plug, I woudl do it.
by Jen-Jen on April 15th, 2008
Kindness
by Anonymous on April 15th, 2008
In my opinion it would be a great kindness. I always wonder why relief from suffering is expected to be given to animals, yet it's not generally accepted, let alone expected, to be given to humans.
by Debris - the new slimline version. on April 2nd, 2008
I personally would see as an act of kindness - a person should be allowed to die with dignity and not be left to suffer in pain when there will be no recovery.
We sometimes treat our pets better than we treat fellow humans
by Jade on March 31st, 2008
Legally, it is murder. Morally and ethically it is a kindness, as long as it is the wish of the person who is suffering. I have known people who felt a profound relief when a loved one who was suffering finally passed on. And the person who passed finally had a peaceful look on their face...and this was before the mortician applied his talents. I don't know if I could do it myself, but if one of my loved ones was suffering and every waking moment was agony, and there was no hope of survival...I don't think I could bring myself to object to someone putting an end to it.
by neveroddoreven on March 30th, 2008
Kindness easily... situation like that make me want euthanasia to be legal, but only with their consent... which they would probably give.
If they personally could not consent, and i was next of kin, I would make the desision to help them, as they are suffering needlessly.
by jeanie16 on March 25th, 2008
in our country euthanasia is illegal,I dont think I could ever do it myself, but .....................
by Anonymous on March 25th, 2008
Human life is valuable. It would be with profound sadness but I believe I would assist them as long as the method is as peaceful and painless as possible. Of course I would be at thier side when they passed on. We are all dying. It's simply a matter of time. Noone should be forced to live a life that is already measured if it is gauranteed to involve unbearable pain. There is no benefit to them. This is another morals type issue where one person's morals are the law even if other peoples morals may allow for this.
by bendybot on March 23rd, 2008
I agree that it would be a kindness in the situation you describe, but I do not believe that it would be ethical to put into practice in society.
How does a doctor compare regular non-life ending pain when a person would like to die and extreme pain where its ok to help the patient die?
by buxtonite ..slowly losing my mind on March 23rd, 2008
it is a kindness ...this is where euthanasia should be legal... people should not be forced to live in agony all because of a stupid backward law that is based on an out dated religious piece of clap trap!!!
by JohnDough on March 23rd, 2008
Despite best efforts, you just can't sugarcoat murder.
by Sheriff Raff -Answerhag on March 23rd, 2008
In the U.S. if it's an animal it's kindness, if it is a man or woman, it's murder.
by Doubly Ugly on March 23rd, 2008
<I'm putting a contrarian view that I don't necessarily believe in, or expect would survive 5 minutes of reality>
If you believe that what makes humans different from animals includes an understanding that to take a life is the ultimate taboo, then it is worth it to humanity to draw a firm line even if it results in terrible suffering. This does not preclude the withdrawal of support as society has already agreed that there is no such thing as an unlimited price on life.
by oldielocks on February 17th, 2011
Has anyone ever considered the term "follow the money?"
Are people being kept alive because it's lucrative to do so?
How much does it cost the family of a patient to keep a person alive in a care home and
how much is made in medication, etc., etc., etc.?
Just a thought.
by Anonymous on November 19th, 2009
I am a Christian. That should answer your question. If you still don't understand that then I'll explain. God created Life and God can end Life. PERIOD! All Christians know that God is our Creator of Life and can end Life...in "HIS" time!!! But (!), if your cat or dog has a serious health situation and one day the eyes of your pet tell you...it's time. Let me sleep! Then and only then is it "decent" to allow your pet fall asleep without pain and peacefully go into the spirit world. I know, I had to do this with my two dogs and I saw both of their spirits sitting near me one night. That was very, very comforting to know that they will always be with me.
by oldielocks on February 17th, 2011
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