Sunday May 27, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

What's your stance on euthanasia?

Have Your Say Apr. 05, 2009 - 05:00AM JST ( 29 )

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29 Comments

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tjfrancisApr. 05, 2009 - 07:16AM JST

people should get to chose their own fate, period. either with the help of doctors or by doing it themselves. (but the latter can cause delays at train stations, unnecessary excruciating pain, etc.)
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moonbeamsApr. 05, 2009 - 04:04PM JST

pro
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BettingApr. 05, 2009 - 08:11PM JST

Such a hard question. I'm both for it and against it at the same time. Granted people should be able to chose their own fate if they have some fatal disease. However, I'm also worried about the potential for the abuse of euthanasia. I can honestly imagine in some cases people knocking off sick relatives, loved ones just to get their hands on their estate, or to get rid of their burdens.

If I had some fatal affliction, what would I do? I think I wouldn't chose it for myself, but until I'm in that situation I really don't know. I'm hoping I could tough it out till the end.
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soothsayerApr. 05, 2009 - 09:33PM JST

I'm against it. And anyone who is for it is saying that the most precious thing that we have is ours alone. It isn't. It belongs to all of us, no matter what religion or philosphy we follow. To take our life ourselves before our time,is either the ultimate act of selfishness or madness: Suicide; To choose to end a life we consider already beyond saving is murder. the only time it is good to choose to give away our lives is when it allows another to live. This is the ultimate act of love.

At any rate, Dylan Thomas stated the normal reaction to death better than we ever could:

"Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light."

Who could read that and still consider extinguishing themselves?
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DisillusionedApr. 05, 2009 - 09:39PM JST

Who could read that and still consider extinguishing themselves?

A person who has been bed ridden and in severe pain for an extended period of time with no chance of recovery. This is a very sensitive topic. I would condone this action if the person was seriously ill and had no quality of life.
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likeitisApr. 05, 2009 - 10:16PM JST

soothsayer--My life is mine and no one elses. Society neither has the right to take it or force it to continue against the wishes of the owner, which is me, and me alone. Same applies to everyone.

People say "Its my life." or "Its your life." I take that to mean not just one's way of living, but one's very life.

So long as a person has a sound mind when they make the decision, I am all for euthanasia. However, I do believe their should be rules and formalities, things such as a waiting period and counseling. But once those have been satisified, how dare anyone stand in the way?

Yes, it may be said that we are "given" life. I am good with that. But once I receive something, it is mine. And I will do with it as I will. This is not to say the gift is not appreciated, but such appreciation has its limits.

For example, if I am in pain, and dying a slow death, that sort of appreciation for the gift of life is going to an abrupt end. And it might be even be considered a greater appreciation to end it cleanly and to die with dignity while one still can than to just leave it up whatever forces there are to ravage me.
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shanabelleApr. 05, 2009 - 11:54PM JST

pro- I believe we should have the personal right to pull the pin when pain/suffering gets beyond endurance...! In such a case I would be in no mood to listen to the religious nuts telling me how 'precious' it all is!
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graftonApr. 06, 2009 - 06:54AM JST

soothsayer.

I like the way you think because it isn’t selfish, but I don’t agree with you that “To take our life ourselves before our time, is either the ultimate act of selfishness or madness”. It is selfish but then we are selfish creatures & sometimes we really need to be, even when we might like to pretend that we are not. There is nothing childishly spiritual about my thinking here, nor should there be. I simply reason that I do have a responsibility to those that I will leave behind. My self-inflicted death might well be fine by me because it gets me out of, say, a horrible state of pain, but what pain might I be giving to those that I love who are left behind maybe finding it incredibly hard to come to terms with what I have done?

As likeitis reasoned it is my life & I can do with it as I wish, but to quote an Englishman rather than a Welshman I will add that” No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind,”

And we are involved with mankind so mankind (or woman kind) is involved with us. We owe those that we love that we will not give them pain by relieving our own. Yes if they truly love us they will understand, but that understanding must be found before the act, not in some note left behind, a note that nobody can ask a question from, that is too cruel.

So in a sense we would all seem so far to more or less agree that if we were so very ill we couldn’t go on we wouldn’t. Now I have a bigger, harder question for you, what if that pain you cannot endure is mental rather than physical, are you now so sure of the easy answers above?

I’m not because I haven’t been there & hope never to be there, but then I am no more a soothsayer than soothsayer is & can’t say where I will one day end up. I just hope I never hurt the people that have given me so much love in my life. And I will wish the same for all here too.
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SiouxGirlApr. 06, 2009 - 12:31PM JST

Some days I feel like signing up for it myself. But seriously, if it were my husband and he only had 6 mos. to live - I wouldn't trust the opinion of just one dr. I'd get a few diagnoses first. My friend's mother had inoperable cancer and 6 mos. to live and she lived 4 years. It really made a difference to her children and grandchildren to have her around longer. But if their pain is so great and their quality of life is crap, then it would be so hard, but I would agree to let my loved one go and be there with them to the end. One of my friends said, "It's my life and no one else's business." But you have to have some love and respect for your family. I would vote yes, but with conditions, for instance, all the doctors you've seen in the last X amt of yrs have to be notified, as does your family/next of kin, that you've chosen euthenasia. This is truly a can of worms, however, because - what about an appeals process for the next of kin? That could srsly drag out a person's pain.
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telecasterplayerApr. 06, 2009 - 12:37PM JST

I just watched an Aunt suffer through 5 years of debilitating illness, including two years bedridden and a final week in which the brain was gone but the heart lingered for a while. Life-support was cut-off, and her body lingered for another day. All the while, the family kept telling her, "oh yeah, you're going to get better." If it were me (and speaking only for me, not my Aunt), I would have wanted to end it two or three years ago. Extending one's life as hospitals and nursing homes that know better continue to cash insurance checks is no way to live.
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LoveUSAApr. 06, 2009 - 12:40PM JST

sometimes, there are miracles, and family member shouls always hope for the best.
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smartacusApr. 06, 2009 - 12:44PM JST

One point that seldom gets mentioned is the dilemma in asking someone to remove the life support. No matter how much pain a person is in, or how much someone wants their relative's life support system turned off, I do not believe it is fair to ask any doctor or nurse to do so. No one should be put in that position.

My mother has had Alzheimer's disease for the past 8 years. She is in her own little world; she doesn't know anyone and cannot do anything for herself. The staff at the first-rate facility where she resides basically keep her alive with tender loving care. Yet, some of my own relatives and my mom's friends have remarked more than once over the past few years that they wish she could take a "happy pill" and drift off into a painless death. I could never agree to that. The angels will come for her when they are ready.
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GWApr. 06, 2009 - 12:57PM JST

I am for it, for many of the reasoning already mentioned above.

Siouxgirl, in yr scenario I think its best the topic be discussed with family/friends etc, obviously if the 6mths comes & the person who is sick isnt in the expected pain etc then you coast as long as you can till things start getting worse, then everyone knows & agrees & the person who is sick shud have their wishes respected, its always sad in the end but I think people shud have more control over these issues.

my FIL here died of lung cancer & in the last year it was just horrible what he & my MIL went through, I hope that never happens to me or my wife.
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mousepotato464Apr. 06, 2009 - 03:42PM JST

Such a difficult question.
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OneForAllApr. 06, 2009 - 04:32PM JST

Can we end suffering by euthanasia?

A number of people are saying that they should be able to end their own lives if they so desire. When they feel that life has become too burdensome or that their suffering is too much, then, in their opinion, they should be permitted to commit suicide. They argue that if someone considers his life useless and bereft of meaning, he should not be denied his desire to kill himself, or to have someone help to kill him.

The Church, while deeply concerned as Jesus is about anyone who suffers, offers a clear and consistent rebuttal of such assertions. We read, for example, in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (#2277): “Whatever its motives and means, direct euthanasia consists in putting an end to the lives of handicapped, sick, or dying persons. It is morally unacceptable. Thus an act or omission which, of itself or by intention, causes death in order to eliminate suffering constitutes a murder gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person and to the respect due to the living God, his Creator. The error of judgment into which one can fall in good faith does not change the nature of this murderous act, which must always be forbidden and excluded.” http://net-abbey.org/euth-olmsted.htm

Pain management exists for those in pain. Things get in a lot of grey areas in individual cases though. We just have to do our best to make sure the dignity of human life is preserved. Suffering! How does one approach it? It is Holy Week and is a good time for reflection.
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OneForAllApr. 06, 2009 - 04:50PM JST

My Father died last July and people called it a Happy Death. Sounds like an Oxymoron. May we all have one. On Holy Saturday it is said that God and the son of Eve traveled to Hades and preached the Good News and freed the prisoners there of the chains of death. The just that is or those that believed. For all time, for all places, for all history. We just have to make it through those last scary moments my ourselves (creator is there of course) because no one wants to join us. Wonder why?
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BholderApr. 06, 2009 - 08:04PM JST

what about someone completely sane and healthy who has made a definite decision to terminate his existence but does not wish to see tens of thousands late to work because of him/her, or to have to put anybody to chore of scraping the body from the pavement? if it's rational, persistent and final decision on which grounds should he be denied clean and convenient death and be forced to an opposite one?
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graftonApr. 06, 2009 - 08:29PM JST

Religion, the politics of fear. Nobody KNOWS what is anything follows death yet religion creates a fear that will hold a persons back from a dignified death, all the while putting their loved ones through the torture of seeing them die slowly & sometimes horribly. Such emotional blackmail degusts me especially at a time when the emotional stress within a family is at its greatest. Act as you believe is right, but keep that cruel judgement of others to yourself because you have no right to add more pain to an already painful situation. Let the choice to live or die be made with a clear mind uncluttered by the superstitions of backward religions.
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OneForAllApr. 06, 2009 - 10:30PM JST

Very good response Grafton. Do not make or convince others of your cruel choice of the destruction of life. Go ahead make it for yourself but do not make me say it is right. It is not. A natural death is a part of life. Your state as a creature is a fact and a gift not to be abused by your whimps. You might have heard of Nasa's comment about the first trillionth of a second of the beginning of the Universe: http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2006/mar/HQ06097firsttrillionthWMAP.html. Well from there you could reason that there is a creator. Or from beauty, goodness and love. It is not superstition but well founded observation of nature through science and the actions of this loving creator through history. It comes from above and is a better foundation than what grafton thinks or myself for that matter.
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ca1ic0catApr. 07, 2009 - 03:07AM JST

It would be a personal choice but I can't see leaving it up to a doctor to do the job. Nor should anybody have the right to second guess. If you have a "do not resuscitate" then fine. If you don't sign a DNR then the doctors do what doctors do.

However, if you are taking this to the level where somebody else gets to decide when a person is beyond hope let me remind you that the Nazis did this with the mentally ill, retarded, and, eventually, anybody determined to be "subhuman." The line shifts far too easily to allow anybody other than the individual to make the choice about their own life.
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BrunobearApr. 11, 2009 - 08:40PM JST

The nearest that man will get to heaven is simply to know the worst that can happen to him. Given that your conception was the chance product of between one of thousands of female eggs, and then one of 600 million male sperm at that particular ejeculation, and at that moment in endless time, you should be grateful you made it to earth and do what is ever possible to make something of your life. The world is a very beautiful, a place of wonder and life is the ultimate adventure. So just be careful with your decisions - you just might find out what is the worst that can happen to you. Always consider what you stand to lose before you consider what you stand to gain. You are what you make of yourself and your life. So don't waste it or the time creation has given you.