Euthanasia vs Medical Treatment Choices

a thread today on the political corkboard i visit, with my reply:

The Questions

Why is euthanasia so frowned upon in our society?

If a person is able to say..."I want to die" why is it not ok to help them?

But on the other hand, a living will is ok... I understand that the Judeo-Christian ethic is pro-life...but dammit...why the double standard?

Why is it ok to do nothing (through a living will) but not to actively help someone die?

The First Response

euthanasia is a slippery slope... if we accept that it is all right to actively kill someone... that is slip a needle in their vein and take their life because they "request" it... how long before that choice is no longer ours? that is to say.. how long before it becomes "what is good for society"?

we can logically make that jump from "requesting"...to assuming that ones not fruitful to society would not want to "live"...so how hard is it to euthanize the elderly? the infirm? the developmentally disabled?

there is a world of difference between someone who has a terminal, probably painful disease: ie: cancer, MS, alzheimer's, stroke (debilitating to the point they can't eat, or which destroys massive sections of the brain), and someone who is depressed or insane....

someone who is clinically depressed can be treated...and may feel completely different after that treatment...

i would not, as a nurse, assist someone to die...i have been asked...and i am sure others have been as well...my answer to the family who requested it...was just this...

when it is God's time to call you home...it is His time...it is not up to man to make that decision...

after all...what was it the Nazi's were actually trying to accomplish with their final solution? it was a master race of course, without the "dregs" of society... those too ill, infirm, to give back to society....

read z-pop...it was eye opening to me....and abhorent....when life is so cheap we can dispose of those who may not have the qualities that society deems acceptable..then who of us will be safe?

passive euthanasia, ie: not treating infections as they occur, not inserting a feeding tube, not giving blood...is a medical choice...it is allowing nature to take it's course...these medical interventions are new to man...and before they came into being people died from their ailments...

just because we can...doesn't necessicarily mean we should intervene... and it is not euthanasia per se...it is putting your faith in something besides the accepted medical establishment...

i am taking care of a lady right now, who declined a feeding tube... didn't want it... even though she aspirated everytime she tried to eat... we all thought she would die much as shiavo did.... that was 3.5 years ago and the lady is still going strong... she eats... she chokes, and sometimes we have to treat her for pneumonia, but... she did not starve to death as everyone predicted... she overcame... and she eats....

karen ann quinlin is a famous case that everyone recognizes... she didn't want to be on a respirator... and was a long drawn out court case... which ultimately deemed she had the right to refuse treatment.... and what happened? they pulled the tube and she did not die....

just with holding some treatments doesn't mean the person will die... it just means it is left in God's hands.... and what He chooses to do with that life....

if instead of withholding treatment, we had put a needle in their arms... both these ladies would have indeed died.... and that is wrong.... no matter what way you cut it...

no to euthanasia.... yes to treatment choices... which to accept... which to deny...

My Response

why is euthanasia so frowned upon in our society?

i believe it’s seen by many as taking life before it’s “time”. God’s hands.

if a person is able to say..."i want to die" why is it not ok to help them?

i’ve struggled with this one myself.

if the person is a physically healthy adult, i’d believe depression, which is an illness somewhat treatable with medications and therapy, may be doing the talking in this scenario. those words, spoken by a person in the midst of depression, cannot be taken seriously. the emotion behind those words, though, should be taken more than seriously. at that moment, they are not themselves and will, in the long run with proper medical treatment, come back to themselves.

however; if that person is of sound mind and in the midst of a grave and irreversible illness, death the known end, i’d consider the wishes of that person.

judas priest, i’m imagining just that in my mind at the moment and seeing myself agreeing with their wishes, though very reluctantly and very tearfully.

why it’s not okay to assist those with fatal illnesses is, again, a God’s hand belief for most. even if they wish to end their lives, God must decide when. it’s His call.

why is it ok to do nothing (through a living will) but not to actively help someone die?

doing nothing is, to me, letting it play out for God to call.

not wanting to dredge up the past, but the Terri Schiavo situation completely ripped me apart and has been over discussed... i'll refrain from commenting about it further.

the comment “what is good for society” really struck me. for me, abortion has become just that. it’s an empty and hollow reason for discarding unwanted or unplanned life. i agree, it could get to that if legalized. it's an out (financially and emotionally). a selfish playing God mentality (which is so pervasive) to choose who will live and who will die and the reasons for such. who among us can sincerely decide such a thing?

i don’t see hospitals, doctors, or pharmaceutical companies wanting to cut off their flow of cash from the sick, dying, and terminated anytime soon. it’s guaranteed income.

what's that saying? the love of money is the root of all evil.

same in the field of medicine.