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With names like Dr. Jack Kevorkian and Terri Schiavo making international headlines during the past few years, the complicated subject of euthanasia remains on everyone's mind. But when considering the plight of the terminally ill and their potential suffering, is "pulling the plug" a matter of dying with dignity or tragically playing God?
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Physician Assisted Dying Should Not be a Crime
- From Rob Nelson
By Rob Nelson - Activist/Author/TV Personality
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Morals
I don't think it is moral for a doctor to assist a patient in suicide. If a patient wants to refuse treatment and be sent home to die a natural death, then fine. But to HELP someone kill themselves is an appalling thought.
- jitiac
February 11, 2009 9:09AM
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Euthanasia
"To save a man's life against his will is the same as killing him," (Horace). Under specific circumstances I believe that physician assisted suicide should be legalized. First, the patient must be terminally ill, as indicated by at least two physicians. This helps to avoid assisted suicides based on a state of depression that can later be overcome. With that, the patient must have expressed obvious consent, whether it be in his will or through serious and repetitive, verbal agreement directly with the physician while in a conscious and sane state. If time allows, this verbal agreement should then be signed in official documents. The method for assisted suicide should be swift and humane. Only a select few under the age of eighteen are even considered for assisted suicide; they must have nearly no chance of survival and expressed consent from the patient (if capable) and of the guardian(s).
- Nada
February 18, 2009 12:40AM
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Side: Yes
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very effective quote
"To save a man's life against his will is the same as killing him" (Nada, Horace). Nada, you could not have chosen a better quote as this summarizes the entire point of assisted suicide. We often ponder in life and literature about what life really is; whether it is physically living every day, or the summation of the experiences we encounter. I tend to believe life is a summation of what we do in our time, no matter how long that is. If I can no longer have quality experiences in life, as I would define them, I would rather not live, and that seems to be the sentiment of some people who are currently in that siutation.
- StriveforYourDreams
March 1, 2009 9:16AM
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Side: Yes
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Euthanasia
This argument raises a very valid point about our hypocrisy. While there is much debate about whether a fetus is considered a human at the time an abortion can be performed, many associations, including governing bodies of medicine, as cited in the argument, are pro-abortion, but not pro assisted suicide. This is very strange considering many people consider abortion as taking a life.
"Not all human life has the same value all of the time" Considering this statement, if a terminally ill person no longer sees a value in what remains of their life, they should be able to choose to end it. We are supposed to be able to make decisions about what we value in our lives and what we want to do in our lives; if life is not worth living, in our minds, we should be able to do something about it.
- StriveforYourDreams
March 1, 2009 9:03AM
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Side: Yes
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Rotterdam court in 1981
My earlier post was based on studies from sociology. Now that I have found the actual source to qualify my position that, yes, physician assisted suicide should be enacted in certain situations, here is a post of guidelines from the Netherlands in the Rotterdam court in 1981 copied directly from InternationalTaskForce.org – Euthanasia in the Netherlands:
1. The patient must be experiencing unbearable pain.
2. The patient must be conscious.
3. The death request must be voluntary.
4. The patient must have been given alternatives to euthanasia and time to consider these alternatives.
5. There must be no other reasonable solutions to the problem.
6. The patient’s death cannot inflict unnecessary suffering on others.
7. There must be more than one person involved in the euthanasia decision.
8. Only a doctor can euthanize a patient.
9. Great care must be taken in actually making the death decision.
- Nada
March 1, 2009 9:00PM
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Side: Yes
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