End of life care and assisted death

[DMB]

I thought this was an excellent article by woman doctor who will soon be dead from cancer.

http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/2009/09/an-interesting-time-to-die/

There are those who think that, with the excellent palliative care that is now available, no one would want to choose the option of assisted dying. And yet more than 800 people in Britain are known to have signed up to Dignitas because they hope to die with dignity. This confirms my own experience during my 40 years as a GP. In spite of adequate pain relief, some people who are facing a terminal illness still want to have more certainty about how, when and where they will die. I remember feeling that I had failed with one patient who was also a health professional and who was terminally ill with cancer. She had stockpiled various drugs to give her control over her time of death. Unfortunately she had a sudden obstruction of her bowel and could not take the pills when she wanted to. She was furious at ending up in a hospice where she survived in pain for another ten days—just what she did not want.

...Part of the problem is that those deciding on the legal and political issues of assisted dying are not those facing immediate death themselves, but those running hospices (who may have a vested interest against assisted death), bishops in the House of Lords (who have a particular view on life and death) and others in positions of “authority.”

...Why can’t people have a rational discussion about assisted dying? Why can’t assisted dying be available in Britain for those who want it as a choice?

[Puck]

I think that we are so horrified when someone commits suicide, that we carry that over to end of life. There's a huge difference in someone who is healthy who wants to die, and someone who is quickly headed there and wants the option of putting a stop to their life on their own terms.

It's my opinion that the one thing we truly own in this world is our bodies/our life. It's rather frustrating to have the government run interference and tell us, no, we don't really own our bodies, and they will take control and force us to suffer.

[David B]

Yes, indeed.

Lots of simple, down to earth, common sense.

David

[VenDexter]

End of life decisions are some of the most difficult to make. They are also some of the most important.

I fully advocate that, for those whose death is imminent, they should be able to choose the time and place for their final breath.

It was a major issue with our family and my mother.

I was honored to be the one to help her end her suffering by removing the remaining life support under the supervision of her physician and with all her family present.

The slippery slope argument that if we allow assisted dying it will be used to end lives prematurely is bogus. We can implement it with such stringent guidelines as to prevent its abuse and make it only available when the dying person requests it in advance.

I once wrote a lengthy lit review on "rational suicide". It was revealing that so many dying people who chose to end their lives, either assisted or self-inflicted, had done so with much forethought. In very few circumstances was it unplanned or a rash decision.

[Pandora]

I fully support end of life decisions. I'm very happy that Washington is one of the few states in the US who allow assisted dying. Oregon does also, and I believe they were the first here in the US. Not sure if others do.

I do know that I had to bite my tongue really hard (pretty sure I still have scars) when a coworker and close friend started campaigning against the bill to legalize it during lunch.

[BWE]

Goddamn (http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/pas/index.shtml) I'm (http://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/marijuana-laws-in-oregon.html) Glad (http://www.adherents.com/loc/loc_oregon.html) I (http://bikeportland.org/2009/06/14/world-naked-bike-ride-was-it-good-for-you/) live (http://nclrights.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/portland-oregon-skyline1.jpg) in (http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u141/BWE_the_real_one/fish-white.jpg) Portland (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland,_Oregon).

[DMB]

Goddamn (http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/pas/index.shtml) I'm (http://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/marijuana-laws-in-oregon.html) Glad (http://www.adherents.com/loc/loc_oregon.html) I (http://bikeportland.org/2009/06/14/world-naked-bike-ride-was-it-good-for-you/) live (http://nclrights.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/portland-oregon-skyline1.jpg) in (http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u141/BWE_the_real_one/fish-white.jpg) Portland (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland,_Oregon).

Stop gloating! :p

[BWE]

Goddamn (http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/pas/index.shtml) I'm (http://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/marijuana-laws-in-oregon.html) Glad (http://www.adherents.com/loc/loc_oregon.html) I (http://bikeportland.org/2009/06/14/world-naked-bike-ride-was-it-good-for-you/) live (http://nclrights.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/portland-oregon-skyline1.jpg) in (http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u141/BWE_the_real_one/fish-white.jpg) Portland (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland,_Oregon).

Stop gloating! :p

it's not gloating. The rest of the world is nuts. It's hard to believe and a little scary.

[Christina]

We just had a discussion about this on our trip as we were considering different places that we might move to when Joe retires. We're not thrilled with the idea of more rain but Oregon is definitely on the list because of their attitude toward assisted suicide. I'm not sure that it will ever be allowed for me but it would matter to Joe. Then again, I can probably stash away enough meds to take out a town over then next few years if I wanted to.

[DMB]

The big pratical problem with stashing meds is that if you leave it too long you may no longer be able to swallow. That is what happened to my father.

[Christina]

TBH, I have absolutely no hope that I will ever be allowed to make that decision for myself even in states where it's legal. It will never be seen as a rational decision for me, just a suicidal impulse that means that I need to be protected from myself. I know that if Joe dies first and I start to lose it the system will glom onto me and I'll never get out of their clutches again but there's no point in worrying about it ahead of time since it will be somewhat out of my control unless I avoid all shrinks.

[Loren Pechtel]

The big pratical problem with stashing meds is that if you leave it too long you may no longer be able to swallow. That is what happened to my father.

Yes. This is a big reason for permitting euthanasia under controlled conditions. Requiring the patient to do it themselves means that some will choose to do it before they really want to to avoid letting it go too long and not being able to do it at all.