# Assisted Suicide



## SgtAndySipowicz (Mar 17, 2008)

http://www.massagainstassistedsuicide.org/

*I didn't even know MA was trying to pass this (Doctor assisted suicide).........I had a cousin who killed himself, left two young boys behind. His ex-wife really tucked it to him over the years until finally he ended it. The two boys are a mess now. Both have been sectioned after making comments about suicide etc. I wish he hung in there for the boys and just toughed it out with the crazy money wanting ex-wife. *

*In my opinion Doctors are supposed to heal, not kill. If you are going to off yourself it should be a decision made by that one person without Doctors being involved. Suicide severely impacts a family. I think the government (passing bills such as this) should stay the fuck out of people's lives. Anything the government gets involved in usually ends up ass backwards.............*


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## CJIS (Mar 12, 2005)

Unfortunately short of the person being a Crap bum no one wins assisted or not.


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## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

The bill has to do with terminaly ill people with no hope for a cure.


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## Guest (Mar 15, 2012)

If someone is terminally ill with absolutely no chance of recovery (Lou Gehrig's Disease, terminal cancer, etc.), I'm all for physician-assisted suicide. I saw my father waste away from cancer, which robbed him of his health, his vitality, his personality, and eventually his dignity.

We never discussed it, but I'm pretty sure he would have ended it sooner than it happened naturally, if the option was there.


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## SgtAndySipowicz (Mar 17, 2008)

My concern(s) with getting* the State* involved (via a bill etc) is could it be a stepping stone for say, assisting mentally unstable people end it or assisting drug addicts in ending it all etc etc. I just don't like the idea of government getting in the "assisted suicide" business. There are plenty of ways for people to do it now without having to involve Doctors etc. I just think the government should have nothing to do with this uneasy topic.......It kind of reminds me of the "death panels" which were brought up under Obamacare etc. I don't like government involvement in medical decisions......


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## 263FPD (Oct 29, 2004)

Oh I am sure that the government, or at least the current admin. is just eager giddy over this. Just think, how much money they are going to save on all those poor folks whose insurance coverage is Medicaid or Medicare. 


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## HistoryHound (Aug 30, 2008)

http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/House/H02233

There's a lot to to it, so I'll admit I didn't give it a really thorough read, but it appears to be an effort to give patients the option while protecting doctors who participate in accordance with the law from sanction. Is there the potential for abuse? Of course there is just like with anything else, but it looks like whoever drafted this bill actually did their homework and put in measures to minimize any abuse. It's not going to be a case of calling your doctor and getting a prescription. There are several requirements medically that need to be met and reviewed and the request has to be witnessed by people who have no financial incentive or motivation for the patient to die. It's not perfect, but I think it's a good start. No one should be forced to suffer with a terminal illness if there is a way to ease their suffering. The option for a painless, medicated suicide should be there for them if they choose.


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## Guest (Mar 15, 2012)

SgtAndySipowicz said:


> or assisting drug addicts in ending it all etc etc.


That would be a bad thing?


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## crimsonwings (Feb 13, 2007)

ya, I have mixed feelings about this....Have to say, that putting someone in a position of power such as a physician, over someones life seems very reckless...


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## CJIS (Mar 12, 2005)

kwflatbed said:


> The bill has to do with terminaly ill people with no hope for a cure.


Ill or not I have mixed feelings about it. I suppose if everyone is on board it is ok. The only misgiving I have about it are once the assisted suicide takes place it is over and there is no going back. I know In the cases of DNR orders people whom at the last min decide they want to change it.

A example I was told by the CPR instructor at in-service was about gentleman dying of a non curable ailment. He had a DNR and went into cardiac arrest. The ambulance brought him to the hospital and never resuscitated but never the less and somehow he came out of it. Well it turns out that his two sons were in the ER right next to his bed fighting about his will. Well turns out he over heard it and decided he wanted to cancel the DNR order. I guess he was asked why, he said he wanted to live a bit longer just to change the will so neither son would get anything.

I saw a similar thing happen with my uncle in his last days he was pretty much a vegetable he had a DNR order and he was slipping in and out. I would have loved to just see the suffering stop but there were other people in the family already worried about what would become of his possessions his will, where he would be buried etc. It pissed me off as he was not even dead yet! I knew if he knew about it he would have been pissed too and probably would have either given him more of a fight or killed him.

It is a hard decision Do you live in pain and agony but while alive have the choice to change things like your will or say final last words at the very last min after fighting as hard as you can to try to beat the disease and maybe even with act of god get better or do you stop the suffering say screw it and say your last words early? Once it is over it is over.

I know people that have been told they were going to die within months and there prognosis was bad. These people more than likely would have made good candidates for assisted death but instead of giving up they went and saw a different doctor started a new treatment and have actually begun to get better. A friend of my father is such an example. Stage 4 cancer his prognosis was a year or less to live and now has been alive 2+ years later and he just recently had a treatment that had actually worked phenomenal and has killed most of the cancer. While he is not living the life I am sure he dreamed of he is comfortable enough and is doing many of the things he enjoys.

So like I said is it really a win for anyone? I guess in some extreme cases if all parties are on board it may be but in the case like my fathers friend it would have been a loss.


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## Margaret (Mar 18, 2012)

I saw this thread hope that it's ok for me to say something. 
I am from Washington State where we have an assisted suicide law passed by initiative 3 years ago. There has already been a proposal to expand our law to direct euthanasia for non-terminal people. In a recent Seattle Times column, there was the suggestion that euthanasia be the solution for people unable to afford long term care ("[a]t least a couple mentioned euthanasia as a solution").

Second, the Massachusetts bill applies to people who aren't necessarily dying. This is because prognoses can be wrong and/or because treatment can lead to recovery. Compare Nina Shapiro, "Terminal Uncertainty - Washington's new 'Death with Dignity' law allows doctors to help people commit suicide - once they've determined that the patient has only six months to live. But what if they're wrong?" and Jeanette Hall, "She pushed for legal right to die, and thankfully was rebuffed," Boston Globe, October 4, 2011
Margaret
[email protected]
http://www.massagainstassistedsuicide.org/
www.choiceillusion.org


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