Dr. Kevorkian

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I have to do an assignment for school regarding Dr. Kevorkian. What I want are the opinions of you guys on this. I considered reviving the Terri Schiavo thread, but then I realized that these are two different subjects altogther. Terri had no say in the matter, whereas many, if not all, of Dr. Kevorkians "victims" requested that they die.

Would you really want to live in a world knowing that the only thing keeping you alive was a machine that confined you to nowhere outside the room? Every day you feel pain and suffering, knowing that short of some miracle breakthrough, you will never escape it until death?

 

Me rather die.

 

Same here, i'd rather be dead than a vegetable. Keeping me alive in such a state of mind, now THAT would be a serious crime.

 

I do believe that people who are terminally ill should be allowed to end their lives if they so desire. On the other hand, Dr. Kevorkian seems to enjoy his work a bit too much for my taste. There have been reports--how truthful I don't know--that he is sometimes forceful in his administration of mercy. If you're doing a paper, this could be a fruitful subject for research.

 

I believe that life is a gift, but when God says it's over, it's over, and no good can come of trying to thwart the Lord on that matter. I trust that in that situation, my family and I (if applicable) after prayerful consideration, can make that decision.

As for Dr. Kevorkian, I don't think a man ought to become famous or rich off the suffering of others. In situations where life is to be ended under such circumstances, the doctor should simply do what he can to make the dying person comfortable and let nature take it's course.

 

Shockingly, I agree with Gnarff on this one.

Assisted suicide is ethically and morally complicated, but much less so when a person can express a clear desire for an end to suffering when there is no reason to believe that it can be fixed. That said, practitioners should not become celebrities of sorts for doing it (although arguably, Kevorkian has done so in the name of raising awareness rather than self-aggrandizement).

Palliative care is a sad reality, and IIRC people always have the right to refuse treatment if they remain able to articulate that wish. My maternal grandmother could; both my grandfathers could not (that experience is why I'm getting a living will). Being able to choose the terms and how it will end is an essential part of a patient's dignity, IMO; it shouldn't be done frivolously, but if there is no reason to hope, there is no justification for prolonging someone's suffering.

Where it gets difficult is when someone cannot communicate that desire (or lack of it). That's not the topic, though...

 

My mother died 15 years ago (at age 48) from lung cancer, she loved to smoke. She died a very painful and terrible death. I remember when she went in to the hospital for the last time. They hooked a morphine drip into her arm. When she got there it would consistantly flash 2, at her death it was flashing 30. I asked one of the doctors what that meant. He explained to me it was the amount of morphine that was being dripped into her to control the pain. I asked him what 30 meant. He replied "If I stuck that in your arm, you would die almost immediately." It still wasn't enough as it couldn't control the pain.

Since then, my dad has repeatedly said "I wish I had had the courage to end her suffering." On the same note he has also said "The judge can go **** himself, I don't care what the law says, I could never convict a mercy killing". I agree with him completely.

Needless to say, if Little Snook (age 9.5 now) ever smokes a cigareete I will beat him to within an inch of life. I don't care if he is in his 30s.

 

Sorry to hear that TGS. My mother died of breast cancer when I was 19, and not only was she in terrible pain, but the rest of the family felt helpless, not being able to do anything to help.

In the end its not quantity of life, but quality. Its best to let the person die gracefully. I had great times with my mother, but it is sad to think of all the pain she had to go through at the end of her life.

 

I have a Living Will and very strong feelings about being kept alive artificially.

Dr. Kevorkian's 'patients' , afaik, were not being kept alive artificially. Some were in great pain but I remember that at least one had Alzheimer's. There was nothing in writing but the family claimed she had requested 'assisted suicide'.

I agree with Gnarfflinger.

 

Gnarf pretty much said it. I've never heard about Dr. Kevorkian though but convicting someone from euthanasia is just wrong, assuming that it actually was euthanasia and not murder. Slow painful deaths are horrible for the patient and the family.

 

If someone specifically asks to die and they are indeed suffering horribly (both physically and mentally) or as in the Schiavo case the life quality is basically 0, then what's wrong with ending a life?

Dang, the day I'm diagnosed with Alzheimers or something of the sort I'd immediately go and try to make sure that when the illness is in a certain stadium I'd get euthanasia. And I'd be very grateful to the doc that did it.

Of course when the doc turns euthanasia into some glam business, something is wrong.

 

I don't believe in keeping artificial machinery up and running if it's just a matter of prolonging it. I don't support the idea of removing feeding tubes, as it's technically starving people even if they can't feel it and we can't always know if they can or not...

As for my life, well... whatever is in for me, I will take. If they needed the organs for someone who will surely make it and my chance were slim, perhaps I'd rather they gave the organs to someone else. Otherwise, I'll take it. It will be over anyway.