What is Digg?175 Comments
- nblsavage, on 07/06/2008, -12/+92Her life, her choice. Get over it.
- icndvl, on 07/05/2008, -9/+82This is a very serious decision, however someone of sound mind should be free decide if they wish to die early. The problem is of course, how do you prove they were not coerced or pressured into making the decision?
- inactive, on 07/06/2008, -10/+66If she wants to die let her die, sheeesh, just don't make it messy
- goofygarber, on 07/06/2008, -7/+52If someone wants to end their life, they're going to do it - whether it through a clean, monitored process or with a jug of Drano. I don't think its the government's place to deny that right, but I do think it should be heavily monitored and regulated to prevent... yano, murders.
- lisaawesome, on 07/05/2008, -8/+41I would think it would be fairly difficult to pressure a patient who is of sound mind into wanting to commit suicide if they have no desire to kill them self otherwise. I think even if the patient wasn't totally with it that it is a difficult seed to plant in their mind. Honestly, even if the woman in this story only wanted to die out of depression and fear it is ultimately her choice. She has lived a full life and obviously did not want to deal with the difficulties of aging. It's not a short sided decision for her. She is unlikely to live for more than another decade and doesn't have a world of endless opportunities ahead. Instead she has to look forward to her health declining possibly to a point where she cannot do much if anything on her own.
- DiggzDE, on 07/06/2008, -2/+28The first steps toward an official Suicide Booth.
Futurama speaks Truth. - franklymister, on 07/06/2008, -4/+29What role does any government have in telling people when they are allowed to end their own lives?
- jtbell04, on 07/06/2008, -1/+25For *****'s sake... WRITE LEGIBLY.
- thomsonr, on 07/06/2008, -3/+25It should be your choice regardless.
I watched my father waste away from cancer and eventually end up in a diaper. I have no desire to have my family watch the same. - ileftfark, on 07/06/2008, -1/+22While your statement is statistically accurate, most suicide survivors are much younger (teens to twenties), and tend to be female (not really relevant, just added demographic info). Males have a much higher "success" rate of suicide, due to methods chosen (guns and strangulation - hangings-, mostly).
The difference is that these younger people often are in a fragile state of mind, and a suicide attempt is a cry for help and attention (it's cliche, but for good reason). Generally, after a half-hearted attempt (eating too many Tylenols or something equally ineffective), they finally receive the help they need, and all the attention they need to get out of their rut. Once 'normality' has been established in their lives, their actions seem foolish (reasonably so), and they therefore regret that decision.
However, when we're talking about the elderly, who were once proud young forces of life who now see themselves disintegrate into a shadow of their former selves- many poor, alone, in constant pain, unable to care for themselves in a reasonable manner, etc, it's a much different situation and completing the life cycle doesn't seem like such an unreasonable request.
/.02 - MikeMitchell, on 07/06/2008, -7/+27We used to have this high rise retirement/nursing home where I used to live, and elderly people used to jump to their deaths all the time.
If you want to die, why shouldn't the state be willing to help ease the pain, not only on the patient, but the family. - GregIsLegend, on 07/06/2008, -12/+30I plan to kill myself before ever needing to live in a nursing or assisted living home. Once my time is up and I no longer contribute anything to society and find myself needing the support of others I will lift their burden and step out with dignity. I won't waste away in some old folks home or subject myself to the experience of watching my body fall apart until I eventually find myself incontinent in a bed hooked up to a ventilator where my relatives will just wind up deciding whether or not I stay alive anyway.
- gasoline, on 07/06/2008, -2/+20Not many of your friends will be around when you're 79. Perhaps you've even seen your children die.
Sad. - inactive, on 07/06/2008, -1/+18If you want to kill yourself you should be able to do so.
- RobotBuddha, on 07/06/2008, -4/+19Agreed. I don't think people really grasp what old age means, because western society usually just tosses the majority of them away from our site. The small minority who do better than the rest are all that we see. There is nothing dignified about the last years of most peoples lives. I love life, I've been in an number of accidents and clawed my way back from each one of them because there's so much I want to do with it. And with all that, I'm still planning on suicide when it's apparent to me that the things I value in this life are no longer available to me, and that the only thing I'm able to do is suck the time, money, and energy from loved ones. People who say that death while in the grip of the assorted diseases and dementias of old age should have to actually spend time with the people screaming at imagined demons from their past, or having strangers change their diapers. That's about as far from dignified as I can imagine.
- Tyrghast, on 07/06/2008, -1/+15The problem is 'of sound mind'. Many more conservative psychiatrists would say "If someone is open to the idea of assisted suicide, that's a clear indication of not having a sound mind". At it's core, this debate is truly about how you define sanity. If we lived in a world where the norm was to kill yourself on your 40th birthday, and you decided you'd like to live to see 41, many people would call you insane.
- Hananda, on 07/06/2008, -3/+16"i find the whole idea repulsive."
Hey, so long as you don't try to force your opinion on others, feel free to be repulsed.
"Nietzsche describes how life will fray at the ends, as Christianity fades out. I can't understand why anyone would want to live in a world where weak looking newborns are left on the hillside to die and the elderly as regarded as useless, and yet so many people are pushing for it"
Non sequitur. The children of the elderly aren't signing them up for assisted suicide. The person itself must make the decision.
Besides, leaving infants to die of exposure is murder, while viewing the elderly as useless is common sense. A senile invalid is good to no-one, and its continued existence is an insult to the person it once was. There's nothing incorrect about allowing a person to die with dignity if it chooses to do so. - randyzaia, on 07/06/2008, -9/+21I see nothing wrong with this.
- ZenMojo, on 07/06/2008, -2/+14In the absence of moral dilemma and emotional instability, self-decession should be a human right.
- reaver, on 07/06/2008, -0/+11poor lady never married, had no friends, or family...
that makes me sad. - Dralha, on 07/06/2008, -3/+14It was a choice between death with dignity and death after years of abuse at the hands of twisted nursing home operators. She made a good choice. She made the right choice.
- TalahRama, on 07/06/2008, -0/+11In Minnesota, there are large billboards that say, "Prevent SUICIDE: Talk to your doctor today." Only the prevent part is small and off in a corner, so it seems like it's advertising suicide. The unintended hilarity is immense.
- imightbewrong, on 07/06/2008, -2/+14many people in nursing homes and especially assisted living communities continue living fulfilling lives. "no longer contribute anything to society" sounds like natural selection brain washing. How do you think it make your children feel to know that instead of being a grandparent you killed yourself?
- Llort, on 07/06/2008, -2/+13Does your life belong to your government?
- CannedMango, on 07/06/2008, -1/+11There's no reason to shy away from the term "assisted suicide".. that's exactly what it is. There's nothing wrong with it and taking that right away from people is taking away control over their very own fate. So if there's a negative connotation with the term "suicide" it is our society that needs to change, not the words we use.
- DiggzDE, on 07/06/2008, -6/+16auf Wiedersehen
- JoeVet, on 07/06/2008, -1/+11Yes, kill yourself. You are free to choose. Mum and Gran will have to decide for themselves. No one but themselves can decide if their life is worth living. And twenty year olds will always do stupid things and you can't legislate them to stop.
- TinternAbbot, on 07/06/2008, -1/+11What if an 18 year old wanted to be euthanized?
- Tyrghast, on 07/06/2008, -0/+9Right, that's exactly how it is. Except for that one bedridden guy in Ft. Worth last year who was 80 years old, living on social security, didn't have the money to repair his small air conditioner and died from heatstroke once the summer rolled around. Besides that 'isolated' example, being old and dependent on the grace of the government is so kickass, right? I'm so looking forward to dying alone, in my chair watching Wheel of Fortune, not even strong enough to lift my arm and wipe the sweat off my brow.
- apetrie, on 07/06/2008, -1/+10Who wants a world where weak looking newborns are left to die? Seriously, what a bunch of crap. We go to great lengths to keep babies alive, even when they are likely to lead very tough lives because of their problems. If you believe that its simply religion or Christianity specifically that fuels that, you are really blind to human nature. Read up a little on humanism, religion is not the only reason to value life.
That being said, believing that an elderly person has the right to decide when to end their lives, and believing that ALL of the elderly are useless or should be gotten rid of are completely different things! - cgbspender, on 07/06/2008, -0/+9I am all in favor of giving people the choice to do with their lives what they want. But the big problem is that old people (and others who do not benefit society) might be bullied by society and the state into ending their lives. Then you have no free choice anymore.
Just look at how the elderly are treated today, shut away into nursing homes. Instead of giving them the chance to go on with their lives at their pace, nursing homes make money of them vegetating like cattle on a farm. As their victims are unable to defend themselves and their families pay lots of money to have these "obstacles" removed some unscrupulous (not all of course) nursing homes constantly violate human rights to make even more profit.
I understand this woman's fear of nursing homes, but suicide is not a long term solution to it. Its not a big step from letting the elderly live like cattle to bullying them into suicide - all in the name of their "worthlessness". - steveoco, on 07/06/2008, -2/+11I think humans have the right from birth to do what they want with their bodies. That could mean putting any drug or even a knife into it. Assisting someone in their death however brings up some other issues.
- djholybolt, on 07/06/2008, -1/+10Unless nblsavage wanted to voluntarily do it, what you just asked for is out of context to why the lady wanted to commit suicide.
- nedy78, on 07/06/2008, -0/+9Icndvl said correctly. If all sides are well informed and the decision is made, so be it. Free will.
- shadekeiko, on 07/06/2008, -1/+10As someone who is currently watching my 94 year old grandmother waste away in a nursing home, I completely agree with you. She is currently refusing to take her medication and refusing to eat. She told a nurse there that she wants to die. Why should it have to be such a painful process when euthanasia could be available for people like her? I wish she had that option, for her sake.
- inactive, on 07/06/2008, -1/+10Are you high?
- spookyttws, on 07/06/2008, -0/+8Suicide Booth Recording: Please select mode of death. Quick and painless, or slow and horrible?
Fry: Yes, I'd like to make a collect call.
Suicide Booth Recording: You have selected slow and horrible.
Bender: Good choice.
Suicide Booth Recording: You are now dead. Thank you for using Stop and Drop, America's favorite Suicide Booth since 2008. - mithrasinvictus, on 07/06/2008, -1/+9Maybe thats because, since its taboo, there is no system to verify they have thought the decision through.
If you regulate it you can have a 6 month grace period to contemplate the decision before allowing someone a graceful death. - realityseer, on 07/06/2008, -2/+10it is completely her own business if she wants to die, to avoid a crappy life in a wheel chair in a stinking nursing home, its rediculous to house these people whose quality of life is so poor, and all for the almighty buck or some religious jerks beliefs. we all have a right to die if we want too. let her rest in peace and mind your business.
- Murdats, on 07/06/2008, -0/+8I believe an option would be to have euthanasia legalised but have a 6 months - 1 year waiting period, so if it is just you being in the dumps you have plenty of time to recover and change your mind. this would weed out the ones who arent serious, however it does mean that those who want to die right now will do it some less pleasant way, but those are probably the ones not of sound mind.
- bdav87, on 07/06/2008, -4/+12Most suicide survivors regret their decision.
- Dustin00, on 07/06/2008, -3/+10Pushing for it???? We already do regard the elderly as useless. Most people put their parents in assisted living when they can no longer care for themselves.
Nobody keeps grandpa in their house so he can tell them another story each night.
Just forcing them to live in a nursing home is NOT valuing them, I don't blame this woman one bit. - inactive, on 07/06/2008, -3/+10You're a dick.
Block! - franklymister, on 07/06/2008, -1/+7Whatever the government doesn't prohibit, by definition it condones.
I'm pretty sure that being sent to a nursing home when you're eighty years old is going to have impact on your life, yes, even after two months.
It's not the government's role to prohibit people from committing suicide, so I guess technically it "condones" it. Your perspective assumes that governments are supposed to fill a role like parents - I disagree. - Murdats, on 07/06/2008, -0/+6i know you are trying to be funny but you fail.
do you think its the law stopping emo's from commiting suicide? - Rikkochet, on 07/06/2008, -0/+5Really? Helping the elderly to end their lives because you respect their wishes strikes me as a hell of a lot more noble and progressive than patting them on their simple old heads and telling them they just don't get it anymore and should go back to bed.
- enri, on 07/06/2008, -4/+9That is the advantage of assisted suicide. It is well documented and painless.
- Rikkochet, on 07/06/2008, -1/+6Can't you get the difference?
Euthanasia is when someone is unable to take their own life and wants someone to end their life.
Assisted suicide is when someone helps a person die - be it euthanasia or simply providing information and/or means to do it, like in the case. This case was NOT euthanasia - the woman committed suicide. -
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