Assisted Suicide

[SkStu]

What are people's thoughts on this? I have to say I find it quite shocking and, without having any true appreciation for how these twins felt facing the prospects of little meaningful communication, I can't rationalize this in my mind. I can't bring myself to agree with it (the state involvement part). With the "right to life" at the forefront of people's minds in Ireland, has anyone turned their minds to the "right to die"?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/14/marc-eddy-verbessem-belgium-euthanasia_n_2472320.html


Two Belgian brothers who were born deaf and were slowly going blind chose to end their lives the way they began them: together. The dual deaths of the identical twins last month marked the first reported double euthanasia of twins worldwide.

Marc and Eddy Verbessem, 45, were inseparable during their lives, the Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws reports. Suffering from an incurable illness, the pair shared a room in their parental home before studying shoe repair and moving in together in a small apartment.

But when Marc and Eddy learned they were slowly going blind in addition to already being deaf, the twins feared losing all possible means of communicating with one another. "The thought of only being able to feel each other was unbearable," Het Laatste Nieuws writes, according to a HuffPost translation.
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[peadar1987]

I absolutely support it.

I think, when I go, I'd prefer to do it in a peaceful environment, with my friends and family, under the supervision of a trained professional who would make it as clean, painless and dignified as possible. I don't want to slowly slip away, losing my personality through senility and dementia, being a burden on those around me, or in constant pain from a debilitating illness, and if I'm going to end my life, I'd prefer to do it in a way that's going to be guaranteed successful, and isn't going to traumatise some poor DART driver, or the person who finds me with half my head missing.

[Mr A]

100% believe people have a right to die and to ask for assistance from others where this is needed. Always have done. It's your life, you have a right to end it. Simple as that.

Terry Pratchett did a programme on this issue (last year I think) as he has early onset Alzheimer's and it was one of the most moving pieces of television I've ever seen. He was actually in the room with a guy as he died in Switzerland and had followed him through the process. Very powerful stuff. Pratchett intends to use the same process rather than become completely debilitated by the disease.

Obviously safeguards would have to be put in place to ensure people where of sound mind and not acting on impulse or whatever.

[SkStu]

Not denying the right for someone to take their own lives but not sure about whether the state should be involving itself. Its very dangerous and shaky territory to involve itself in. God, this is just a really sad story. That death seems their only option and that the medical profession agrees feels wrong. I can't explain it any better than that. Then again, I have no point of reference to what they're going through. Either way, it's tragic.

[Spudulika]

I saw this news today about the Belgian twins and really was surprised, and it did seem ott, though there but for the grace of god.

When I think of euthanasia I always smile, not that I'm sick, just I think of the Mary Whitehouse Experience sketch when Steve Punt asks his Granny some question on physics and when she can't answer he shoots her. It helped me last month when I was home and looking at my Dad in a coma and the Doctor telling me that I had to make end of life decisions and then his sisters, my Dad's sisters, not the Doctors, joining in and telling me to make my peace with him. They were all a little in shock when he then began to ask for a cup of tea and wrote down instructions for what he wanted (his laptop to watch dvd's and play solitaire/poker). There was a point (even on NYE) where there was serious case being pushed not to resuscitate him, my brother, sister and I didn't know what Dad wanted so refused. I'm thankful Dad didn't instruct us (previously) on what to do in such a circumstance. But if he had, I'd miss him every day and have lost a friend, but did as he wanted. Plus I'd have relieved him of the pain of living another 30-odd years without seeing Louth win a Leinster or Dundalk relegated again.

[BonnieShels]

I've debated this in seminars and classes before. And until you see a loved one die slowly in front of you for weeks it's difficult to comprehend. To endure that twice is unacceptable.

However, the two debates need to be seperated. I think the idea of someone making a decision to ends someone's suffering is completely different to the situation where a person is making that conscious decision themselves but requires help.