Assisted Suicide

[Jo]

How do you feel about it? Do you think that laws allowing it should cover mental illness as well as physical illness?

A court ruled in Switzerland that people with mental illness, meeting certain criteria, can be prescribed sodium pentobarbital. Here is the article (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070203/ap_on_re_eu/switzerland_assisted_suicide_1).

[Lori]

I don't know how I feel about it, mostly because of things like mental illness. I don't agree with someone who is physically healthy but mentally ill being prescribed drugs to commit suicide with, and that seems to be entirely opposed to the job of a doctor. At the same time, I don't agree with a health care provider ending up in prison for helping a terminally ill person in great pain end their lives in what they feel is a dignified way. But, I don't know where the line would or should be drawn. I'm not sure how the decision of which illnesses are bad enough that someone should be able to legally get help to die, and which aren't, could be made.

[Desirae]

I'm against it but it's hard for me. I can understand someone wanting to be out of pain and humiliation, however I think killing someone is wrong, even suicide.

[Brooke]

I have to agree with Lori. The idea of assisted suicide is fine with me. To be honest, we have enough love for our pets to help them when they are in pain and ready to die, but I think it's awful that we don't do that for humans.

If someone is terminally ill and is ready, then I think the means should be available.

Yet, what type of slippery slope does that open? That thought scares me. I need to think some more and come back. ;)

[Lisa]

I think it should be ok for someone to decide when they want to die and to have someone be able to help them if they are unable to do it themselves. I can't see forcing someone to live as much as I can't see forcing someone to die.

Lisa

[Kate]

I believe that everyone should have the right to die with dignity. For some people a good hospice program can allow that, for others it won't, so they should have the right to be allowed to be helped to end their lives peacefully.

As far as mental illness goes, I think it would need to be carefully assessed, but who am I to say that that is any less intolerable than severe physical pain. And realistically, there are some forms of depression eg monopolar disorder, where a person is always severely depressed and totally able to articulate their distress yet be unable to be effectively treated for it. I don't think someone having to live like that should be told they have to just deal with it, because I think that would be as intolerable as severe physical pain.

[Jo]

I am for assisted suicide for the terminally ill. I don't know enough about mental illness to say whether it would be right. I would hope a good dr or ethics board would be involved. It would be hard for the lay person to make a judgment on this issue because the first thing I would think is if the person with the mental illness can really make that decision rationally. If a good system is in place, then I don't see why it should be denied though.

[Val]

I think in the case of terminal diseases and those types of situations, I understand. It's different than a DNR, but it's the same point. Mental illness is hard for me to understand. I'm not sure how they're qualifying a person who could get better with treatment, and a person who made a 'sound judgement' or however the article put it. That would be the bottom line for me on this one- how or where they're drawing the mental illness line.

[Jurgita]

I'm against it but it's hard for me. I can understand someone wanting to be out of pain and humiliation, however I think killing someone is wrong, even suicide.

I agree with Des on this one.

[Lori]

I would hope a good dr or ethics board would be involved.

That's pretty much the way I would hope these issues are resolved. I really don't like the idea of legislation being the way that assisted suicide decisions are made, because it's such a gray area that any sort of blanket policy is going to leave room for lots and lots of problems and potential abuses in either direction. I'd much rather see this be a medical issue, rather than a legal one, and leave the decisions to ethics boards and medical committees, who will make them based on all of the information available on a case-by-case basis.

[Onyx]

Termally ill I am firmly behind it.

I think mentally ill though is a whole other ball game. One of the side effects is often wanting to kill yourself, and it is mostly not a logical though, but a way of trying to get away from the pain. I don't think that someone who is wanting to die because of their mental illness could be declaired sound of mind to make that descision.