Assisted suicide. Murder, or mercy?

[Synth Salazzle]

This seems like a pretty controversial topic, and I like sparking up debate; so why don't we just jump right into it?

Personally, I feel like it should be for extreme cases, where the person has no chance of avoiding a painful death. Not for everyone who just feels suicidal. It should be used sparingly after exhausting every potential option of treatment.

[Aura]

I agree with your opinion, and I believe someone should have the right to die as they wish, especially if all other options have been explored and exhausted. There's no reason for someone to have to live their life when they're constantly in agonizing pain, waiting to die.

[AyBeCee]

For me, yes, definitely euthanasia is the way to go. To put it in a cliche, there are some fates worse than death. There's a bunch of diseases that can be downright nightmare fuel, like locked-in syndrome.

I'm talking mostly in the medical context, since I am currently studying in that field. Every patient has the right to autonomy. They choose what they want to be done with their bodies. In less extreme cases, we'd be talking about giving consent for divulging their medical history or consenting to medical investigations like blood tests, ECG, etc. But it also includes consenting to more serious stuff like surgeries, chemotherapy, etc. For example, if someone had a fatal medication condition, they might want to decide between another 5 years of relative comfort vs another 10 years of constant discomfort.

I don't see why it should be any different when it comes to assisted suicide. If someone would rather die than live the rest of their life in agony, then I believe it's morally unethical (and personally, I'd go even far to say cruel) to deny them that right. Of course, the patient would have to undergo a series of trials to determine their eligibility for euthanasia, and to see if there is no other option which they would prefer.

A bit of a ramble, but I'm passionate about this topic.

[Mama Bear]

One of the key factors for me, and one that always makes the thorniest problems with the topic of euthanasia, is informed consent. I agree that someone should be able to make well-informed choices about their own lives and bodies, with things like cool-down periods in place to ensure that the patient has time to fully consider the implications of their choice, not just because they were having one particularly bad day. It's much harder when it is instances of people who are not able (either due to unconsciousness or intellectual disability) to make that choice themselves. I remember the Terry Schiavo case getting a lot of attention when I was in high school. It was an example of a patient being in a persistent vegetative state having their feeding tube removed; the patient's husband and parents were divided about what should happen. You start talking about valuing life versus considering quality of life. It can become a slippery slope, because without informed consent who are we to make that decision for someone else, and say that their life isn't worth continuing?

Not a human example, but when my sausage dog Rasputin became paralysed we were told that euthanasia was something we should seriously consider, as he was going to need substantial care for the rest of his life. My husband and I made the call that we would revisit the topic if/when he seemed to be suffering. Despite being a little cripple dog who had no control over his bladder/bowels and wasn't able to move around, he was still happy and loving. In the end we were able to rehabilitate him with physiotherapy- he can't jump and walks with a limp, but we gave him the chance and he took it. That said, his vet called his case a miracle. There are definitely more instances where recovery doesn't happen than those that do, for animals and humans alike.

[Stocking Anarchy]

Hell yes everyone should have the right to die. maybe this is going a bit extreme but I think we should have a euthanasia option included in the do not resuscitate paperwork as well.

My reason for such is because here in Oregon we do allow death with dignity. But this is something that takes many months/years to get approved. It is a preplanned death.

Not everyone has the means or the time to plan out euthanasia. Allowing a human being to die "naturally" in a hospital bed is horrific. Your family is sitting around you while your body lies in a medical induced coma so they don't have to see your body go through seizures. And they just sit there, and wait, and wait, and wait till you starve to death, suffocate, or your organs begin to fail. And the longer it takes for your body to die, the higher those medical bills are racking up for the bed, the drugs to keep you quiet, etc.

Or if you have no end of life insurance or choose hospice at home, then hope that the morphine is delivered on time. My aunt told me that for over 12 hours my great grandmother was in intense pain because the nurse that was supposed to deliver the morphine/administer it at the house never showed up and they had to wait for the next dose.

When there is no treatment or option other than to "make him comfortable," I think it should have been the choice of the patient, or those that have the power to make medical decisions on their behalf, on having that option available to them.


Whenever I think on this debate it reminds me of my friend Reggie and her husband Karl

He had a heart attack at his job, and no one at work did cpr on him, and the defibrillator at the plant didn't work, so he went 15 minutes without oxygen to his brain.

When EMT arrived they started CPR and his heart started right back up, beating on its own. But because his brain was deprived of oxygen for so long, there was too much damage. They had him in a medically induced coma because if they didn't then his body would begin to have violent seizures.

When I sat with my friend Reggie, as she had her children around her, I saw that what had made her husband "Karl" was gone. He was on life support for about two weeks, and Reggie had to make the decision of removing life support. Her youngest son I think was about 12 at the time, and she spoke with all of them to make sure they agreed with the decision before she gave the go ahead. And even after taking him off of life support I think it took him 3 days to finally die.

[Hubble]

Forgive my wall of text, but if you read everything you'll understand.

The way I see it and my opinion, is I didn't ask to be brought into this world, so I should have the right to leave it if I want to.

Especially if I have a chronic condition that results in constant pain and suffering for the rest of my life.

It's kind of a double-edged sword in some cases, for instance people who have a chronic disease or condition that is lifelong with no cure.

Schizophrenia, is one that comes to mind for me because I suffer from it and know what it's like.

-

On one hand, you have somebody who believes with their whole heart that say, the world is 'out to get them', and people want to hurt them, and nobody likes them, and everybody around them is constantly deceiving and lying to them, and they feel completely and totally hopeless, helpless and alone in the world. (I am talking about paranoid Schizophrenia) Which, is 'treatable', yes, but not 'curable' - I find the whole 'treatable' or 'curable' thing kind of BS for certain conditions such as Schizophrenia. Doctors and research will say something is 'treatable', as in your symptoms will not go away but they will 'get better' and 'won't be as severe' - yet at the same time you'll have them for the rest of your life, that doesn't make sense to me, there is no 'kind of' paranoid or 'kind of' hopeless, either you're paranoid or you're not. I believe the reason assisted suicide is frowned upon by most (specifically doctors) is so they can keep you medicated and make a profit off you through the medications they give you for the rest of your life. But anyways, either you're hopeless or you're not. Either you're paranoid or you're not. At least, that's the way I feel. I'm never 'kind of' paranoid that people around me are constantly trying to intentionally upset or annoy me; I'm never 'kind of' paranoid that nobody likes me, I'm never 'kind of' paranoid I'm going to reach a dead end no matter where I go or what I do in life; no, it's 100% - 100% of the time, not 50-50.

Yet, on the other hand, it's just a mental disorder - these things that the person believes to be true, actually aren't, but to them, they are - so they are living in a world of hopeless despair not knowing any better, you could say they are living in a sort of... personal Hell. But again, this person just has a mental disorder, the world isn't actually out to get them, people aren't actually trying to hurt them, but they believe this 110%. So what do you do? What do they do? They don't know any better because they have a lifelong mental disorder that (in most cases) is incurable, so they're always going to be living in this 'personal Hell'... Kind of unfair and wrong to force them to continue living in such conditions, that they didn't choose to have, but yet the dilemma comes into play where like I previously stated it's just a mental disorder, the beliefs actually aren't real or true.

Like I said, I myself suffer from paranoid Schizophrenia and borderline bi-polar personality disorder. (So I don't know, my post here may be a little biased or skewed, but if anything it comes from an educated intent and source) I've been officially diagnosed and put on medications for it. The doctors keep telling me, "Oh, it's not curable, but oh don't give up hope you can manage it, you can live with your symptoms it'll get better." First off, that's pretty shitty to force or tell someone they have to live in constant fear and pain and suffering, and second off, I have done the research myself, I've sat up countless endless nights for years now looking into cures and how it works, it is not curable (in 9/10 cases) and the symptoms are lifelong. I keep hearing from the doctors and reading that it is 'treatable' and my symptoms will 'get better' - but like I said previously, I don't see a grey area of something like a mental disorder or disease such as this, either you're paranoid or you're not, there's no 'kind of' paranoid, there's no 'kind of'' thinking that the world is against you or someone wants to hurt you, or that everyone is constantly deceiving and lying to you. I'm not going to 'kind of' think that my next door neighbor or my family and friends are plotting against me, no, either I'm going to believe it or I'm not.

That being said, and how it relates to this subject, I will admit yes there are times where I feel like my life ending would be an end to all the pain and 'personal Hell' that I go through every second of every day, why wouldn't it? The dead know nothing. When you're dead, that's it, you're dead, there's no pain, there's no suffering, that is, if you believe you won't go to Hell anyways for committing suicide (if you believe in certain religions). But then at the same time there's the 1/10 chance that it could be cured some day, so why give up what very little amount of hope I have when there is a small chance things will change? But then again, that's what they say, and it could be just like I said so they can milk you for money for your medications and therapy for the rest of your life. But, you're faced with kind of a dilemma there. You could just end it all, and feel and be nothing but a rotting dead corpse, or you could live with the symptoms (most likely for the rest of your life) and be in a 'personal Hell' anyway... I feel people who have mental disorders/diseases like this are just born with the short end of the stick, for lack of a better term. They are either born with the condition, or predisposed to the condition that is lifelong, end up developing it, and have no choice but to suffer and be in a lose-lose situation as long as they live.

All that being said, I still think that assisted suicide should be legal for certain conditions and diseases.

But now you could interject religion and religious beliefs here of-course - I'm talking about how you go to 'Hell' if you kill yourself, (I believe the term [kill yourself] applies to you yourself actually doing the deed as-well as somebody else doing the deed [assisted suicide]) but that would just make your God that you believe in look bad and sort of contradict itself. What kind of loving and caring and compassionate and etc. all-powerful God would make somebody go through a 'personal Hell' - by not ending their own life and living life with a mental disorder that they can't control - to get to Heaven? What kind of God would give them this condition in the first place? Again, people with such chronic conditions are in a lose-lose situation, they end their life by committing suicide, they go to Hell for all of eternity. They live through their mental disorder and are the 9/10 statistic of not being cured and go through a lifetime of 'personal Hell' - not very fair when they were born with a condition that makes them feel like they're already in Hell, or they go to Hell either way.

And I'm just using Schizophrenia as an example that I go through, Schizophrenia isn't even the worst disease or condition or mental illness or whatever category you want to use out there, there are far worse disorders and illnesses that people have to live with, their whole life, and it doesn't seem very fair or loving to me. At all.

But while writing this the saying "In order to appreciate the good you have to experience the bad" kind of pops into my head. So, perhaps you have to go through Hell to get to Heaven? At least, that's what I'd like to believe. But again, in the Bible, the Christian Bible at least, I don't know about other religions, it says that all of your memories of Earth will be gone and you will be reborn in Heaven, you will not see your family or friends, you will not have your Earthly belongings, so what you do and go through on this Earth, really doesn't matter 'in the end' (and not to attack or mock the Christian religion, but that seems kind of like brainwashing to me. You live a life on Earth, whether painful or not, and all your memories and everything are just wiped away and you're a 'new person' in Heaven. Kinda makes life on Earth seem pointless in every sense to me, unrelated to other areas that may call for labelling life as pointless).

I don't mean to attack, or sound sarcastic or snarky about any religion, nor do I mean to bring religion into this whole subject in the first place, but it's kind of hard not to when dealing with the subject of suicide, because in the Bible it strictly says that, unless you repent and truly ask for and want forgiveness for your sin(s), murder, in this case - which although all sins are 'mortal' sins and can be forgiven, is one of the worst sins a human can commit - you go to Hell. So when you commit suicide, you're killing yourself, and you cannot ask for forgiveness because, well, you're dead. So you go to Hell if you commit suicide, and suffer for all of eternity, or on the other hand, you live a life of 'personal Hell' and see no end, or hope or light in the darkness, and you have no control over it because you were born with or developed a chronic lifelong, mind-altering condition.

I'd love to whole-heartedly believe that things aren't fabricated against me and that the world isn't 'against me' - why wouldn't I? I don't and didn't choose to suffer every second of every day, most likely, for the rest of my life, due to a mental illness that I have no control over - but I have a chronic condition that skews my perception of things around me, so although you may say I have 'insight' into the whole ordeal and I can recognize to some extent that I just have a mental illness, I will never believe otherwise and I will always have a cement belief that people are 'out to get me' and are 'against me'. There is no grey area where I think otherwise, so essentially I'm in that lose-lose situation I mentioned earlier - if I kill myself I go to Hell, while at the same time if I keep living my life I'm already in a 'personal Hell' I guess the only difference is that one is for eternity and the isn't? But then again, that contradicts a loving, caring, compassionate and all-powerful God - why would a God make you go through Hell to get to Heaven - most especially when all of your memories and belongings on Earth will not carry over with you. I don't know, it's all kind of a paradox and sort of dilemma to me.

The only thing that's keeping me away from suicide honestly is my dad. While on one hand I have the skewed perception and belief that he, along with all 7 billion other people on Earth are 'against me' etc. etc. - I still have that small little voice and 0.1% belief that I'm wrong, I just have a mental illness, and he loves me, and that if I killed myself he would be losing his only son that he has now - and I love him, so I don't want to hurt him. Hell, I cut myself and I could tell he was very hurt, so I can't imagine how it would make him feel if I flat out killed myself. So I guess where I'm going with this, is even if you have a chronic, lifelong condition that makes you feel like you are in a 'personal Hell' - just don't give up man.

I'm not going to hit you with that stupid BS cliche of "oh it gets better nyah nyah nyah" because sure for some people it might get better, and it may help them get through a struggle, but the reality of it is, for some people things don't get better. So instead of using that cliche, I will say that even if you have no-one, (I'm lucky enough to have my dad) even if you have nothing but the clothes on your back, you still have yourself at bare minimum, and I believe that is the biggest struggle in this world for a lot of people, learning to love and live with themselves. If you can learn to love and live with yourself, all other problems are bugs on the windshield, and learning to love and live with yourself are your wipers :)

[haiqtpi]

There are obviously different approaches to take on the issue, but if an individual wants to die, who are we to say no? One thing that pushed me away from clinical psychology and psychiatry was the idea that suicide or the desire to die are "abnormal." I never could accept that idea, and I just left the field. While it may be true that many of us experience moments where we "want to die," we can agree that most of the time, that time passes--ie suicide is seen as a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Sure, it can be a mistake which you cannot come back from--but who cares? I get that suicide affects others--loved ones, friends, etc, but I view this as incredibly selfish. How is it more right to keep someone alive against their wishes because you are afraid of being hurt or affected by their death? The human mind is so incredibly complex and you can never really be inside of another person's head. You hate hurting, no? Why would you force someone to endure because you think that suicide is "wrong?" Ill also point out that throughout human history, suicide has been incredibly common--perhaps slightly less so with the rise of Christianity, but it has never gone away.

If anything, assisted suicide allows someone to die with more dignity, and saves loved ones from even more gruesome sights and realities if you did it yourself. Assisted suicide also allows for closure--there are conversations and others involved, if anything, this allows someone adequate time to change their mind, if that is what you are worried about. I hate how people are so interested in what happens in people's bedrooms, bathrooms, and now, desires to live/die.

TLDL; I do not care if you have terminal illness or just want to kill yourself--I do not see a reason why assisted suicide should be viewed as murder

[Charmander]

With working in healthcare and seeing multiple individuals with varying injuries/illnesses I personally am on board with Medical Assisted Dying. Where I live Medical Assisted Dying became legal last year, you just need to find a doctor who is willing to do itv. I have always thought that if I were in these individual's shoes I personally would not want to be confined to an ICU bed as my family watches me die. I would not want to be in the hospital or secured care unit with Alzheimer's/Dementia and hurt my family when I cannot remember them or have outbreaks. I would like to exit the world on my own terms instead of waiting for a disease to ultimately take me.

I feel that if an individual with a chronic degenerative illness such as ALS, MS, Alzheimers/Dementia etc should have the ability to decide if they want to continue on when their quality of life has deteriorated so much. However, I feel like a process needs to be in place where the individual is consistent with their decision to end their life. For example, a set statement in a Living Will/End of Life Plan/Goals of Medical Care stating that specifics on if their abilities/health deteriorated to a specific point that they would want Medical Assisted Dying. This is especially important for those who end up with Dementia/Alzheimer's later in life as doing this once diagnosed may be more difficult and same for the next part I will mention. In addition I think multiple sessions with an MD/Psychiatrist to ensure that this in indeed what the individual wants. I don't think it should be a decision that is made on a whim.

[regimes]

yes, i absolutely think assisted suicide/ euthanasia should be an option.
my grandma wasted away for 3 months after we knew the cancer was terminal, and she suffered so much.
if death is unavoidable, i think it should be an option. it would be more humane than letting someone die slowly.

also i'd like to think that if i ever woke up from an accident and i was paralyzed from the neck down, someone would put me out.

[apricotbelly]

As someone who works in Hospice, death with dignity (I think assisted suicide and euthanasia undermine) is a basic human right.

[bbuilder]

One of the key factors for me, and one that always makes the thorniest problems with the topic of euthanasia, is informed consent. I agree that someone should be able to make well-informed choices about their own lives and bodies, with things like cool-down periods in place to ensure that the patient has time to fully consider the implications of their choice, not just because they were having one particularly bad day. It's much harder when it is instances of people who are not able (either due to unconsciousness or intellectual disability) to make that choice themselves. I remember the Terry Schiavo case getting a lot of attention when I was in high school. It was an example of a patient being in a persistent vegetative state having their feeding tube removed; the patient's husband and parents were divided about what should happen. You start talking about valuing life versus considering quality of life. It can become a slippery slope, because without informed consent who are we to make that decision for someone else, and say that their life isn't worth continuing?


This. Unfortunately there is no widely accepted form or test that can identify who should and should not be able to make that decision. Also, we know that people that fail to commit suicide often regret the attempt, but no one who is successful is able to come back and tell us it was a good idea. Legally speaking it would be a difficult position and risk for a physician to authorize such a thing as well.

[Elf]

I think it should be allowed in dire situations, like when a person is a "vegetable" or has a completely terminal diagnosis and they don't want them to suffer, and the patient and their family consent to it. There are many situations with severe burn victims, people who are maimed in an accident or attack, or similar, where I cannot imagine being that person and being alive and having to suffer through it until you die.

The only issue I have with this is the notion that health insurance, or lack thereof, could lead to death. Like, instead of treating your cancer, they'll have life ending drugs be cheaper so they don't have to cover you. This could also lead to a eugenics type situation where they give life ending drugs to people the government starts deeming unworthy of treatment or living... So I think is this were allowed, there would need to be intense regulations and laws on the matter to prevent things from happening.

I see a lot of anti-assisted suicide related stuff coming from the church my parents go to, and whilst I see the cons, their main argument is "to die with dignity" which I think, honestly, means you can die before the immense pain of slowly fading from a brain tumor you won't survive with... to me, at least. I'd like the option to die before the immense suffering of myself, or others if I were in a non-responsive state, if I were in a situation like that.

[franbow]

I think we should just let everyone who wants to die die painlessly. We're already super overpopulated as it is.

[Raichuu]

I think you can spin it either way. It's very difficult. I am in the medical field, and personally, medically assisted suicide goes against everything I believe in. I would not want to be the person to do this, for that reason. In fact, until I had actually seen someone suffering to an unimaginable extent, I would have said I disagree with the idea completely. Now, though, I can say in certain situations I do not disagree with it. I still would never agree to being the provider to carry out medically assisted suicide (and luckily I would never have to, as my physician would instead), but I cannot say I should deny a terminally ill patient the right to end their suffering. Some of these conditions are just unbearably cruel, and I don't think anyone without chance of recovery should have to suffer, and I don't think anyone with a loved one suffering from such a thing would disagree.

I would argue suicide is a basic human right, because it is their body and their choices... But if death is avoidable I don't think someone should resort to suicide. Unavoidable, terminal illness; sure. I think it's only humane to follow someone's wishes in such a situation.

[wajack]

I believe everyone who is suffering from terminal illness has a fundamental right to die with dignity. I have personally watched my own family suffer from terminal illness, and they had their lives dragged out against their wishes by other family members. It's horrible.

The lines start getting blurry when you include non-terminally ill people who wish to die.

[salsadog]

I think it should be a thing. Like someone already said, if I was paralyzed all over my body, I definitely want to die. I'm a loner so it's a lifestyle I will never adjust to. Just harvest my organs and give it to people with functioning bodies; then take me out to see Jesus.

[LoveOfMySoul]

This question was something, I was asked to write for a paper in my class a few months back, I won't post the entire report but as this question is very controversial I will put my 2 cents into it. Feel free to leave some feedback and questions anyone may have.

In this debate article, I will be discussing the affects and my views on whether or not euthanasia should be made legal within England.
As for something very personal and close to me. I believe strongly that there are two sides to every coin. I do believe it should be made legal, my opinions stem from my job in healthcare for a number of years, I have seen the affects terminally ill patients have had on families and on themselves. I believe it must be made legal people should be in control of their own life till mental capacity allows them to be. I feel like suffering so much with almost anything and a person should deem it is right that they should end their life - it is a major aspect of someones life, which needs to be respected no matter what the opposing party says. There is only so much you may feel or relate to another person. Euthanasia allows someone to end their life peacefully and pain-free. Many terminally illnesses do not offer that, the foreseeable future with a terminal illness is very difficult for families and causes a lot of pain whilst palliative care is offered it merely prolongs their life, not necessarily adding quality, it simply maintains the level of dignity as best as it possibly can. I feel like to some families it offers closure of knowing their loved one will die on a specific time and place of free will and not just something random they have had to wake up one morning and realize. Zurich is the only place in Europe which allows this to take place and already a lot of people have attended from all over different countries, this shows the tremendous affect it has given to people and the opportunity to die gracefully. The right to die in dignity applies to everyone and we must respect that. Patients who request euthanasia are often driven by terminal illness, this allows the person to conclude their death. The desire to not become a burden for family members is also a triggering factor.

On the other hand, Euthanasia should not be deemed legal first and foremost, the debatable argument about religion. For example the bible states "thou shalt not kill". so the whole idea becomes very unethical to some people. Euthanasia can also become a first resort to people leading to broken families and unnecessary deaths. I do believe it should be made legal but also have some strict ruling around it. As euthanasia is very successful all over Europe, freewill and quality of life outweigh any other issues. Freewill is a huge factor within issues such as Euthanasia.

[butternut]

It all depends on the situation I would say. I don't think for someone not terminally it would be considered okay.

[Eed]

Personal opinion: if it's a terminal condition and they're practically skin and bones or horribly far gone, by all means. Also, for certain chronic conditions that lower someone's quality of life until they're a mere shell of human being. Ex: Really Advanced Dementia and Alzheimer's, that disease that turns your whole musculature into bone, becoming a total human vegetable, etc. I told my friends and family that I completely lose myself mentally or become a total vegetable, please trip over my life support cords.

[SomeClown]

I think if the meat is medium rare, keep cooking it.

Mortality is a HUGE issue in humans simply because we have that personal sense of it. It's no one's RIGHT to make ANY decision over someone's life. Not even your own. Being not only a murder survivor, but a suicide survivor...fighting for your life will take a LOT of courage. you may not see a suicide as a courageous thing...but think about some people.

How long and hard did they fight for any level of affection, for their job, their family..anything?! And to the peopel that are getting fucked over for saving their own lives, but being imprisoned for bashing their face the fuck in after raping them repeatedly for ANY period of time...fuck it, stab em the fuck up on the inside.

No, seriously, don't do that though....The way the world works, and always has...is fucked...but I doubt we will ever grab a true sense of how to deal with life..until we accept what life is.

...

A Fight for The End

[Foxglove]

Sometimes what you see is people at the end-stage will fight and cling onto life until they have fulfilled some final purpose (e.g. finally got to see a long lost daughter who disappeared from their life because of an argument several years ago, who finally came to make up and say good bye), and then they feel at peace enough to let go.
But what if you have all your affairs in order and you feel ready to go, and you're suffering and don't want to see yourself decline even more than you already have, but the healthcare team is estimating that you have another 2 months to live? Of course that's only one of so many scenarios for why a person might consider the option of assisted suicide.
Palliative care is a really difficult field to be in, from watching the suffering and the pain, to seeing those moments where you watch as the patient is fighting to cling onto their dignity as they feel it slipping away... When a person is at end-of-life, where there is no cure and your condition is only going to decline until you die, all the healthcare team can really do for you is try to make your last days as comfortable as possible.
That said, dying is STILL a difficult and painful process, and it's worse when it's extremely prolonged. I think the option for euthanasia should be out there, but of course it's a very serious decision to make so of course there needs to be a ton of assessments and check-ups done up until the actual procedure, and it should be stressed by EVERYONE that it is completely OK to change your mind at any time -- just to make sure that the patient is absolutely sure that assisted suicide is truly what they want.

Also on a more personal note (I hate to romanticize the concept but this is just my personal preference/thoughts), my idea of how I would like to die has always been that I would like to die at old age, peacefully, when I am ready, surrounded by the people I love. To be able to say my goodbyes, and then when I am ready, to give the go-ahead. I know that this isn't always possible when you allow a natural death. For the above reasons, and just also I remember this one story from a woman I cared for really resonated with me... The flu and pneumonia are particularly lethal for geriatric patients, and this one woman's husband caught the flu and died very suddenly. Her family had rushed to the hospital and they had a very large family, so first the grandchildren went in to say their goodbyes, then the children, and the finally by the time it was her turn to say goodbye to her husband, the man she had built a life and a beautiful big family with, he had already passed... she was heartbroken that she never got the chance to say goodbye to him. I know the context differs from the context where someone might consider euthanasia, but I personally would just like the option to be there, so that if I'm terminal and extremely old and feel it is finally my time to go, that I can have that opportunity to have my family there with me as I pass peacefully into death.

[SomeClown]

Sometimes what you see is people at the end-stage will fight and cling onto life until they have fulfilled some final purpose (e.g. finally got to see a long lost daughter who disappeared from their life because of an argument several years ago, who finally came to make up and say good bye), and then they feel at peace enough to let go.
But what if you have all your affairs in order and you feel ready to go, and you're suffering and don't want to see yourself decline even more than you already have, but the healthcare team is estimating that you have another 2 months to live? Of course that's only one of so many scenarios for why a person might consider the option of assisted suicide.
Palliative care is a really difficult field to be in, from watching the suffering and the pain, to seeing those moments where you watch as the patient is fighting to cling onto their dignity as they feel it slipping away... When a person is at end-of-life, where there is no cure and your condition is only going to decline until you die, all the healthcare team can really do for you is try to make your last days as comfortable as possible.
That said, dying is STILL a difficult and painful process, and it's worse when it's extremely prolonged. I think the option for euthanasia should be out there, but of course it's a very serious decision to make so of course there needs to be a ton of assessments and check-ups done up until the actual procedure, and it should be stressed by EVERYONE that it is completely OK to change your mind at any time -- just to make sure that the patient is absolutely sure that assisted suicide is truly what they want.

Also on a more personal note (I hate to romanticize the concept but this is just my personal preference/thoughts), my idea of how I would like to die has always been that I would like to die at old age, peacefully, when I am ready, surrounded by the people I love. To be able to say my goodbyes, and then when I am ready, to give the go-ahead. I know that this isn't always possible when you allow a natural death. For the above reasons, and just also I remember this one story from a woman I cared for really resonated with me... The flu and pneumonia are particularly lethal for geriatric patients, and this one woman's husband caught the flu and died very suddenly. Her family had rushed to the hospital and they had a very large family, so first the grandchildren went in to say their goodbyes, then the children, and the finally by the time it was her turn to say goodbye to her husband, the man she had built a life and a beautiful big family with, he had already passed... she was heartbroken that she never got the chance to say goodbye to him. I know the context differs from the context where someone might consider euthanasia, but I personally would just like the option to be there, so that if I'm terminal and extremely old and feel it is finally my time to go, that I can have that opportunity to have my family there with me as I pass peacefully into death.

That is ideal...and insightful...warms me a bit to see passion from elsewhere :)

Furthering that idea of old death..I REALLY hope I get to pull a Bill Murray and take two "last breaths"...i'm just that kinda guy...though...ill probably die really alone and be the only one that gets to chuckle at the second to last as i die...

[earthanimal]

I'm all for it. That may make me sound like a cynic (which i probably am), but we really have more than plenty of people on this planet. I can really understand not wanting to be alive, and it should be okay to decide to die. It doesn't have to be dark or sad, death is just part of the cycle and it can be a beautiful thing.