Kevorkian

by teejay 6 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  teejay

  Jack "Dr. Death" Kevorkian" was on Sixty Minutes last week. He
  made the unfortunate mistake of video taping one of the times in
  which he successfully assisted a man who wanted his expertise. The
  man had a terminal illness and had trouble breathing. He was
  terrified of choking to death and had made the decision to get it over
  with.

  I wonder how others feel about this. Kervorkian read a simple
  statement to the man to make certain if the man fully understood
  the gravity of what was about to happen. Since I'd taped the program,
  I was able to take the time to write down exactly what it said. It read:

  "I, ____________(your name), the undersigned, entirely
  voluntarily and without any reservation, external persuasion,
  pressure, or duress and after prolonged and thorough deliberation
  hereby consent to the following medical procedure of my own
  choosing. I choose direct injection (active euthanasia) to be
  administered by a competent medical professional in order to
  end with certainty my intolerable and hopelessly incurable suffering."

  The interview included two of the man's brothers, his wife, and his mother,
  all who held no ill-will toward Kervorkian. When you reach "your time," do
  you feel you have the right to execute your own end? Interestingly, Kervorkian
  uses the same drugs, in the same order, as the authorities when they execute
  a criminal by lethal injection. The first puts you to sleep. The second stops the
  breathing by paralyzing the muscles. The third stops the heart.

  I'm all for it. If the gubment can decide for me, then I should be able to decide
  for myself.
• 

  Prisca

  I'm all for euthanasia.

  I've seen cancer patients suffer the effects of their disease and it ain't pretty.

  A person should have the right to decide for themselves if/when/how they are going to die.

  *****************

  One of the wonderful things about leaving the Borg is being able to express your own opinion without looking over your shoulder, worrying that you are not in line with the rest of the party. As a witness, I felt strongly about euthanasia, yet could not express it, fearful that I may be not being politically neutral, or seen to be not obeying Jesus' command that we "be no part of this world".
• 

  Emiliano

  Interesting Subject

  I just had to put my sweet dog to sleep. It was a difficult decision.
  My wife and I love her very much. We whish she could tell us how miserable she felt. Her right leg was paralized and couldnt stand any more. She looked very sad. We wished she could tell us how she felt. Our best judgment told us to put her out of her misery. A very tough decision. Our love for her and not our selfish decision to spare ourselves the pain of having her still around just to please us, moved us to go ahead with it.

  If someone who is in terrible pain can communicate this,when that person has no hope for their situation to improve, I believe the loving thing to do is to allow them to stop their suffering.

  Another point is that Kevorkian is being punished for allowing a person who out of their own pain want to put a stop to thier suffering when their is no hope to improve on the situation. The Watchtower society is responsible for persuading people to not get help(blood transfusions) and choose death when there is hope for improving the situation. How many deaths could have been saved if the watchtower had allowed for a blood transfusion. Im sure the numbers tuly "tower" over those of Kevorkians. More deaths are caused by this no blood stance than all the deaths cause by Jim Jones, Heavens Gate, and David Koresh all put together.
  Does Kevorkian have to start his own religion so that he may be protected from prosecution?

  Go figure. ????
• 

  Thirdson

  I hadn't taken part in the debate about the death penalty but for the record, I oppose the death penalty. I live in a state that does not execute criminals. I feel no sadness for the latest publicised execution of a self-confessed mass-murederer but I thought one thing while this was being reported in the news.

  Timothy McVeigh choose not to fight and appeal his death sentence preferring to die rather than live in a tiny cell for years. If he had, he could have dragged the process on for years and years. Literally, he could have sat on death row for 20 years.

  By choosing not to appeal he hastened his own death. What's the difference between that and those seeking relief from a painful existance by choosing the hastening of death by DR. K?

  It seems wrong to me that the state can take someone's life (death penalty) but you can't ask for someone else to assist you in taking your own.

  Thirdson

  'To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing'
• 

  patio34

  Hi Teejay and all,

  To me it seems to be a given that this should be allowed. As Emiliano eloquently stated, it is done for loved pets who cannot communicate their pain. How much more so, for a loved family member who can communicate their pain and desire to end life with dignity.

  I haven't read any research, but my suspicion is that it's religious views that prevent such mercy for humans, especially Biblical religious views.

  I'm reading a good book on the subject: "The Final Exit" by Patrick Humphrey that tells how to 'do-it-yourself' and not have any loved ones be prosecuted for murder. Not that it's being planned by me now! But, good for future reference.

  It seems that fear of dying takes second place to fear of suffering while dying. It's a comfort to know that there are options to show mercy to yourself and avoid that suffering.

  On a lighter note, y'all have a great day!

  Pat
• 

  teejay

  Watching the segment on Sixty Minutes, I wondered why there are
  laws against it. I tried to come up with a logical reason why
  the authorities deny humans the right to medically end their own
  life. The only "logical" conclusion was that it is in the medical
  communities interest to keep you alive for as long as possible, as
  long as they can gain financially. People with severe, terminal
  illnesses require expensive medicines, treatments, and all those
  hi-tech machines in ICU. They make hundreds of dollars each day you
  stay alive, while i bet those three drugs cost pennies by comparison.

  I bet the AMA has one of the most powerful lobbies in Washington.
• 

  Mommie Dark

  Dr Jack

  Dr. Jack was a quack named Kevorkeian.
  And he works in a shack up in Michigan.
  If you're sick Dr. Jack doesn't make you healthy.
  If you're practically dead he can end it quickly.

  Just lie back and make yourself comfortable.
  Thank you doctor
  How about a magazine?
  We've got People, Newsweek, Time, here's Tomorrow's Woman.
  Oh my!
  Whoops, maybe that's not such a good choice.
  Why is the room spinning?
  This should just take a few minutes.
  Oh dear.
  As soon as we get your credit card authorization we should be good to go.
  The cops couldn't stop Jack, they tried, tried, tried, tried.
  But geezers in his shack just died, died, died, died.
  But they couldn't stop Jack or the I.V. dripping.
  And they couldn't prevent Jack from killing grannies.
  Sorry we can't take checks.

  ***

  a little levity from Bob Rivers Twisted Tunes...

  sorry if it's ghoulish, but ever since I heard this song it runs thru my head whenever I hear his name. (I bet if he heard this song he would laugh his butt off.)

  BTW I think Dr. Jack may be a saint.
  Did you know that Tim Leary once advised Dr. Jack that the best thing he could do is smile and lighten up in public? He took the advice, too, and although some thought it freaky, I think he came off much more 'normal' and approachable after that.

  teejay I suspect you are right about $$ being the guiding rationale for government's refusal to let us have final say over our suffering.