Topic: Should a person with terminal illness be able to end their own life ? (Read 251 times)

Yes. Definitely. We even put down our pets when they are terminally ill because we do not want them to suffer and want them to have a dignified death. Why can't we have the same option as well? Even if there are already studies to be digitally immortal, people who consider embracing it still question if there is an option to have their life ended just in case they want to end their immortality. We should all have that option.

I don't think this should be a choice based on anyone else but the individual person who is actually suffering. I've often seen a lot of people say that suicide is selfish, but I don't think it is, especially if you're truly suffering (and possibly already dying anyway), but you shouldn't have to keep yourself alive just for the benefit of your family who will miss you. I find that is selfish on their part.

Something that has always confused me though is the people who may or may not be terminally ill and/or those that have a very serious illness that makes their life misery who go to places like Dignitas to end their own life when they have the ability to do it themselves. I thought euthanasia clinics like Dignitas were for those people who were disabled or so ill that they were physically unable to take their own life, so need assistance, and they travel to Switzerland because assisted suicide is illegal in their own country and anyone who helps them there can possibly be charged with some sort of manslaughter or even murder.

There's a couple of videos of people on youtube who went to Dignitas and they were all seemingly able bodied and fully functional (even though they had illnesses that made their quality of life very low):

Michèle Causse : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfyxUO4ZsDo
Peter Smedley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXgkNxqYYQQ

Why didn't they just take an overdose at home or something?

If you don't have the ability, you don't have that kind of choice.

You might request it of others, or you might wish it, but if you can't do it, you have to depend on the response of others.

Is this thread really about your choice? Is it about your wish? Is it about your ability?

If you really have the ability, and you really wish it, you will do it. Otherwise you either don't have the ability, or you aren't really wishing it.

Maybe this thread is about how to get others to do for you, something that you are not willing to do for yourself.

I think that everyone has a choice, or at least should have a choice on what they want to do with their life and their body. A few years ago, my grandmother was diagnosed with Lung Cancer and her children all wanted her to get chemotherapy and radiation but she refused any form of treatment. She told them to just let her die because she does not want them to lose money. Sadly, she passed away a couple of months later. It was hard for the entire family, but in the end it was her choice to not get treatment. Even though it was hard, we all know that she is at peace now.

The point is that life is short and that each of us has freewill to do whatever we want with our body and life. Whether it is refusing treatment and awaiting death, or trying to save our lives through treatments or technological singularity.

People aren't animals. People are not wishing pain on someone else. Following God's command to not murder, just might be the thing that keeps a person out of eternal suffering in Hell.

The major reason why God is important is this. Nobody knows for a fact that God and His Bible are not the real thing.

If God is real, then it is important to follow what He says.

Got says to repent from unbelief in what He says - Jesus salvation - and from evil. Murder, even if it is self-murder, is evil. If a person commits the evil of self-murder, he might not have enough time to repent if he thinks better of it. So, it becomes an unforgiven sin in the eyes of God... a lasting imperfection. In eternity, the person will be thrown into Hell.

But even if self-murder is not a sin somehow, or is something that God condones in certain circumstances, there is, in the least, plenty of Biblical evidence that it might be totally wrong. Better to be safe than sorry.

Now, if anyone can prove that God doesn't exist, it's a different story. But the fact of the machine-like universe essentially proves that God exists. Machines have makers.

God is important in everything, but especially important in this because of the lasting effects of death. Not believing God doesn't make Him to not exist.

condolences to your brother or friend ..
a destiny is very unexpected, today or tomorrow we can die. but do not make this make us not perfect, our job is life. as best we can, struggling without despair.
humans are given the brain to think, positive thinking moves forward with confidence.
and in the end God will understand what we want ...
good luck friend ....

I believe that a person with terminal illness should not end their own life. First is that I also believe that we dont have the right to take away our own life. Yes ut would be drastic, but if we would just keep our faith on whoever god we believe to, then we would love to libe everyday. I believe that every struggles that we encounter is just for us tp be strong not be weak to just end our life. And for those who don't suffer like those, let's all be caring and understanding on what they are facing.

And why not? even if miracles happen, it is for the individual to decide if he believes in miracles or not.  But everyone should decide about his life for himself, ill or not! Even if you want to prevent those people from going to hell, we should interfere less with things which are non of our concern.

This is a very debateable topic. Health is a very beautiful thing. We should be thankful for it. I think that the entire decision should depend upon the patient himself. We all should realize that illness makes a man go crazy. We should be caring for the ill people.

I once had an operation and for some reason, for weeks after I just felt the most absolute depression imaginable. It's was very interesting. Luckily it left, but I cannot imagine a person having to live with such a feeling.

Your friend's mom was suffering, it's only natural to want to see her suffering end.

I think it would be even harder for your family if you kill yourself in this situation. They might blame themselves for your death, that they didn't look after you as they should have or something like that. All their lives they will have thoughts that you could have gotten better then.
You never know what will happen in your life. Maybe a sick person will get better? Or maybe he won't. It is not what we know. So in my opinion, it is better to stay in this life for as long as you live.

Having watched my Father die slowly from cancer recently, I certainly think that this should be open to discussion between immediately family and the person concerned.

Ahhh this is a very sensitive topic and can quickly become a very heated discussion. Correct about some countries that allow mercy killing through euthanasia. This allows people to decide if they want to carry on with their life despite being in so much pain or having a terminal illness. For other countries that do not have this option, a sick person, especially one who can fall into a coma anytime or get a fatal attack, they can sign a DNR or Do not resuscitate that will allow natural death to happen.

And yes, under certain circumstances, I believe that a person who is in their right mind should be able to decide if he/she and family should still keep on fighting the fight.

Yes, anyone should have that option, but only if taken during the illness by someone "awake".
I wouldn't allow any kind of instructions for comas or similar situations

This one. If you have a cat and is told that it have a disease that would take a year to progress that would cause it pain, would you let it? That would be selfishness on your part.

I guess the same can be said of humans. It's about the quality of life lived. I'd rather die now if I know that I'll be spending the remaining years of my life in coma with very little chance of waking up again.

Yes, is an sensitive topic, but I agree this. An person with these issues, should be able to decide to terminate life.

It's a very sensitive topic, one that falls hard on the person himself and the family. There
are nations with laws that allow this sort of thing, I assuem they have protocols and arrangements
that handle special cases such as euthanasia and mercy killing. I guess some countriees support
the decisions and rights of terminally ill-patients to make decisions for themselves. Personally I
think it's a sin to resort to such things, it's suicide. In the end it's a personal choice and
it's irreversible in a lot of situations.

This is my opinion too.

I think the people who protest against right to die humanely would argue that if one person with a particular liveable condition were to be allowed to die - that it sets a precedence that others with that same condition are being a burden for not choosing to die humanely also.

I don't think I would want to live as a quadriplegic (paralysis of all four limbs) - I would want to die. I would unquestionanly be a burden.

However, those against right to die fear that other quadriplegics would feel compelled to make the decision to die also - which is nonsense.

Let the individual decide their own faith.

Euthanasia is one of the most controversial and serious issue in discourse people argue about. Is it in favor of the ill? Or in his/her family? Or is it the right thing to do? Well, my take about this would be neither yes or no. I stand by what my belief about any killings that it is not right whatever the reason/s is/are, but in this case, it could be a different take. Yes, it is not right to kill but what if that illness is what kills him/her and makes them feel not alive and slowly dying without even knowing when and how the pain could end. This I think should be based onto how the situation highly requires it and of course, to the ill and his/her family. The decision must be based on those since they will be the one who do get involved about it.

Of course. If you have a dying animal, you'd be arrested for animal cruelty if you don't put it out of its misery. Yet for some reason some people insist that humans in that position should be forced to continue suffering. I won't even pretend to understand what goes on in the twisted mind of someone who would wish further suffering on the sick and dying.

People can suffer terrible pain and it not be life threatening. Or people can live in little to no pain, but life with drastically debilitating limitations.

I think people should be allowed to make their own decision and choose when to live and when to die.

There are institutions that can assist those with illnesses to end their life when they choose to do so. Dignitas in Switzerland is an example. So I guess it's a matter of choice and it will also depend on the religious beliefs of the person.
I cannot imagine the pain a family must go through. My hopes, especially now there so many revolutionizing technologies being developed, is to have a means to not just extend the life of a person, but to enhance it in whatever shape or form the digital world can create.

In the medical field, there is an order called " DNR" or "Do Not Revive" usually, this is carried out by the immediate relatives upon request of the patient. During terminal illnesses, the patient may request to not be revived if an event of an arrest will take place. In my opinion, this is a legal and acceptable way to end a life in the part of the patient . So technically, this thought has always been in practice for quite some time already.

Nobody has the right to take life. If it is their own life or that of another persons life under no circumstances. Terminal illness do not give anybody the mandate to take life until nature takes it's course.Miracles do happen everyday and a ternlnally ill person can recover .

Go to a cemetery. Find an old one that has graves from 200 years ago. Most of these people didn't kill themselves. Yet they were terminally ill or they wouldn't be dead.

What are you really asking for? If you don't have the physical strength to take your own life, you are probably going to die shortly anyway. If you have the strength, but are too chicken to do it, are you asking someone else to do it for you after you take a sleeping pill so that you don't have to watch them do it?

This question is actually very much sensitive, but on my opinion a person have the right to decide for themselves. But if its the casenof ending their own life, it will fall on the category of suicide for which people living in a religious nation will agree that its a mortal sin. If they still insist to end their own life its up to them and their family's approval and it should happen closed doors.

Why do people always bring God in to discussions like this? Your belief in a God should not allow you to dictate what others can do with their bodies.

We accept that forcing animals to live in constant pain is inhumane, but we don't extend the same reasoning to humans? Makes no sense, in my opinion.

Provided the person in question can prove they are of sound mind, or have a valid advanced directive, they should be allowed to die with some dignity.

For me in my opinion, God only allowed to end his patients life, because death arrives at any moment and any age of those person,they have own distiny, no matter are what the reason ,on other hand I'm not supporting doctors to conduct take away patient life, because life  precious,i would support death with dignity because God decides our lives to live or die

Of course they should be able too. Why wouldn't they?

Even if you're not terminally ill you still can choose what you do with your life. It's not like you can make suicide illegal no matter how tragic it is.

Proverbs 24:11,12:

Terminal illness like cancer can cost a lot of fortune. The thing is, modern medicine will not prolong life, it will also extend the suffering not just of the patient but to the family as well. If all hope is gone and resources are drained then i would readily agree to mercy killing.

It is the person who would suffer so I think they should be the one making the decision. If you have a living will and you go brain dead then it would be easy since they'd simply not put you on life support. The problem is if you don't have one. Depending on the country, the doctors might not be allowed to cut off support and so on.

It gets more complicated if you are still conscious. What if you are in constant pain from a condition that so far still have no cure and you are spending your days either in constant pain or sedated? Shouldn't your quality of life also be considered?

Okay *gasps*

For me this is kinda an important topic. And a life question for a long time.
I am not and do not concider myself pessimistic, but I have always wondered what would I do if something happened
I have seen people struggle, and it's just an endless struggle that everyone takes part in...Is it easier for an ill person or his family ?

It's not easy for anyone

Knowing you will most certanly die actually destroys lives around you, everyone is expecting a bad thing...so even that makes the whole thing a lot harder.

Here is my story...something I experienced thankefully not on my skin. I know how my friend had a very big struggle when he found out his mom had cancer. It was just a question, when ? But still there is that hope in people, they've spent fortune on treatment, struggling from day to day hoping something will get better, and that alone makes it so hard for them in the end. Because hope is the thing that destroys them the most if it doesn't turn the way they thought it would. Now she is gone, Rest in peace, and her family is devastated, but they keep on trying their best.

But you know, somethimes they wish she would only die sooner, easier and suffer less.


Thinking about all of this made me realize, I don't want my family to suffer, I think you should have control of your life in that situation. And if the state you are in is really hard and it isn't making it for your family any easier, why you all have to suffer ?

I don't know, I am still thinking about this and just can't come to a conclusion...what do you guys thing ?

Sorry for the long post I think I am just repeating myself but I'm just writing what I am thinking at the exact moment