Discussion If euthanasia was allowed for the emotionally tormented....

[MeltingHeart]

Say theorectically euthansia was legal for the mentally ill (I know in some v. rare cases it has been) & also what I would call the emotionally distraught/ distressed (which I would class as myself - as I have no "formal" mental illness as such other than a deep sense of hopelessness & like my soul is broken (which I believe to be different than clinical depression) ....and given that a lot of people think it is phase that can pass & you can 'recover' from mental anguish...what would you consider rhetorically a fair amount of time for some one to feel in that state before they would be allowed to euthanised .... like a few months , 6 months, a year or more ?! & is the main reason people don't feel the same criteria should be applied to physical pain as emotional pain... because they believe people can & will get over it ...what if they don't? Should they also have to exist in a constant state of pain & anguish all be it an entirely different pain than physical? Lots of questions - but thoughts welcome ( I don't sleep - hence such Q"s at random times)

 

[Darkhaven]

Euthanasia ain't and will never be the answer.
Euthanasia puts all the power of the decision on the doctor's hands.
A "right to die" should be given just like any other right, first you conquer it, and then you're free to use it as long as you don't impact other people's rights doing so, that's the basics of any democratic civilization.
People should be free of prosecution for buying and using barbiturates.
In my opinion, doctors shouldn't have a say in this issue. They aren't "gods" so why should we put these very personal and individual decisions in their hands?

 

[MeltingHeart]

Euthanasia ain't and will never be the answer.
Euthanasia puts all the power of the decision on the doctor's hands.
A "right to die" should be given just like any other right, first you conquer it, and then you're free to use it as long as you don't impact other people's rights doing so, that's the basics of any democratic civilization.
People should be free of prosecution for buying and using barbiturates.
In my opinion, doctors shouldn't have a say in this issue. They aren't "gods" so why should we put these very personal and individual decisions in their hands?

Hmm yes I agree people should be free of prosecution and persecution for that matter - in buying the means- but I don't entirely agree the doctors act as gods as such the application process and even the actual process is pretty vigourous even for the physical cases-they will be repeatedly asked if it is what they want & what will happens right up to the last minute. But I can see everyone has there very own & v strong opinion on the matter . If I could I would beg a doctor to hand me that cup of 'whatever was required' not to administer it but just to be there & tell me what to do correctly . id find it very reassuring & comforting to have a doc there (as no family) and make sure the process went well/ without error . Personally

 

[Elias]

Agreeing with @Darkhaven there, I don't want my mental health to be dissected by some doctors and then having them judge if I fit the criteria for an euthanasia. Give me right to die, a medical assistance to proceed if need be, and stop prosecuting/sectioning people when they attempt to take matters into their own hands.

 

[MeltingHeart]

Agreeing with @Darkhaven there, I don't want my mental health to be dissected by some doctors and then having them judge if I fit the criteria for an euthanasia. Give me right to die, a medical assistance to proceed if need be, and stop prosecuting/sectioning people when they attempt to take matters into their own hands.

But that's what I mean a professional with all the knowledge to turn to rather than having to spend all this time researching & to take matters into own hands ! Not saying it's gonna happen ever of course not - I'm just dreaming for myself - that I could say - ok - I've had a year of feeling I strongly want to ctb- pls can you advice, assist me & be there. This is just my personal wish. I can see why some wouldn't want or have a mistrust of the medical establishment - I get that.

 

[Darkhaven]

Hmm yes I agree people should be free of prosecution and persecution for that matter - in buying the means- but I don't entirely agree the doctors act as gods as such the application process and even the actual process is pretty vigourous even for the physical cases-they will be repeatedly asked if it is what they want & what will happens right up to the last minute. But I can see everyone has there very own & v strong opinion on the matter . If I could I would beg a doctor to hand me that cup of 'whatever was required' not to administer is find it really comforting to have a doc there (as no family) and make sure the process went well. Personally

Yeah, well i didn't want to mean that they act as gods.
I was just trying to say, figuratively speaking, that they end up having a more decisive role in the whole process than the actual petitioner.
They are regular men/women, and more often than not they can't see past their feeble minds, they can't put themselves in the patient's shoes and understand why they want to do it, thus refusing to give a positive check to the patient to be euthanased as wished.
But i respect your opinion.

 

[MeltingHeart]

Yeah, well i didn't want to mean that they act as gods.
I was just trying to say, figuratively speaking, that they end up having a more decisive role in the whole process than the actual petitioner.
They are regular men/women, and more often than not they can't see past their feeble minds, they can't put themselves in the patient's shoes and understand why they want to do it, thus refusing to give a positive check to the patient to be euthanased as wished.
But i respect your opinion.

Yeah that's true - I wish they would - I wish they and others could feel the same emotional distress for even a few days & understand & have the capacity of imagination to accept that sometimes people simply don't get better from that - or ever feel that 'renewed hope' / 'light at end of the tunnel' and all those bloody platitudes I've been told - some people simply can not accept that someone's will to die can be that strong and consistent unless they are in physical pain or injury . They won't comprehend it or even willing entertain the idea which I find endlessly frustrating.

 

[Jack4230]

I'm against the idea of people having 100% control of killing themselves because some people might kill themselves in the spur of the moment because of a bad event without thinking too hard about it. However, I'm also against the idea of a doctor being the judge of whether or not someone has the right to die. Ideally I think it should be available to everyone but there would be a waiting period before the person is given the means to kill themselves.

 

[MeltingHeart]

I'm against the idea of people having 100% control of killing themselves because some people might kill themselves in the spur of the moment because of a bad event without thinking too hard about it. However, I'm also against the idea of a doctor being the judge of whether or not someone has the right to die. Ideally I think it should be available to everyone but there would be a waiting period before the person is given the means to kill themselves.

yeah i agree with you about the spur of the moment/impulsivity type thing-this was kind of the point of my question & certainly makes for an interesting debate (of which i certainly dont have an answear-other than what i desire for myself) ...at what point & how long should someone be 'suffering'-in my proposal -mentally /emotionally IF hypothetically it was legal to assist them (if they alone sought it out) & if that person was allowed to approach a doctor if they wished for assitance-after being shown to be non-responsive to any anti-depressants and therapy- i'd say a year should be long enough-but i say this from purely from personal experience & wishes as from a point of feeling worst and worst each day- so I am adding alot of my own bias to that time frame. But IF in this fantasy world who would legally come up with this waiting period? I wonder how the time frame could ever be agreed upon.

 

[BlueWidow]

Actually, I've very rarely met a doctor who didn't think they were a god. Most of them, at least in my experience, DO believe they are gods. Every doctor I've ever met has made pronouncements about me that were completely wrong within five minutes of meeting me. And I've seen doctors treat other people that I know the same way. I wouldn't want my fate to rest in a doctor's hands.

 

[morningdew]

I believe you should be able to make that choice. The protocols in place for the terminally ill should be enough for those with other chronic medical or emotional conditions. Death is ok. Suffering endlessly is no good. It would be nice to be able to tell family and have them there at the time.

 

[BlackCatTalk]

Would be perfect!

 

[ayb]

Netherlands and Belgium already allow this.

 

[MeltingHeart]

I believe you should be able to make that choice. The protocols in place for the terminally ill should be enough for those with other chronic medical or emotional conditions. Death is ok. Suffering endlessly is no good. It would be nice to be able to tell family and have them there at the time.

yeah suffering endlessly is horrible-got no fam that care so wouldnt need to tell them. I wish I could make this dream come true.

 

[Jack4230]

yeah i agree with you about the spur of the moment/impulsivity type thing-this was kind of the point of my question & certainly makes for an interesting debate (of which i certainly dont have an answear-other than what i desire for myself) ...at what point & how long should someone be 'suffering'-in my proposal -mentally /emotionally IF hypothetically it was legal to assist them (if they alone sought it out) & if that person was allowed to approach a doctor if they wished for assitance-after being shown to be non-responsive to any anti-depressants and therapy- i'd say a year should be long enough-but i say this from purely from personal experience & wishes as from a point of feeling worst and worst each day- so I am adding alot of my own bias to that time frame. But IF in this fantasy world who would legally come up with this waiting period? I wonder how the time frame could ever be agreed upon.

I haven't thought too much about the logistics of it because a societal change like this won't happen in my lifetime, but I think it should have something to do with age. The younger somebody is the longer they would have to wait (barring people with degenerative diseases). I'm not a professional and have no idea what the best waiting period would be, but ideally studies would be conducted to determine the best waiting period based on one's age although I'm not sure what those studies would look like. I would like to say that each person would be assigned an individual waiting period by a mental health professional but that might give too much power to doctors. It's hard, maybe even impossible, to find the right balance between one's right to end their own life and the need to protect people from making a fatal decision when better days are ahead. In any system involving euthanasia there will be people who end their life when better days are ahead of them and people who end up suffering far longer than they should. I guess it comes down to individual ideas on personal freedom and views on life to decide which system is best. I think it's impossible to create a perfect system because it is so subjective but I think our current society has a far too conservative system, while many people on this board (in my opinion) advocate for a far too liberal system.

 

[GreenDagny]

There are some amazing documentaries about it from Belgium. I wish I lived there I know I would qualify for it. I despise peoples savior complex as if they actually care about people suffering, if they did they would allow peaceful death from euthanasia instead of having to suffer everyday and die a painful death whether natural causes or suicide.