Dr.Death goes free - what price human life?
June 2nd 2007 00:49
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Did he do a good thing or a bad thing? How do we know it's what they wanted?
'Dr. Death' walks out of prison. CNN
Jack Kevorkian, who claimed to have assisted in at least 130 suicides, left prison after serving eight years.
Dr. Death goes free
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Comment by Philip Sharp
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1. social stigma
2. trauma to my father/brother
3. a slight degree of afterlife uncertainty
... I'd've been happy to kill myself many times now.
Why can't I just get a fatal illness instead? Then I could live a little and have my suicide handed to me without the social guilt.
Comment by katyzzz
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Mrs. M's luv and stuff
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Comment by Philip Sharp
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Tokenspark: Super Capsule Tokyo Blast!!!
Comment by katyzzz
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But it's good to have some who love you.
katyzzz
Comment by Nickoftime's Sanity Corner
it's all a matter of perspective...and Philip, I HAVE a terminal illness...trust me..ya don't want it..
Take care,
Nick
Comment by Philip Sharp
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Tokenspark: Super Capsule Tokyo Blast!!!
Comment by D. Armenta
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Seeing the number of botched suicides that end up vegetables for the rest of their lives, or die horribly..
..the number of suicides that are found by the wrong people (i.e. children)
..the number of suicides that involve innocent people (i.e. other drivers on the road)
..I think, with the proper documentation, assisted suicide is a good thing. People are going to do it regardless--might as well make it as painless and untraumatic as possible.
Comment by katyzzz
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You make some good points, the trouble is people can feel very down and then bounce back.
It's a very dicey area, although I take your points.
If my end days look decidedly irreversible and under certain conditons I would want to choose to end it, but things would have to be absolutely hopeless for that to happen.
Reasoning can get very twisted.
Thankyou so much for sharing your opinion.
katyzzz
Comment by Ahmed
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if a person dies under a doctors care due to a mistake of some sort then provided the family recieves some form of compensation then it's understandable, but this man through delibrate negligence is responsible for multiple deaths.
It's interesting that he was educated in the US, maybe we have a higher standard here in Australia, we certainly need to look into letting people with US degrees work in medicine here.
Comment by katyzzz
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Comment by Ahmed
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Comment by Deorre
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Quality of life, baby.
Comment by D. Armenta
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But Ahmed, Dr. Death's assisted suicides weren't negligence..they were done at the request of his patients.
Katyzzz, good points *and* good mediation!! I do agree with Ahmed's view of doctors from other countries having to pass standards of practice wherever they decide to go.
That would be tricky to set up as a law, though--you'd have to take into consideration the "doctors without borders" program, as well as medical missions in underdeveloped countries...
As far as ssisted suicide, though--maybe a mandatory waiting period beforehand? There are plenty of people who, if they cannot live the quality of life they once had, would rather not stick around..Hunter S. Thompson comes to mind. I can relate to that.
Comment by katyzzz
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Yes, what can be seen as despair can turn into promise, this is a very touchy subject.
katyzzz
Comment by katyzzz
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Doctors from other countries do have to meet certain requirements here in Australia, sometimes intolerably difficult ones, where it tends to go wrong is where doctors provide false or misleading information or don't 'confess' some problem they had elsewhere, as in the case of that Queensland doctor, who was negligent. There, the authorities did not carry out their checks properly, if at all.
But here, we are really just talking about assisted suicide, there are ways here that can be arranged without anyone being found negligent. It is not against the law for a person to commit suicide but there are restrictions placed on anyone who helps.
What bothers me is when very healthy people end their lives prematurely, without good reason, there are a lot of people who would give their eye teeth to live longer and healthier.
Great that you kept the discussion going, D.
katyzzz....and the needs of the patient are supreme, not just what someone else thinks they should do. There is the potential for evil and wrongdoing. We need to be so careful and with an increasingly aging population these things are going to be of even more importance.
No-one should be pressured to end their lives prematurely. Even subtle pressure can be harmful......k
Comment by Ahmed
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Comment by katyzzz
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I guess you're right but I think you'll find he was sent to prison because he committed a crime, negligence would result in a civil suit.
Semantics, I know.
And we don't know just how bad the conditions of these patients were, but by taking the path he chose he denied his own right to practice medicine to 'save' in his view the patients wanting to die.
It is a travesty of a doctor's duty of care.
Perhaps he was well intentioned. We'll never really know, if he thought the law deficient he could have lobbied for change.
He appears to have destroyed his own life but he lives to tell the tale, his victims don't. He should not have attempted to play God.
But, as I said before, these things can be extraordinarily complex.
katyzzz
Comment by Philip Sharp
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Beyond that, I'm not sure that it's smart to corner an entire profession into such a predictable/prescribed/restri ctive/literal purpose. I'm sure if we were to ask several doctors (well, those whose minds operate outside of mere science) what their purpose is, "to heal" would come from very few of them. Maybe if their parents paid for John Hopkins Med School, and their parents and grandparents had been doctors... but I wouldn't want their help (though I'd envy their paycheck!).
Moreover, this is pretty ethnocentric. Suicide lacks the stigma the West attaches to it in other societies. I hazard some foolish generalization, but it seems like Western cultures sometimes fall into the trope of championing longevity and Darwinism. Anything self-inflicted seems like weakness. I find that very thought to be a weakness.
Note:
1. Yes, I'm faulting your argument.
2. Yes, I am defending suicide.
3. No, I am not necessarily defending Dr. Kevorkian.
Here's something many will find laughable:
My biggest problem with assisted suicide is that the assistance itself necessarily robs one of any expression or beauty that may come with one's death. Frankly, if I were to kill myself (something I'll never rule out), I'd want it to happen my way, my style. I'd want it to last in the minds of others -- and not put money in some guy's pocket. I think it a shame for someone to lack independence in life and in death.
Comment by Ahmed
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However a doctor is not qualified to give advice on suicide, if you have a tumor a GP will refer you to a specialist because it is outsidehis scope, likewise if you're suicidal the GP should refer you to someone who handles such matters, a GP is no more qualified (or prepared) to handle such matters as a biologist is prepared to build a bridge. They are both two different professions.
Comment by D. Armenta
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Also, Philip, don't forget the elderly, or those in extreme and constant pain, who may not be that interested in making a statement..they just want to go as easily and as painlessly as possible. I mean, I'd pay a doctor to make sure I didn't screw up my attempt and die foaming at the mouth in agony, and to make sure I wasn't found by children..
Oh jeez, Katyzzz..taking a morbid turn, huh? Sorry....