Canada may give mentally ill right to assisted suicide

Mike said:
I have never agreed with assisted suicide, it is the
thin edge of the wedge and before long somewhere
it will be decided that people over XX years are only
soaking up resources, lets get rid of them!

"Mentally ill" people, are not capable of making
decisions or being held to account for their actions,
at least in a Court of Law, they are not.

Mike.
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Mike, when I learned something about Hitler's desire for a "pure, perfect" race, (only Germans of course) I, being half German, thought that it was lucky for me I didn't live in Germany at the time because if my shaking hands & head had been exposed back then, who knows, he might have had me exterminated.
 
Kathleen’s Place said:
Over the years we have had to put several pets to sleep due to cancer, heart disease, etc. I will not let them suffer and always relied on our vet to tell us when “it was time.”

As gut wrenching sad and hard as that always was, afterwards I always wondered why we, as a society, allow our human loved ones to linger, sometimes for years, in pain and agony when there isn’t a prayer they will ever get better. That seems bitterly cruel to me.

Because of my own religious beliefs, I’m not sure if I would have the guts to ok assisted suicide for myself, but I would help my husband, if this was something he wanted. I wouldn’t pay...nor could we afford, the cost of legalized assisted suicide...but I would surely investigate and help him put an end to the suffering.

And mental illness...true mental illness... falls under that same category.
Click to expand...

We were always taught via religion that suicide was a sin. That the only one who has the right to take a life is God. So for me it's up in the air. I don't know the wrong or the right of it. I do however believe that we should not be forced to die a horrible death if we don't want to.

That being said...I know what lies ahead for me with the COPD. I will eventually smother to death. I can't change the mistakes I made early in life. But I know I don't want to suffer like this. I've seen what it's like to suffer this way in a nursing home. It's not how I want to go. I think if we can choose to end an animals life peacefully...why can we not be afforded the same dignity? I don't think we should have to off ourselves in the terrible & horrifying manner that's available at the moment. It's not fair to those around us.

I also don't think the family should be prosecuted because they're not the ones signing the agreement. They are not the ones that made the decision. It's not illegal for the family if dad blows his brains out all over the bedroom but if they help him die a clean & peaceful death they're murderers?

When the time comes I am hoping to have the finances to disappear and die the way I want. If I have to start a savings acct for it then maybe I need to do that. I think it's sad that we have to leave the country to die without horrible suffering. Yet they will gladly legalize marijuana. The priorities of some of these countries is a bit off to say the least. When did taking care of mankind become such a crime?

Edit: We had a patient in the hospital back home that spent a week in the hospital dying. She had no visitors. She was placed at the other end of the hall as far away from the other rooms as possible. She laid there for a week screaming out..."Oh God please let me die! Please let me die!" No one there to comfort her. Even the staff didn't bother with her. I finally couldn't take it anymore. She was a human being & at the very least deserved to be comforted. After the 3rd night I started going in after work sitting with her.

Whenever she began to scream out again I would simply reach out and gently rub her arm so she knew I was there. She would quiet down. When the staff didn't hear her shouting out they came to see if she had died. Not one of them said a word to me about me sitting there. They looked in and left. I don't think anyone should hafta die like this.
 

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Kathleen’s Place said:
Over the years we have had to put several pets to sleep due to cancer, heart disease, etc. I will not let them suffer and always relied on our vet to tell us when “it was time.”

As gut wrenching sad and hard as that always was, afterwards I always wondered why we, as a society, allow our human loved ones to linger, sometimes for years, in pain and agony when there isn’t a prayer they will ever get better. That seems bitterly cruel to me.

Because of my own religious beliefs, I’m not sure if I would have the guts to ok assisted suicide for myself, but I would help my husband, if this was something he wanted. I wouldn’t pay...nor could we afford, the cost of legalized assisted suicide...but I would surely investigate and help him put an end to the suffering.

And mental illness...true mental illness... falls under that same category.
Click to expand...
I first was given the impression that suicide was judged an unpardonable sin, but as time went by and I learned of persons suffering with on going agonizing pain for years, and people with agonizing depression, I now know that God makes the judgement for only He knows the extent of their suffering and understands, forgivingly, the reason why they couldn't live with it anymore and so committed suicide.
 
I also don't think this should be taken lightly and the decision shouldn't be made just out of selfishness. I think the health/mental health component should be a big part of it. And respecting the final wishes of the ill.

@Pinky thankyou for sharing that video.
 
Something not mentioned. How do we re-write the life insurance laws to include assisted suicides for the general public? In fact, how does it work at present, where it's legal. I can't see the greedy insurance companies ponying up a few hundred thousand for a death by choice. And what about the "not so nice" among us, who will encourage their mates to "end it all" a little early so as to get to enjoy the riches that will come to them?

Maybe these "complications" have already been sorted out and I'm just not aware of it?
 
MarciKS said:
We were always taught via religion that suicide was a sin. That the only one who has the right to take a life is God. So for me it's up in the air. I don't know the wrong or the right of it. I do however believe that we should not be forced to die a horrible death if we don't want to.

That being said...I know what lies ahead for me with the COPD. I will eventually smother to death. I can't change the mistakes I made early in life. But I know I don't want to suffer like this. I've seen what it's like to suffer this way in a nursing home. It's not how I want to go. I think if we can choose to end an animals life peacefully...why can we not be afforded the same dignity? I don't think we should have to off ourselves in the terrible & horrifying manner that's available at the moment. It's not fair to those around us.

I also don't think the family should be prosecuted because they're not the ones signing the agreement. They are not the ones that made the decision. It's not illegal for the family if dad blows his brains out all over the bedroom but if they help him die a clean & peaceful death they're murderers?

When the time comes I am hoping to have the finances to disappear and die the way I want. If I have to start a savings acct for it then maybe I need to do that. I think it's sad that we have to leave the country to die without horrible suffering. Yet they will gladly legalize marijuana. The priorities of some of these countries is a bit off to say the least. When did taking care of mankind become such a crime?

Edit: We had a patient in the hospital back home that spent a week in the hospital dying. She had no visitors. She was placed at the other end of the hall as far away from the other rooms as possible. She laid there for a week screaming out..."Oh God please let me die! Please let me die!" No one there to comfort her. Even the staff didn't bother with her. I finally couldn't take it anymore. She was a human being & at the very least deserved to be comforted. After the 3rd night I started going in after work sitting with her.

Whenever she began to scream out again I would simply reach out and gently rub her arm so she knew I was there. She would quiet down. When the staff didn't hear her shouting out they came to see if she had died. Not one of them said a word to me about me sitting there. They looked in and left. I don't think anyone should hafta die like this.
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That was such a living thing to do. Thank you...God has given you a beautiful heart and soul💕
 
This is so wrong on so many levels Canada...how many lives are you going to destroy? How many young lives are you going to obliterate?

The mentally ill need help...people of unsound mind should not be allowed to request assisted suicide. Wrong, wrong!

Quite a different matter for an old person who is terminally ill and for whom there is no hope of recovery.
 
Elsie said:
I first was given the impression that suicide was judged an unpardonable sin, but as time went by and I learned of persons suffering with on going agonizing pain for years, and people with agonizing depression, I now know that God makes the judgement for only He knows the extent of their suffering and understands, forgivingly, the reason why they couldn't live with it anymore and so committed suicide.
Click to expand...

If suicide is unpardonable, how about killing during War time. Your government tells you to kill the enemy, does that justify it with the Lord when it comes time to answer?
 
Dana said:
This is so wrong on so many levels Canada...how many lives are you going to destroy? How many young lives are you going to obliterate?

The mentally ill need help...people of unsound mind should not be allowed to request assisted suicide. Wrong, wrong!

Quite a different matter for an old person who is terminally ill and for whom there is no hope of recovery.
Click to expand...
Keesha and Mr Pants...can you explain what you are angry about? I'm confused.
 
it's my life but the way society views of imposed death constitutes moral disregard for life. It's ok however, institutionalization removed undesirable people from society so as not to be reminded of them. In the 1970s legislature ruled in favor of deinstitutionalization of residents living in mental hospital and insane asylums due to overcrowding and cost of Private and State funded "safe places". The plan was to have housing and activities in place prior to their release into society. Historically, no one was prepared. Former patients, begged for money to survive, crime, drugs and alcoholism was inevitable and many died as a result of unpreparedness from multiple sources within the leadership chain.

I am fortunate, my life could have turned out much than it did of which I am grateful. Modern day OMH living facilities and services reach a wide range of consumers since the 1970s. In part, anti stigmatism campaigns and mental health education help consumers to understand the nature of their illness and precautionary methods to manage symptoms. As with other governmental legislature Civil Rights Laws mental health consumers have the same rights and privileges of any other US citizen including the right of housing, the right of medication and medical treatment, the right for legal representation and so on.

Many consumers prefer independence over receiving assistance of any kind from outside sources. It is much like having the right to refuse medication so it is individual rights have changed significantly 60 years.
 

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