Assisted Suicide — Should It Be Legal?
EmailLast night on our broadcast, Jim Sciutto brought us a report about a couple who committed suicide together at a clinic after learning that one of them had terminal cancer. We also posted an entry here on our blog asking readers to chime in — is it ever ok to take your own life?
We received over 70 comments, many with very strong opinions. Here are a few of them:
"It is your life. You alone get to decide what you do with it. No one can feel your pain, suffer your illness, or put themselves in your shoes. I don't want to suffer unmercifully for years or be a burden to my family. Medicine is limited when it comes to actually curing illness. There is a huge difference between living and just being alive." — Kelly
"I do believe people have the right to end their own life but I'm not so sure that someone should get assistance when there is not a terminal / chronic illness involved. Aren't doctors supposed to "first – do no harm". If someone is not in pain or dying, isn't it harmful to help them die?
Not a religious thing and I can't even say these people are wrong, but IF the US is going to consider assisted suicide then we are going to need to start with guideliness that allow this only for people in pain or dying." — barbara
"I find it remarkable that when an animal is old and suffering we "don't have the heart" to keep it alive. However, when a human being is suffering we don't have the heart to let them die! Instead we fill them with drugs and machines to try to drain every bit of life out of them as we can, eve if it causes them nothing but endless misery.
In most cases taking one's own life is needless and causes more suffering that it ends. But, in cases of the terminally ill where there is no hope, allow them to die with dignity." — Jeff Vachon
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It is no ones business what people wish to do with their lives. As long as ‘they’ do not interfere with the freedom of others, keep out of their business. It should not be up to the state to decide what people wish to do with themselves. The state is made up of a pile of self serving politicians. It’s better that they have no say in personal matters. They’ll just screw it up like they always do.
Posted by: Walter | July 16, 2009, 5:31 pm 5:31 pm
If we have socialized medicine assisted suicide will have to be legalized so we can euthanize those whom providing health care would not be cost effective. For example Obama’s grandmother who falls and breaks a hip near the end of her life would need to have the option of euthanasia if nationalized health care can’t justify the expensive hip replacement surgery for her.
Posted by: Jake Lockley | July 16, 2009, 5:32 pm 5:32 pm
Physician Assisted Suicide has been legal in Oregon for close to 12 years now. You should come out here and do a story on it.
There’s an annual report with stats on those using the program.
Change the number at the end of the link for prior years reports.
Posted by: Jordan Lund | July 16, 2009, 5:33 pm 5:33 pm
I am 72 years young. But in my lifetime I have watch 3 people die in excruciating pain, that was uncalled for.
My dog was 17 years old and dying, the veteranarian gave him a shot and went peacefully. Why are we kinder to animals then human beings? They are not going to get better, waiting days months, suffering so , it tares the heart out of the family and makes the patient lose all dignity bu lifting them to the bathroom, wiping them, the pain!!!!!!!!!!!! I do not believe in assistance of others but I do believe that Hospice, knowing they are dying, help with Morphine patches, and talk to them to go to the other side. But, if they are in a hospital , forget it…..
Keep them alive, no matter what!!!!!!!!!
INHUMANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Dee | July 16, 2009, 5:35 pm 5:35 pm
I watched both my grandparents die slowly and consumed in misery, from illnesses they were too old to ever recover from. Their nightmares were eventually ended when their doctors quietly allowed them to overdose on morphine. This was real mercy, and should have come much earlier. That the hang-ups of a handful of religious traditions kept my grandparents from being able to escape their pain officially, openly and much sooner, is shameful.
Posted by: John Sheffield | July 16, 2009, 5:39 pm 5:39 pm
The scaremongers have crawled out to spread the potential threat of mass euthanasia. They are either bigots who
wish to impose their beliefs on others, or in the pockets of special interest groups who make money hands down by keeping terminally ill patients alive.
Before you fall for the scare tactics, do some research. Check out what has happened in the state of Oregon since its enlightened residents passed the
Death with Dignity Act in October 1997.
The Bush administration failed in their efforts to overturn the will of the people.
Posted by: musafir | July 16, 2009, 5:42 pm 5:42 pm
Actually, it is legal here in Oregon and is working very nicely, thank you very much.
Washington State appears to be next to legalize “Death with Dignity.”
Posted by: Sammy | July 16, 2009, 5:44 pm 5:44 pm
In the cases of certain terminal illnesses, suicide is preferable to the horrific death that will happen — ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease is one example.
Should there be doctor assisted suicide?
Better to have licensed professionals with very strict guidelines and rules in place than people resorting to all sorts of schemes to try to do it themselves or have family members do it wwho would then be held legally liable.
“Death with Dignity” is infinitely better than dying slowly in horrific suffering. It happens every day, and the suffering to the person and family is simply too terrible to describe.
Posted by: abby0802 | July 16, 2009, 5:49 pm 5:49 pm
It’s not my business to tell anyone else how long they have to live, especially if they’d rather not go on and I don’t want anyone forcing me to live in pain or misery after I’d rather move on.
If I ever decide to take my own life I sure hope I don’t have to worry about the well being of anyone who cares enough about me and what I want to help me do it painlessly.
Living long is not nearly as important to me as living with a good quality of life and I would rather move on and see what’s left than live in misery and watch others suffer watching me as I make doctors rich instead of helping my children enjoy life with the same money.
Posted by: Ana | July 16, 2009, 5:50 pm 5:50 pm
There should be no assisted suicide to the lengths that Switzerland goes to. Just the other day, they assisted with Sir Edward Downes suicide in Switzerland. There was nothing wrong with him, he just didn’t want to live without his wife (who was terminally ill, and there for the assisted suicide as well).
Posted by: tx281 | July 16, 2009, 8:33 pm 8:33 pm
I urge people to give hospice a chance.
These people are dedicated to make a person’s last days comfortable.
Posted by: ddg | July 17, 2009, 10:09 am 10:09 am
I am so glad to see that the vast majority of comments are positive for dying when you want to.
So much crap out there with the religous groups trying to tell us how to die. How dare they. I hope this country passes a national law soon allowing people to die when they want to.
The mean spirited person talking about Obama’s grandmother should understand that it does cost a huge amount of money to keep people alive that don’t want to be. For all we know Obama’s grandmother was one of them. I’m sure he would not have wanted his grandmother to have suffered needlessly.
I am very glad to here the comments.
Posted by: whenIwanttogo | July 17, 2009, 7:23 pm 7:23 pm