Is Mercy Killing Ever Appropriate?

[nurse chrissi]

I disagree with you. Sure, the brain can be functioning fine if they person has pancreatic cancer, but some toll would be taken on the person's psyche, possibly clouding their judgement - that's what I meant when I made the initial comment. patient has every right to have treatment withheld - I just want to be sure that this is what the patient truly wants.

yes a toll will be placed on a person's psyche as pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive cancers when it is caught. More than likely by the time a person is diagnosis with pancreatic cancer it has metastasized to other parts of the body due to the close proximity of lymph nodes. A lot of times these are "open and close" cases as the cancer is too involved to adequately excise it. By choosing hospice, some patients feel that they are in control of their lives and can die on their own terms.

A lot of times people think choosing hospice and not intervening is killing the patient - it is actually the underlying disease that killing them . There is a distorted thinking that medicine can cure all . Medicine sometimes can at best buy more time, but at what cost? If a patient decides that they want to have a couple of days, weeks, months with their family instead of a year of chemo etc. I have no problem helping them clear the necessary channels to do so.

 

[Devlin]

Since you asked, I'm giving my personal opinion.

There is no such thing as a mercy killing - no one but G-d has the right to end a person's life.

In my opinion Euthanasia is murder.

So let me get this straight: We can end the life of an animal who is in the end stages of, say, terminal cancer or kidney failure, and it's fine.

On the other hand, we can't do the same for a human being in the same circumstances because it's deemed murder?

I feckin' don't GET it.

 

[nbcrusader]

So let me get this straight: We can end the life of an animal who is in the end stages of, say, terminal cancer or kidney failure, and it's fine.

On the other hand, we can't do the same for a human being in the same circumstances because it's deemed murder?

I feckin' don't GET it.

We have different rules for humans and animals.

By and large, you can kill animals whenever. We eat animals.

Blurring the distinction would turn vast bodies of law, custom and tradition upside down.