Hospice and palliative care are not effective here because it is not just pain that the patient goes through. At the end of life, what takes one down is not just pain, but a plethora of severe suffering from many angles. There could be this highly uncomfortable bloating of the stomach and severe constipation. One might need to rely on others to pick out the feces which leads to a loss of dignity. How about an intubating tube through one’s trachea? There might be an NG tube inserted into one’s mouth, through one’s esophagus, and finally into one’s stomach, which is absolute misery. One cannot eat and needs to rely on multiple permanent IV drips of liquid food thus slowly reducing your vigor and immune system. One can lose one’s mobility, the only thing one can do is to walk, with one’s IV drip, in finite spaces, along with a family member or caregiver assisting him/her. One can be bedridden all the time depending on the stage of the illness, leading to bedsores. There are all kinds of invasive procedures such as biopsies, a tube into one’s urethra, invasive tests, eye problems due to radiotherapy and chemotherapy which might lead to blindness in one or both eyes. There might be poor sleep throughout, making one feeble and further compromising one’s immune system. Sleeping pills may not work forever due to tolerance, hey it might not work at all due to your current level of suffering. When cancer cells destroy your normal cells one by one, you would wish you had never been born. I have just mentioned a few, there are more.
Here’s the thing: life doesn’t actually revolve around you and your body and what you consider to be an acceptable level of discomfort. You aren’t actually entitled to make disabled people members of a killable caste so that you can avoid disability and plan a beautiful death. This isn’t like abortion, making suicide for disabled people a public policy undermines the human rights of disabled people who need suicide prevention care, and those disabled people are indisputably not fetuses. Laws are for everyone. In truly progressive societies, everyone accepts limits on their autonomy for the good of others, especially if those others are members of a marginalized group.
If a disabled person is living a decent life, who would bother him/her? However, if he/she is suffering, they should not be denied this option. To forbid this option is just inhumane.
You know what’s inhumane? Forcing already viciously subjugated disabled people to live in an environment where their suicides have been medicalized and they are regularly subjected to doctors suggesting that they kill themselves, which is why disabled Canadians are now carrying cards telling doctors not to suggest assisted suicide to them. THAT is what is inhumane.
There are people that are evil in this aspect, but I would suggest they represent a small percentage of the human race. Another name for assisted suicide is MAiD, or Medical Aid in Dying within EoLO which stands for End of Life Options. I don't know about MAiD and EoLO in Canada, but that just seems way too aggressive.
First of all, regarding my previous point: Not only should disabled people in great suffering have end-of-life options, but to all adults in great suffering.
Again, I don't know much about the situation in Canada. But to result in such a unbelievable situation sounds horrible. Whoever started or propagated these aggressions should be put into prison. In the US, at least, we've achieved a good deal of success.
Hospice and palliative care are not effective here because it is not just pain that the patient goes through. At the end of life, what takes one down is not just pain, but a plethora of severe suffering from many angles. There could be this highly uncomfortable bloating of the stomach and severe constipation. One might need to rely on others to pick out the feces which leads to a loss of dignity. How about an intubating tube through one’s trachea? There might be an NG tube inserted into one’s mouth, through one’s esophagus, and finally into one’s stomach, which is absolute misery. One cannot eat and needs to rely on multiple permanent IV drips of liquid food thus slowly reducing your vigor and immune system. One can lose one’s mobility, the only thing one can do is to walk, with one’s IV drip, in finite spaces, along with a family member or caregiver assisting him/her. One can be bedridden all the time depending on the stage of the illness, leading to bedsores. There are all kinds of invasive procedures such as biopsies, a tube into one’s urethra, invasive tests, eye problems due to radiotherapy and chemotherapy which might lead to blindness in one or both eyes. There might be poor sleep throughout, making one feeble and further compromising one’s immune system. Sleeping pills may not work forever due to tolerance, hey it might not work at all due to your current level of suffering. When cancer cells destroy your normal cells one by one, you would wish you had never been born. I have just mentioned a few, there are more.
Appreciate your comment and thoughtful response here. Thank you for listening and sharing with us!
Here’s the thing: life doesn’t actually revolve around you and your body and what you consider to be an acceptable level of discomfort. You aren’t actually entitled to make disabled people members of a killable caste so that you can avoid disability and plan a beautiful death. This isn’t like abortion, making suicide for disabled people a public policy undermines the human rights of disabled people who need suicide prevention care, and those disabled people are indisputably not fetuses. Laws are for everyone. In truly progressive societies, everyone accepts limits on their autonomy for the good of others, especially if those others are members of a marginalized group.
If a disabled person is living a decent life, who would bother him/her? However, if he/she is suffering, they should not be denied this option. To forbid this option is just inhumane.
You know what’s inhumane? Forcing already viciously subjugated disabled people to live in an environment where their suicides have been medicalized and they are regularly subjected to doctors suggesting that they kill themselves, which is why disabled Canadians are now carrying cards telling doctors not to suggest assisted suicide to them. THAT is what is inhumane.
There are people that are evil in this aspect, but I would suggest they represent a small percentage of the human race. Another name for assisted suicide is MAiD, or Medical Aid in Dying within EoLO which stands for End of Life Options. I don't know about MAiD and EoLO in Canada, but that just seems way too aggressive.
First of all, regarding my previous point: Not only should disabled people in great suffering have end-of-life options, but to all adults in great suffering.
So, you’re a nihilist. Very nice.
I'm absolutely not a nihilist!
Being forced to live in an environment where your suicide is treated like a desirable medical procedure is its own form of suffering, Justin.
Again, I don't know much about the situation in Canada. But to result in such a unbelievable situation sounds horrible. Whoever started or propagated these aggressions should be put into prison. In the US, at least, we've achieved a good deal of success.
Maybe you should inform yourself about the realities of euthanasia before you comment on it.