Euthanasia, what's your opinion?

[niky]

Sir Terry Pratchett, who has been diagnosed with a rare form of dementia called Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA), which is caused by Alzheimer's Disease, wrote an amazing lecture called "Shaking Hands With Death" in which he discusses the topic of "Assisted Dying" and his personal feelings about being able to choose the manner of his own death. The speech was delivered by the actor and presenter Tony Robinson, while Pratchett sat alongside on the stage. A large excerpt of the lecture can be found here, but for those of you in the UK, you can watch the whole lecture on BBC iPlayer.

To hear a writer of Pratchett's skill and wit articulate his opinion and his feelings on such a fundamentally important subject as dying was a rare pleasure. It was both moving and at times hilarious, but ultimately a sober, calm and brilliantly argued piece about the virtue of being able to decide one's own ultimate fate. I can't recommend it highly enough, and I only hope that those who needed to hear it were watching too.

Damnit... Pratchett too? What's this world coming to...

I'm dying to see that lecture... damn iPlayer!

Which BBC did they show it on? (With my luck, it won't be the BBC news channel, which is the only one we get... )

 

[Public'sTwin]

Cat predicts 50 deaths in nursing home by curling up around people in their final hours.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/new...at-predicts-50-deaths-in-RI-nursing-home.html

O. L. D.

 

[Touring Mars]

Damnit... Pratchett too? What's this world coming to...

I'm dying to see that lecture... damn iPlayer!

Which BBC did they show it on? (With my luck, it won't be the BBC news channel, which is the only one we get... )

It was on BBC One. It was the annual "Richard Dimbleby Lecture", incase you want to look it up.

Cat predicts 50 deaths in nursing home by curling up around people in their final hours.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/new...at-predicts-50-deaths-in-RI-nursing-home.html

Here's my theory... most of the patients had heard the rumours about the cat, and so when it jumped up on their beds, they shooed it away or pressed their buzzers to get a nurse to tell the cat to clear off. So the only people the cat would be able to cuddle up to were those too ill to do anything about it. Plus, without wanting to state the obvious or be too morbid, the cat was probably going to get it right sooner or later in most cases.

 

[Dotini]

Here's my theory... most of the patients had heard the rumours about the cat, and so when it jumped up on their beds, they shooed it away or pressed their buzzers to get a nurse to tell the cat to clear off. So the only people the cat would be able to cuddle up to were those too ill to do anything about it. Plus, without wanting to state the obvious or be too morbid, the cat was probably going to get it right sooner or later in most cases.

Touring Mars, I thought it was a lovely, charming little story. Comfort is brought to the dying, sort of thing. Tell me, do you feel threatened by stories of this nature? Is there any potential here for your life to be affected in an adverse way? Do you feel compelled to deny, or would you be pleased to accept its truth?

Your friend,
Dotini

 

[Famine]

Touring Mars, I thought it was a lovely, charming little story. Comfort is brought to the dying, sort of thing.

I can't imagine being particularly comforted by a visit from the Death Cat.

 

[Dotini]

I can't imagine being particularly comforted by a visit from the Death Cat.

Perish the thought, Famine, for you are young, vigorous and healthy!

But for just a moment imagine a poor, lonely, little old lady slowly dying in a home. The unconditional love between a beloved pet and a dying elder is a comforting sight to behold. Believe me, I've seen it. Sadly, it is all too exactly what is happening now in the case of my 84 year old mother.

Yours truly,
Dotini

 

[Public'sTwin]

It's strange how much old ladies love to be surrounded by little animals. My (also 84 year old) grandmother is constantly feeding my cats junk [cat]food because she knows it'll make them hover around her legs when she's over. Similarly, she brings crap over to attract squirrels, skunks, and all other manner of rodent and weaselly creatures.

I can see the attraction to that kind of attention when one gets to that point of loneliness in life, but—

If that damn cat came near me with the knowledge of my forthcoming confrontation with mortality, I would be taking it with me.

 

[Dotini]

If that damn cat came near me with the knowledge of my forthcoming confrontation with mortality, I would be taking it with me.

Your scenario reminded me of a peculiar article that appeared in the New York Times just a few years ago.

A well-respected Orthodox Jewish shopkeeper in New York City was in the back of his shop one day, preparing gefilte fish from a load of fresh carp that had just arrived. As his employee, A Catholic immigrant from South America, was bludgeoning the fish prior to deboning and grinding, one of the carp began to shout in Hebrew that the end of the world was approaching, and they need to immediately repent and prepare for the end. The shopkeeper and his employee ran screaming in horror into the streets, most shaken. After they recovered their wits, they went back into the shop, killed the carp, and made him into gefilte fish. Both swore it happened!

 

[Mrs. Famine]

Animals are well know to be able to detect all kinds of things such as tumours, an impending epileptic fit, impending death, earthquakes etc.

I'm not entirely sure what it has to do with Euthanasia though...

 

[Touring Mars]

Touring Mars, I thought it was a lovely, charming little story. Comfort is brought to the dying, sort of thing. Tell me, do you feel threatened by stories of this nature? Is there any potential here for your life to be affected in an adverse way? Do you feel compelled to deny, or would you be pleased to accept its truth?

Your friend,
Dotini

I'd be pleased to accept it as the truth if only there was more compelling evidence other than what exists. That cats cuddle up to people is perfectly normal, as is the fact that old people in care homes die on a much more regular basis than most places you'd normally find cats. It's not all that unlikely that if you put a different cat in a different care home, it might start to gather a similar reputation. Still, my 'theory' about how the cat might get even more "hits" due to its own reputation as a harbinger of doom seems perfectly plausible to me, even if I was being just a tad facetious It is almost beside the point that I don't find the story particularly charming, nor would I be particularly comforted by a visit from the Death Cat either There was another story about a cleaner in a Russian (?) hospital whose arrival curiously foreshadowed the death of a patient every week, despite the cleaner never coming into physical contact with any of them. It turned out she was unplugging vital equipment in order to plug in her floor buffing machine.

I'm not entirely sure what it has to do with Euthanasia though...

Aside from the idea of enjoying a comfortable last few moments, I'm not either...

 

[Dotini]

Animals are well know to be able to detect all kinds of things such as tumours, an impending epileptic fit, impending death, earthquakes etc.

Nice observation, thank you!

Do you think this ability may be due to some kind of 6th sense, or just what has research found that would explain it?

With utmost respect,
Dotini

 

[Pitracer100]

I can't imagine being particularly comforted by a visit from the Death Cat.

The Death Cat has predicted 28 deaths, but 2 people survived so you have a 1.07% rate of living when you see the cat.

To Dotini, I do know cats can smell when a person's organs are decomposing.

The crazy twist to the Death Cat story is that there were 2 cats at the nursery hame facility and the other cat couldn't tell when people were about to die.

Now the Death Cat is being used for science.

 

[ANFD]

The difference between Cats and Dogs in a study according to a noted orator, Conan O'Brian, was that dogs were better. They actually didn't study any dogs, they just got 1 cat for 1 day .....

 

[Mrs. Famine]

Dogs have a specific sense of smell which means that they can smell slight changes before someone has an epileptic fit. Dogs are specifically trained as "Dogs for the Disabled" and will alert their owner to the impending seizure so the owner can take themselves somewhere safe, they'll then sit with them while they fit, and reassure them when they regain consciousnss. This specific sense of smell is also how they have detected cancerous tumours - I recall a story of a lady whose dog pawed at her breast several times - she eventually had the breast checked and a malignant tumour was discovered.

It's nothing to do with "sixth sense", it's to do with different sensitivities. I think it's something to do with whiskers why animals can detect an impending earthquake. But don't quote me!

 

[A2K78]

individuals have every right to do with their life as they please, however on a personal level I despise someone taking their life via suicide(assisted or not) given the fact it shows blatant disregard for the sacredness of life. The same can be said about abortion and murder.

 

[Dennisch]

given the fact it shows blatant disregard for the sacredness of life.

Just wait until a loved one suffers beyond comprehension.

 

[TenEightyOne]

individuals have every right to do with their life as they please, however on a personal level I despise someone taking their life via suicide(assisted or not) given the fact it shows blatant disregard for the sacredness of life. The same can be said about abortion and murder.

You must be God or something, right? If I'm terminally ill and in constant pain and I'm compus mentis enough to know that I want it all to stop... what the hell does it have to do with you? Despise me all you like because screw you, I'd be off to Switzerland.

Sacred? My arms.

 

[LeMansAid]

Yeah. Sacred? My donkey.

If anyone up on their high donkey wants to do something about preserving the "sacredness of life", they should get out and help people who want to truly live, but can't. Not condemn those who have already had life cruelly stripped away from them.

 

[A2K78]

You must be God or something, right? If I'm terminally ill and in constant pain and I'm compus mentis enough to know that I want it all to stop... what the hell does it have to do with you? Despise me all you like because screw you, I'd be off to Switzerland.

Sacred? My arms.

You like anybody out there have every right to do whatever you want with your life(hence why I support things such the legalization of drugs may it be crack), however its in my personal view that anybody that takes their life via suicide of any kind clearly doesn't value their life, let alone the life of anybody else.

 

[A2K78]

Yeah. Sacred? My donkey.

If anyone up on their high donkey wants to do something about preserving the "sacredness of life", they should get out and help people who want to truly live, but can't. Not condemn those who have already had life cruelly stripped away from them.

You're making no sense, but let me ask you this question......you talk about those who had their life stripped away,that said would you personally recommend to someone striken with a terminal ailment that suicide is the best solution to their situation?

 

[LeMansAid]

You're making no sense

Au contraire, I am. It's a concoction of sly jokes and serious pokes. Some of which you must be missing.

but let me ask you this question......you talk about those who had their life stripped away,that said would you personally recommend to someone striken with a terminal ailment that suicide is the best solution to their situation?

I wouldn't dare recommend any drastic course of action, unsolicited. Even if asked, I'd be loathe to. Such is my respect for choice.

 

[A2K78]

Just wait until a loved one suffers beyond comprehension.

There are people in my family currently with cancer and none of them have ever wanted to end it all...go figure

 

[niky]

There are people in my family currently with cancer and none of them have ever wanted to end it all...go figure

How many have reached Stage 4?

There comes a point, in Cancer management, where the cancer is no longer manageable.

By your logic, because life is sacred, even if death is inevitable, people with multiple organ failures should not refuse life support, painful (and futile) treatment regimens or life support when in a coma?

Euthanasia only differs to these things by being active suicide. There are thousands of patients with terminal conditions who refuse treatment and commit a form of passive suicide. What are your views on that?

 

[TenEightyOne]

There are people in my family currently with cancer and none of them have ever wanted to end it all...go figure

I'm genuinely sorry to read that, I know how terrible it can be.

If their illness and pain were no longer manageable or curable then would I be right in thinking that you'd find them despicable if they sought an elective end to it all?

 

[Dotini]

A way must be found for terminal patients and others to undergo physician assisted suicide. The key cultural development will be a respectful and dignified ceremony with family members present.

 

[TenEightyOne]

The key cultural development will be a respectful and dignified ceremony with family members present.

Which we already have. It's just not cheap.

 

[Dotini]

Which we already have. It's just not cheap.

Please explain.

 

[TenEightyOne]

Please explain.

Dignitas website, and an interesting article from Aunty.

 

[KSaiyu]

Another article that includes a doctors take, and the correct observation that we actually do speed up the process already for a number of patients.

 

[niky]

Having seen loved ones die in the ICU, that's a pretty familiar situation... though I'm unaware of whether the use of painkillers to hurry death along is present or widespread here.

The option (openly offered) sure would help a lot of people.