Thanks to all who replied. Not a soul seems to think Tony should be forced by the state to live as long as heroic medical intervention can keep him living. I add my vote to that, making it unanimous. With the eye surgery done today, I can’t manage an individual reply top each answer. I wish I clould. But there are a few things I’d add, and several answers I must include in doing so.
@bkcunningham My sincere condolonces on the loss of your mom, and on the fact it had to include such a period of suffering for her, and testing for you. That very personal story illustrates exaclty why this is not a simple issue resilved by a Pro Life or Pro Choice bumper sticker. Thank you for sharing it.
@CaptainHarley I fully appreciate the cognitive dissonance the question of assisted suicide, or even the withholding of heroic medical intervention prolonging an intolerable life raises for you. If God is love, I cannot imagine Him punishing Tony for his decision that it’s time to dioe, or a compassionate medical expert who helps him do so with whatever dignity he can retain, and without even more extreme suffering.
@Coloma “If one is able to communicate their wishes, they should be honored.” I’m glad you brought that up. Tony is able to indicate his desires and even to petition the British High Court through head movements. But this case should remind us all to write a living will explaining how we eould like end-of-life ussurs dealt with, just in case we are ever incapacitated to the point of an advanced vegatitive state. I also think you are spot on in suggesting that just substituting pain mediation for forced deeding and letting bature take its course is the right way to handle this issue, rather than lethal injections. I find he idea of doctors trying to save lives also sometimes ending them disturbing, The Republican Big Lie about death panels was just that, a Big Lie. The provision, one originally introduced by Republicans, was to allow Medicare to pay for end-of-life counseling by a physician when a patient and their family members wanted such advice. It was not some bureau deciding whether it’s cheaper to keep grandma alive or pull her plug. But if doctors are in the business of life and death; it;s not a great stretch to imagine a time when panels do decide which is cheaper.
@wundayatta You raise an excellent point. Just how do we decide that a person has mnade an informed decision on when to die. The teen who wants to dioe after their first whirlwind love affair goes up in smoke, and Tony Nicklinson are two very different cases. And what of people suffering from debilitating, painful conditions who want it ended now, but who doctors are confident they can return to a level of function that will make their lives meaningful. What a tragedy for someone to end it all when the cure for their condition hits the newssrand within days of their passing.
For the reasons @Coloma and others have noted, I don;t think medical doctors should be the ones charged with ending a patient’s life. I think we need a new category of mediacl/psychological professional. They should be schooled in and licensed to provide palliative care and councelling. They should help a suffering patient nd their family sort through the psychological issues for both the patient wishing to end the suffering, and the family members who may wish to say no for their own reasons and are not able to or letting themselves see the reasons their loved one is ready to give up the ghost And they should understand psychology well enough to know that if an emotional disaster or treatable mental disease is producing the death wish; treatment and counseling is preferable to lethal injection. I am so glad our own Fluther treasure, @wundayatta is still with us today and contributing so much to so many when there was a tine in his life when he seriously considered ending it.
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