[Humpty Dumpty]

Why is it with animals when they get really sick and there is no cure and they no longer have a quality of life the humane thing to do is euthanize them, but when an actual human gets that way they must continue to live a horrible existence until they stop breathing "naturally"? Why can't they have option to decide if they want to continue to live or die.

I know here in America assisted suicide is illegal and can possibly come with severe penalties including jail time. Doesn't seem very "humane" to me.

[Sunflower123]

There are some states that allow a person to decide to do that. The case I saw in the paper was a young lady diagnosed with incurable brain cancer and the pain and seizures would continue to get worse. She made a bucket list...checked it off...had a big good bye celebration and then moved to a state which
assisted her. She passed with her pets, family and friends surrounding her.

I don't know how that whole process works. I'm glad you posted today. I sent a pm to you because I was concerned about your well being based on the things you said the night before. Hang on and keep fighting. You're not alone.

[Humpty Dumpty]

Originally Posted by Jennifer 1967

She passed with her pets, family and friends surrounding her.

That would be so nice. Unfortunately for me there are a few reasons that wouldn't work. For 1 I know my family wouldn't support my decision.

[Ghostgray]

I agree with you that we should be able to decide our own fate. The laws as to 'how' and 'why' seem silly at first glance. It's my life, why can't I decide to end it? I've always been awed by stories of tribes that, when an elder can no longer take care of his/herself, he says goodbye and walks off into the wilderness. It feels so poignant and powerful at the same time.

BUT that being said, there are too many people who would take their own lives way too soon, thinking that what they suffer from is incurable or intolerable. With many diseases, including those of the mind, there are ups and downs, times of being pain-free and times of pain; and although one might be symptomatic now, there will be times of clarity and release in the future.

I know that if I had gone ahead with my desires to end my life back when I was younger, I would have missed out on a ton of things that have brought me so much joy and peace. It makes me sad looking back on that time, remembering the hopelessness, and knowing now that there would be so much beyond that, just waiting for its time.

[Misterpain]

In a few states it is legal , however everything comes at a price and big pharma has decided that the most effective and gentle acting tolerable and available medication not be used for that unless you are independently wealthy , after passage of the laws the price of 1 gram of the medication went from under $50 to over $5000 thanks big pharma , your every much of sucking chest wound i thought you to be ,doctors are researching an effective alternative but are so far coming up with not much , either because its noxious or burns the mouth a bunch of other things that patients do not want , like more suffering for the right to terminate life ,in many places in Europe euthanasia is legal and big pharma can't price you out of the market, America is also obsessing over the fact that it can be done legally for any medical or psychiatric reason that causes great suffering and pain of any kind , America is "deathly" afraid of "drive in death" for grannies dementia because they are afraid it will be exploited and used against vulnerable people who have become "inconvenient" to families because of the need for care, that so far is proving paranoia there have been no abuses of this thus far ,as patients have to request this assistance three times from a doctor then usually two other indepent physician will examine the patient and as long as you can verbalize awareness of why you are suffering be it physical or psychiatric, Europe has a much more enlightened perspective on accepting when the patient says enough is to much , they don't try and tell you your pain is something else , or any of the games people play trying to dodge the issue , they very much believe that there is no scale or test to quantify a person's suffering , it's not your suffering and even if it was people don't handle suffering and pain the same way . Humpty please take care ,you are a nice person you very often post things that make me think ! .