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Old 2008-11-18, 17:42   Link #59
GuidoHunter_Toki
Wiggle Your Big Toe
 
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Milwaukee
Age: 33
Quote:
Originally Posted by james0246 View Post

In other words, to conclude both my comment, if a personal decision is the most relevant means of determining an outcome for a situation, then what happens when a personal decision cannot be made or the individual attmepting to make the decision is too impared to properly understand the situation? When does an outsiders choice matter more than an individual choice?
Those who are in chronic un-relievable pain or suffering from a terminal illness should have the right to end their lives after discussing their options with a trained medical doctor and a licensed psychiatrist.

Now about the pain altering their understanding of the situation. Chronic pain is classified as a general medical condition. A terminal illness brings with it a sense of bereavement. You have lost your life, you have lost time with the ones you love. That is a sense of loss and a cause of bereavement.

In both cases(un-relieved chronic pain and terminal illness) you lose your sense of control. You worry about becoming a burden on your loved ones and fear ending up not being able to care for yourself and perhaps that more suffering will come from trying to fight this pyhsical infliction. These are not treatable disorders. This is not simply an escape from temporary problems that get blown out of proportion. These people are not suffering from a delusional illness. They are in their right frame of mind.

If cleared by a psychiatrist as not having a mental illness precipitating the feeling of wanting to die, I see no reason why, in those circumstances, their decision can not be respected.
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