Hello Everybody,

She got her wish. Death. At the ripe old age of 29.
She had approval from her husband and her family. As
well as from her doctor, who gave her the pills to do
herself in.

Brittany Maynard was terminally ill, given only a few
short months to live, and was in much pain and suffering.
She ended her life in Oregon, one of five states in the
US that allows doctors to help assist the terminally
ill of sound mind to do so.

Our society chooses to condem people who decide to end
their own lives, and forbids doctors and other health care
workers to help them do it. Even though five states have
recently chosen to allow doctors to assist patients to end
their own pain and suffering, society continues to give
a cold shoulder to the idea.

Five states - Oregon, Washington, Montana, Vermont and
New Mexico. What is wrong with the rest of America?

"She died as she intended - peacefully in her bedroom,
in the arms of her loved ones." - Sean Crowley, spokesman
for the advocacy group Compassion & Choices

Why should anybody be denied the right to die with dignity?
Why should anybody be forced to endure more pain and suffering
than is necessary to maintain a decent standard of life?

When it becomes an impossibility, or undue hardship, to
maintain a quality of life worth living, then an individual
should have an absolute right to end his/her own life.

Suicide is illegal. In every state. The reason for such
laws is to protect insurance companies. That is why doctor
assisted suicide is also illegal in every state.

Except in five states, where the termnilly ill of sound mind
can choose to end their own life, with the help of a doctor.
As long as the terminally ill individual does it alone, such
as swallowing or injecting the drugs.

No more accidental overdoses for folks in those five states.
They can off themselves on purpose - and insurance companies
are still on the hook for paying the beneficiaries.

"First do no harm" - Doctors give death row inmates the juice,
and now are allowed to give terminally ill patients the means to
give themselves the juice. Or happy pills. Whatever works.

More than 750 people in Oregon have chosen to off themselves
since December 31, 2013. Most of those folks were old geezers,
the median age being 71. But six of those people were under
the age of 35. I wonder what society would think if one of
those people was a child, say of about age 5 or 6?

What about a baby born without a brain? Would it be okay
for a doctor or a nurse to off the baby? I mean, the baby
would not be able to do it alone, needing help from an
adult. And I doubt that mommy (or daddy) would be up to
the task ...

How many terminilly ill people move to Oregon to die? Nobody
knows since the state does not keep track, or really much care.

"I think in the beginning my family members wanted a miracle;
they wanteda cure for my cancer. When we all sat down and looked
at the facts, there isn't a single person that loves me that isn't
a single person that loves me that wishes me more pain and more
suffering." - Brittany Maynard, interview with the AP, 10/8/2014

She told the AP her husband and other relatives accepted
her decision to end her own life. The question is, when will
society as a whole ever accept the right of each individual
to make such a decision.

--Lee

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* Origin: news://felten.yi.org (2:203/2)

...

Brittany Maynard was terminally ill, given only a few
short months to live, and was in much pain and suffering.
She ended her life in Oregon, one of five states in the
US that allows doctors to help assist the terminally
ill of sound mind to do so.

Our society chooses to condem people who decide to end
their own lives, and forbids doctors and other health care
workers to help them do it. Even though five states have

...

When it becomes an impossibility, or undue hardship, to
maintain a quality of life worth living, then an individual
should have an absolute right to end his/her own life.

This argument has been going on a very long time. Long ago I
read a report on it, and it said there is no such thing as pain
that can't be controlled. They gave England as an example, where
the question didn't even come up.

You see, in England they can give heroin to patients in extreme
pain. That is a big difference.

I don't know if it's true that there is no such thing as pain
that can't be alleviated, but I do know there is pain that can
be alleviated, but the drugs that do it are either illegal, or
so controlled you can't give them enough.

Then there's the fear of making terminal patients drug addicts.
The other fear is, the drugs will shorten the patient's life.
Chose, 6 weeks of extreme pain, or 4 weeks free from pain. Not
hard by my thinking.

...

What about a baby born without a brain? Would it be okay
for a doctor or a nurse to off the baby? I mean, the baby

An anacelephic baby doesn't live long and doesn't suffer.



BOB KLAHN bob.klahn@sev.org http://home.toltbbs.com/bobklahn

... Careful, I'm liable to attack with my nitpick...and that hurts!
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Hello Bob,

Brittany Maynard was terminally ill, given only a few
short months to live, and was in much pain and suffering.
She ended her life in Oregon, one of five states in the
US that allows doctors to help assist the terminally
ill of sound mind to do so.

Our society chooses to condem people who decide to end
their own lives, and forbids doctors and other health care
workers to help them do it. Even though five states have

When it becomes an impossibility, or undue hardship, to
maintain a quality of life worth living, then an individual
should have an absolute right to end his/her own life.

This argument has been going on a very long time. Long ago I
read a report on it, and it said there is no such thing as pain
that can't be controlled. They gave England as an example, where
the question didn't even come up.

Do fish feel pain? PETA argued that fish do in fact
feel pain, and gave a tutorial on how fishermen should
go about catching and storing their fish. PETA has
also argued that Cajuns are cruel because we boil our
crawfish alive. On that, Cajuns found allies from
lobster fishermen in Maine ...

Each individual has his/her own tolerance for pain.
Different thresholds, or levels, of pain. In some cases
it is only a state of mind, rather than anything physical.
In other cases, what would be excruciating pain can be
mentally blocked out by some people. All without the
use of drugs.

In most cases, when a person is in a significant amount
of pain, he/she needs medication in order to continue
functioning in a normal way. And in some cases, simply
to continue to exist.

A cancer patient, in his/her last stages of life, might be
totally dependent on morphine - just to get through the
day. He/she may or may not even be aware of his/her own
surroundings. But without the morphine, that individual
would be in so much pain and suffering that it would be
absolute torture to endure.

You see, in England they can give heroin to patients in extreme
pain. That is a big difference.

We give morphine to those we deem in need. And we justify
it on the same grounds as do those in England who give heroin
to patients.

I don't know if it's true that there is no such thing as pain
that can't be alleviated, but I do know there is pain that can
be alleviated, but the drugs that do it are either illegal, or
so controlled you can't give them enough.

A few decades ago we had a problem in America with heroin
addicts. Nobody cared about them, as they were junkies who
lived in our ghettoes. The nation's poor. The trash of
society.

Flash forward to a few short years ago. Painkillers, such
as oxy-contin, were prescribed by doctors nationwide, patients
being told those drugs were not addictive. Less than one percent
of those who took those drugs would get hooked on them, is what
people were told by doctors. And what happened? Three to six
months later, those patients were asking their doctors where
they could get some more of those pills. Well, the doctor
had done his job, and the prescription had run out, so folks
had to find another source. So who did they turn do?

The Pusher Man.

And now today's addicts are the middle class. The boy
next door. The man across the street. The secretary at
your office. All once hooked on painkillers prescribed
by their doctors, now hooked on heroin. Only today's
heroin is far more deadly than yesterday's stash.

Then there's the fear of making terminal patients drug addicts.

It is not just terminal patients who are drug addicts.
Rush Limbaugh was addicted to painkillers he got legally.
How he got so many of them is beyond me. But then, maybe
he was in a great deal of pain and being as big as he is
well he probably needed them.

The other fear is, the drugs will shorten the patient's life.

Yeah. That's like saying pot will stunt your growth.
Nobody on painkillers/heroin is going to believe that.

Chose, 6 weeks of extreme pain, or 4 weeks free from pain. Not hard by my thinking.

Hit me, man! Hit me! I wanna feel good hoo ha!

What about a baby born without a brain? Would it be okay
for a doctor or a nurse to off the baby? I mean, the baby

An anacelephic baby doesn't live long and doesn't suffer.

Scientists have successfully cloned frogs without a brain.
In theory, the same could be done with humans. Would cloning
humans for body parts be ethical? I doubt it. Which is why
we should clone neandertals instead.

--Lee

--- MesNews/1.08.05.00-gb
* Origin: news://felten.yi.org (2:203/2)

...

You see, in England they can give heroin to patients in extreme
pain. That is a big difference.

We give morphine to those we deem in need. And we justify
it on the same grounds as do those in England who give
heroin to patients.

Except that Heroin is not legal here, yet, from what I have
read, much more effective.

Then there's the fear of making terminal patients drug addicts.

It is not just terminal patients who are drug addicts.

Yeah, but worrying about making terminal patients into drug
addicts is terminal stupidity.

The other fear is, the drugs will shorten the patient's life.

Yeah. That's like saying pot will stunt your growth.
Nobody on painkillers/heroin is going to believe that.

Any patient dying in agony might consider that a blessing.

Chose, 6 weeks of extreme pain, or 4 weeks free from pain. Not hard by my
thinking.

Hit me, man! Hit me! I wanna feel good hoo ha!

SMACK! Now behave yourself.

In theory, the same could be done with humans. Would
cloning humans for body parts be ethical? I doubt it.
Which is why we should clone neandertals instead.

No, repubicans will do just as well.


BOB KLAHN bob.klahn@sev.org http://home.toltbbs.com/bobklahn

... If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.
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Hello Bob,

You see, in England they can give heroin to patients in extreme
pain. That is a big difference.

We give morphine to those we deem in need. And we justify
it on the same grounds as do those in England who give
heroin to patients.

Except that Heroin is not legal here, yet, from what I have
read, much more effective.

So is a quick punch to the head. But with morphine, or heroin,
one does not have to break a hand or crack a skull.

Then there's the fear of making terminal patients drug addicts.

It is not just terminal patients who are drug addicts.

Yeah, but worrying about making terminal patients into drug
addicts is terminal stupidity.

The medical establishment has been making nonterminal patients
into drug addicts for years. Doctors write a scrip for painkillers.
Their patient takes the pills for three to six months, and becomes
addicted. No longer being able to get a scrip for those [legal]
drugs, patients turn to other sources. A few decades ago we called
folks like that `junkies'. Today we call those same folks our
next door neighbors.

The other fear is, the drugs will shorten the patient's life.

Yeah. That's like saying pot will stunt your growth.
Nobody on painkillers/heroin is going to believe that.

Any patient dying in agony might consider that a blessing.

At least they get a high when going out the door.

Chose, 6 weeks of extreme pain, or 4 weeks free from pain. BK>>Not hard

by my thinking.

Hit me, man! Hit me! I wanna feel good hoo ha!

SMACK! Now behave yourself.

Thanks! I needed that!

In theory, the same could be done with humans. Would
cloning humans for body parts be ethical? I doubt it.
Which is why we should clone neandertals instead.

No, repubicans will do just as well.

I'm not sure anybody would want any of John Boehner's
body parts. I mean, the guy does smoke like a chimney ...

--Lee

--- MesNews/1.08.05.00-gb
* Origin: news://felten.yi.org (2:203/2)

...

In theory, the same could be done with humans. Would
cloning humans for body parts be ethical? I doubt it.
Which is why we should clone neandertals instead.

No, repubicans will do just as well.

I'm not sure anybody would want any of John Boehner's
body parts. I mean, the guy does smoke like a chimney ...

A clone does not inherit the contaminents.

BOB KLAHN bob.klahn@sev.org http://home.toltbbs.com/bobklahn

... ♫To everything spin spin spin, there is a republican spin spin spin...♫
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