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Deaf Twins Going Blind Euthanized

Dragonfly

Dragonfly

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Deaf Twins Going Blind Euthanized - Yahoo! News

Two deaf twin brothers in Belgium were euthanized by their doctor after realizing they were going blind and would be unable to see each other ever again, their physician says.

The 45-year-old men, whose names have not been made public, were legally put to death by lethal injection at the Brussels University Hospital in Jette, on Dec. 14.
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Thoughts?

Should this kind of thing be "allowed" by a modern, intelligent, and caring society?
 
It appears to have been what they wanted. If that is true then I'm okay with this.
 
Dragonfly said:
Thoughts?

Should this kind of thing be "allowed" by a modern, intelligent, and caring society?
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Absoultely. There is nothing wrong with someone wanting to end their suffering, especially when there is nothing they can do about it.
 
tessaesque said:
It appears to have been what they wanted. If that is true then I'm okay with this.
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Ditto to this sentiment. It's their lives. Who are we to tell them they must live it?
 
Dragonfly said:
Deaf Twins Going Blind Euthanized - Yahoo! News




Thoughts?

Should this kind of thing be "allowed" by a modern, intelligent, and caring society?
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Yes. What is your objection here? Do you wish to deny a dying/disabled citizen the right to end their lives/suffering? Do you think that they should have to do so only in the privacy of their homes and with no outside counciling or assistance? Suicide is preferable to many as an alternative to being "useless" and a burden to society. Any care afforded to these folks, for perhaps the next 20+ years, is not available to those that would benefit more from it. Suicide is not such a selfish act as many percieve it to be.
 
ttwtt78640 said:
Yes. What is your objection here? Do you wish to deny a dying/disabled citizen the right to end their lives/suffering? Do you think that they should have to do so only in the privacy of their homes and with no outside counciling or assistance? Suicide is preferable to many as an alternative to being "useless" and a burden to society. Any care afforded to these folks, for perhaps the next 20+ years, is not available to those that would benefit more from it. Suicide is not such a selfish act as many percieve it to be.
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Why do you assume I have an objection?
 
ttwtt78640 said:
Yes. What is your objection here? Do you wish to deny a dying/disabled citizen the right to end their lives/suffering? Do you think that they should have to do so only in the privacy of their homes and with no outside counciling or assistance? Suicide is preferable to many as an alternative to being "useless" and a burden to society. Any care afforded to these folks, for perhaps the next 20+ years, is not available to those that would benefit more from it. Suicide is not such a selfish act as many percieve it to be.
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Sometimes, suicide is a selfless act. It also spares family the emotional, financial, and physical drain of caring for someone who is suffering and will inevitably die anyhow.
 
I am for legalized assisted suicide. I have stated this repeatedly in my comments and stand by it. It is a humane way to go.

However, the decision should always be with the patient, as long as he is conscious, and aside from that, the next of kin as long as he is direct family (parents, children, wife, brother, sister), never with the doctor, any government institution or otherwise.

As it was here, it is ok by me. It is tragic that 2 men, brothers and twins above that, were deaf and then went blind.
 
If we can trust people voting, who they choose to marry, what they consume, taking care of themselves, then I see absolutely no reason that I or anyone else should have any say so if they choose to take the easy way out when faced with something. If the person is mentally stable, they know what they want better than I do.
 
So long as it was the two men who made the decision to terminate life, and not the doctor, I'm fine with it. My only problem is that the men should have been required to be the ones who administered the fatal action, not the doctor. If you want to kill yourself, fine; but don't put that weight onto anyone other than yourself.
 
I can't imagine the torture that would be. I hate suicide, but I'm not going to force someone to live in absolute silence and darkness.
 
Their body, their choice.

I would hope though that they had all the proper counselling beforehand to make sure they really understood the gravity of their decision.
 
Dragonfly said:
Deaf Twins Going Blind Euthanized - Yahoo! News




Thoughts?

Should this kind of thing be "allowed" by a modern, intelligent, and caring society?
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Allowing grown men and women the choice of doctor-assisted euthanasia is a mark of a modern, intelligent, and caring society.

I am, however, against euthanizing patients suffering from dementia - unless they were previously aware that they suffer a disease that will cause dementia and took steps to be euthanized while they were lucid, such as Terry Pratchett knowing he's suffering from Alzheimers and wants to euthanize himself before he suffers from dementia. I am also dead set against the euthanizing of children.
 
Tigger said:
So long as it was the two men who made the decision to terminate life, and not the doctor, I'm fine with it. My only problem is that the men should have been required to be the ones who administered the fatal action, not the doctor. If you want to kill yourself, fine; but don't put that weight onto anyone other than yourself.
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In a lot of cases of euthanasia the patients may be too feeble or otherwise physically incapable of doing it themselves. That's why they seek doctor assistance, as well as to ensure that proper procedures of the method used is followed.
 
Tigger said:
So long as it was the two men who made the decision to terminate life, and not the doctor, I'm fine with it. My only problem is that the men should have been required to be the ones who administered the fatal action, not the doctor. If you want to kill yourself, fine; but don't put that weight onto anyone other than yourself.
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What difference does it make? The men want a service performed, the doctor is willing to provide it.
 
I have no problem with this.
 
So far, it seems fairly unanimous. I, too, believe that these men had the right to make the decision to end their lives. It's fortunate they lived in a country where doctors are allowed to assist their patients without fear of legal prosecution. I wish I did.
 
Deaf and blind. I can't imagine living that way. Yes, absolutely they should be allowed to make that decision and they absolutely should have the assistance of a doctor to go peacefully and painlessly. If the doctor doesn't help, they're just going to take a bunch of pills or something.
 
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I have no issues with it, it was their choice. If I were going blind, I would choose to die as well. Deaf, I could handle but not blind.
 
Harry Guerrilla said:
I don't pretend to know the level of their suffering.
It's there choice I suppose, kinda stinks they did choose that.
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Pretty well sums it up. Deaf is bad enough; blind would be terrible. Both? Inconceivable.

I don't know what else to say other than to be selfishly thankful that neither I nor anyone I know faced such a choice.
 
I believe polls indicate that Americans overwhelmingly support physician assisted suicide. Yet only a couple states allow it. It's more evidence of how our laws have become so disjoint from our culture, and how impossibly recalcitrant the forces of social conservatism are.
 
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