DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate - View Single Post - Is euthanasia or turning off life support an issue for Buddhists

**STYWOMBORGOSY** · 05-06-2010, 06:47 AM

In spite of my long post previously, I agree that euthanasia should be an option but a very personal option not administered by the society(it is easy to imagine a society could abuse the ability to euthanize people!) in which one lives.

If I am faced with the possibility of prolonged suffering to no avail, both personally and the suffering of my family seeing me suffer, I'm going to do what one of my patients did. She was 104 years old, was bedridden, had all of her faculties, and had become totally dependent on others for all of life's activities. She called her family together for a meeting - I was there to explain the implications of her decision - and anounced that she was going to stop eating and drinking and that she wished to die. This is exactly what she did and her death was very peaceful with the gradual onset of coma due to the effects of severe dehydration. If she was in distress she didn't show it. This took place in a Catholic nursing home in the US.

05-06-2010, 06:47 AM	#11
STYWOMBORGOSY Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 510 Senior Member	In spite of my long post previously, I agree that euthanasia should be an option but a very personal option not administered by the society(it is easy to imagine a society could abuse the ability to euthanize people!) in which one lives. If I am faced with the possibility of prolonged suffering to no avail, both personally and the suffering of my family seeing me suffer, I'm going to do what one of my patients did. She was 104 years old, was bedridden, had all of her faculties, and had become totally dependent on others for all of life's activities. She called her family together for a meeting - I was there to explain the implications of her decision - and anounced that she was going to stop eating and drinking and that she wished to die. This is exactly what she did and her death was very peaceful with the gradual onset of coma due to the effects of severe dehydration. If she was in distress she didn't show it. This took place in a Catholic nursing home in the US.
	Quote