tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post7821643495537841637..comments2024-03-16T16:44:18.220-07:00Comments on Bad Cripple: How to Die in Oregonwilliam Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223601480542461802noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-32555028027479114062012-03-15T13:32:53.094-07:002012-03-15T13:32:53.094-07:00Keep it up. We need voices and writings like your...Keep it up. We need voices and writings like yours. These documentaries, articles, talk shows, are terrible in that they present only one side of an issue and it is a critically important issue that needs a whole picture approach.<br /><br />A lot of people I know would not want to live any longer if they lose the ability to care for themselves and are totally at the mercy of others for their care. When those "others" are people who do not want to care for them and do so in a way, giving them a type of life they do not want (them being the dependent), and no hope for any change is out there, life becomes painful to the point of unbearable. That is where people differ, is in the pain, psychic as well as physical they want to bear, and no one can measure another's pain level. <br /><br />Those who are not in the disabled category can end their own lives and many do so. Some who are disabled are not able to do so without assistance. That such assistance should be permitted to the disabled when it is blatently, flagrently and expressedly illegal and an outrage to provide to those not so categorized as disabled becomes the crux of the issue. To me, it's a no brainer. It's illegal. It's not a right that one has, and I don't know who ever came up with the idea that it is a right. It's not legal to commit suicide, and those who attempt it and do not succeed should be prosecuted for it. It is attempted murder. ANyone assisting in it is an accomplice to murder if successful. <br /><br />The answer that is hard to say, when someone is truly in paid and is in a situation where most of us definitely do not want to be and fear being, "Tough luck". I could not say it to my father as he died a very painful death, and, yes, it hurts me to this day that he did. BUt that is what it is; "tough luck".Catherinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11149885637140617891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-13164369592614868702012-03-14T18:29:48.333-07:002012-03-14T18:29:48.333-07:00Greg, Thank you for your polite reply. The list I ...Greg, Thank you for your polite reply. The list I referenced came directly from Oregon State. These were the primary reasons people with a terminal illness chose to die. I am well aware of the "safe guards"--only people with 6 months to live can choose to legally end their life. This is at best a vague diagnosis. I am also sure Compassion and Choices physician referals include physicians who support assisted suicide. Yes, the film shows how the law is followed. But I would contend it is long on emotion and short on facts, any facts that would raise serious concerns. Your point about the film not being about the pros and cons of assisted suicide but rather about the law in Oregon alone is well taken. Thus no attempt at balance was made. So, I am in a way critiquing a film that was not made. I am afraid we are going to have to agree to disagree about the merits of the legislation in Oregon. I do appreciate your comment particularly since it was done in a respectful manner.<br /><br />Phil, I quoted John Kelly of Second Thoughts in Massachusetts in my post. I too read his article published many years ago in the Ragged Edge on incontinence. One can be incontinent and still have dignity. It is after all a plumbing problem many, myself included, deal with. Dignity has nothing do to with how we control our bodily functions. Socially constructed shame does not come from within but from larger social forces.william Peacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00223601480542461802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-46932639090497211982012-03-14T17:59:04.127-07:002012-03-14T17:59:04.127-07:00This law has been in effect in Oregon for the past...This law has been in effect in Oregon for the past 17 years. You must have 2 doctors diagnose you with 6 months or less to live. You cannot simply choose to die because you are experiencing the list of symptoms presented in your blog. The law has not been a disaster in Oregon, but rather a comfort and relief to those suffering from terminal diseases and their families.<br /><br />We made this film to show what it means to exercise this very unusual legal right - an experiential film of the mental and emotional aspects that go into the decision to end one's life using this law. Everyone in the film was faced with the choice of using meds to end their lives - or were acting to pass a similar law fulfilling a promise made to a loved one who desperately wished for this law.<br />We attempted to make a film that explores these highly unusual human dilemmas within the context of the unavoidable nature of death.<br /><br />Perhaps there is a film yet to be made regarding the pro and con sides of this issue, but this argument was settled in Oregon years ago and was never meant to be the central point of this film. <br /><br />Thanks for your thoughts,<br /><br />Greg Snider<br />Co-editor, HTDIOGreg Sniderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11458289412790946724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-37954866260148234452012-03-14T17:27:51.484-07:002012-03-14T17:27:51.484-07:00I once read an article in "The Ragged Edge&qu...I once read an article in "The Ragged Edge" that all the reasons given in the Oregon study, ie. autonomy, dependence on others, being a burden, dignity, etc as reasons for choosing assisted suicide boil down to one word: incontinence...this is the outward manifestation and summary of the reasons. I wonder if this "socially induced shame" is at the root of all giving up? Just wondering...<br /> PS We have a great anti assisted suicide movement here in MA which is gaining momentum to oppose the 2012 ballot initiative called Second Thoughts, growing by the day! TG!Phil Dzialohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04150881545903849250noreply@blogger.com