Delaware Top Blogs

Friday, June 01, 2007

Dr Kevorkian returns

like a character in a horror movie.

He's a nasty piece of work by all accounts. Apparently many of his customers were not dying, just deeply depressed. Having a serious illness can do that to you. I'm glad no-one pulled the plug on me during various periods when I was depressed and couldn't see a reason for living. I would have missed a lot.

I don't believe in assisted suicide--not that I believe that people suffering terminal illnesses should be subjected to heroic measures. But there is an alternative. A friend of mine benefited greatly from hospice. She was dying of ovarian cancer, and after all the chemo and radiation failed, she had hospice to care for her. A woman came every day and looked after her needs; medical and spiritual help was also available. Thus she was able to be in her own home, pain-free, and spend time with her family and friends. Of course, it was terribly, terribly sad. The death of a young person is sad. But having Kevorkian parachute in, say hello, and pull the plug, would have been sordid.

I'm also not crazy about the idea of a doctor standing by, licking his chops and waiting to administer the fatal dose, as in Oregon. I want my doctors to care whether I live or die, and to try hard to ensure the latter result. There is too much of this culture of death in our society. Life is a miracle and we should treasure every moment of it. Leave the death-worship to the Islamic Fascists. They enjoy it.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I hope you never have to watch an immediate family member (father or mother) suffer. You are told by the doctors at the hospital that there is no hope and that your loved one is brain dead, but yet the hospital will fight the family on taking your loved one off life support. To the extent the family feels guilty. In the movies or on TV it always looks so peaceful. Typically it is not. Your loved one is gasping for air and foaming at the mouth and burning up with fever. Once you witness that first hand, that is when you will have a new respect for what Dr. Kevorkian has done. There would have to be just cause to allow assisted suicide. It should never be done because someone is depressed. What Dr. Kevorkian did was allow someone (your loved one) die with dignity. Yes there is Hospice but that is not always the case or even an option. Why is it okay for our legal system to allow the monsters in society who have raped and tourterd children and viciously kill innocent people die pain free? But when someone is told they are terminally ill and there is nothing the medical profession can do, they have no right. That person along with the family members have to suffer until God finally takes them.

I don't expect anyone to understand my opinion or how I feel unless you have gone through the pain of seeing your loved suffer.

miriam sawyer said...

Of course I have seen a family member suffer and die, in this case my mother.

Hospice or a caring physician can administer medications which alleviate the pain in many cases.

Nothing can alleviate the sorrow of the family. It is truly horrible to lose someone you love.

miriam sawyer said...

Kevorkian, by the way, would kill you if you had a severe head cold.