Doctor-assisted suicide close to becoming law in Hawaii

[_DoubtingThomas]

"Doctor-assisted suicide close to becoming law in Hawaii"
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/ ... e-54109134

[_Res Ipsa]

Please don’t link and run. Please tell about the linked material.

[_DoubtingThomas]

Please don’t link and run. Please tell about the linked material.

Okay I will do next time, but it is clear nobody is interested in the assisted suicide news.

[_Xenophon]

Okay I will do next time, but it is clear nobody is interested in the assisted suicide news.

I think some here might be interested in discussing it, but you didn't give them much to talk about, more of a news aggregate service than a discussion topic.

Typically I'm all for people being able to choose how their life goes, or doesn't as the case may be. I think things like mandatory 3-6 month cool off periods are solid ideas, ensuring there are no spur of the moment decisions.

Late stage terminal illness and end-of-life decisions are situations you often see people agreeing that assisted suicide is a good idea. It gets much trickier when we start discussing things like depression or other mental illness. I see many people think that since depression is often a treatable illness that it should not count as a reason for allowing assisted suicide. Personally I think this stance doesn't do justice to how absolutely debilitating depression can be nor how long (and possibly endless) a path it is.

I've watched loved ones battle it their entire lives, never really coming to a place they could call "comfortable" or "cured". Although they had the fortitude to continue that endless struggle, I wouldn't fault anyone that couldn't. Just as I wouldn't fault someone for not wanting to go through intensive or experimental cancer treatment. I understand that the scenario I described above is often the exception and not the rule, but it is common enough that I think it is worth fleshing out.

As an aside, I think the legal framework in the Netherlands is probably about as ideal a standard as you could hope for, I've yet to compare it to what Hawaii has done.

• the patient's suffering is unbearable with no prospect of improvement
• the patient's request for euthanasia must be voluntary and persist over time (the request cannot be granted when under the influence of others, psychological illness or drugs)
• the patient must be fully aware of his/her condition, prospects, and options
• there must be consultation with at least one other independent doctor who needs to confirm the conditions mentioned above
• the death must be carried out in a medically appropriate fashion by the doctor or patient, and the doctor must be present
• the patient is at least 12 years old (patients between 12 and 16 years of age require the consent of their parents)