“Profusor” Takes the Pain Away… Forever

Euthanasia is common when ending the life of a beloved pet that might be suffering from incurable disease or other infirmities. We should not deny the same right of assistance to our beloved humans.

After reading your comment (especially the above excerpt), I got to thinking of people that I've know who've died from cancer, or other terminal diseases. Maybe we as human beings are selfish when it comes to letting our loved ones go. Each person that I've known who has died from a terminal illness had seemed to come to peace with it months (or years) before they passed on, although nobody else had.

The concept of "dying with dignity" definitely strikes a chord with me. I wouldn't want my family to remember me suffering, or in a vegetable-like state. However, I am still uneasy regarding this technology because people who are not ill can get ahold of this device. I'd hate to think of someone using a device like this because they feel unsatisfied with life.

As the main issue is usually pain control and there are entire field of medicine directed at palative care, I guess I dont see the need for assisted suicide.

And I, although I have no idea who you are, sincerely hope you never need to...

Yes, there is an entire medical field devoted to pain control. However, we do not know exactly how each person feels inside with or without medical treatment. If someone feels that their pain is too much to handle, who are we to tell them their decision is wrong? Euthanasia is a delicate topic because it involves human lives - but I feel that ultimately each person should be able to decide for themselves. As difficult as it is to lose a loved one, it may also be difficult for them to hold on through their pain.

Granted, it's easy to say that something like this should be allowed when it's just an idea. If someone I knew was terminally ill and considering using the Profusor, I would have a hard time telling myself that it was their decision.

There are certain kinds of pain that cannot be relieved by any legal drug.I mean physical pain, not mental anguish.In some countries, heroin is used to relieve the pain of terminally ill cancer patients.It is administered in carefully monitored doses to only alleviate the pain, not to provide a drug "high".Some patients have had remissions, and the dose was tapered down to nothing as their pain subsided.The result was that no one was hooked on the drug after treatment.The pain "ate" the heroin, so to speak.Yet some countries deny a viable method of pain relief to those in the greatest need.They paint with a very broad brush, and ANY use of heroin is illegal.The politicians and lawmakers have lost contact with reality.I do not advocate the free use of heroin, but when properly administered by a physician, it should be available as an option to taking the "shortcut to the exit sign."

its not really assisted suicide. and sometimes the drugs make you sicker in other ways than the ailment. though i feel life is precious. i also feel that joy of life is precious. how can one person say they would refuse to allow another to end thier life if a terminal desease is eating away at them? i feel that it would be more of a selfish act to not allow the person to make thier own mind up. its a touchy issue, be you buddhist, christian or any other religion. i think you have to make up your own mind. and think what you would do if you couldnt take the pain and suffering, while the pills did little to ease the pain.

I feel I must clarify my previous post. First of all I'll say I am a believer. That said I want to say this; The Bible is ambiguous on the subject of suicide. In fact when King Saul fell on his own sword it is stated by the ghost of Samuel the prophet that they would be together, presumably in paradice.

Murder (as aposed to killing in war or criminal punishment) is, explicitly forbidden. The distinction I am making for myself is to not engage in an activity that leads to the death of another (except as already noted or in personal defence).

Of all the things to fear, those that would protect us from ourselves are the most dangerous.They sleep snugly at night, thinking in their heart of their last good deed, that prevented someone from harming themselves.They do not consider the other's point of view, and enact laws to enforce their views upon all.Their ego is so great that they actually believe that their way is "The only way" to live.Or die.

We should all be given the choice to drop out of this world whenever we choose, for whatever reason we choose.Who else is more qualified to make that choice?You?Them?Others? How arrogant and egotistical!

Saving a child from falling off of a cliff is a lot different than condeming another person to a future of pain,whether physical or psycological.

Those who advocate that anyone wanting to take their own life is not in their right mind have never really had REAL pain on a continuous non-relenting basis.

Think objectively about it, if you can.

Puts me in mind of the song lyric - "he can't even run his own life, I'll be damned if he'll run mine..." Guest, please consider registering as a member.

Gee, I sure wish you had registered as a member so my "Good Answer" vote didn't go to the amorphous 'Guest'... But thank you for the cold, clear dose of reality!

Sorry. I wasn't able to register all the way before I put out my message.

Ouch Potassium Chloride is going to hurt. Disrupting the heart until it eventually stops, and then the relatively slow death that follows as the brain becomes starved of oxygen. Seems like heroine would be a better choice.

Guess that's why on death row they use a series of three, starting with a tranquilizer (not far short of heroin, I guess) that renders the intended unconcious first.

But what if it was your child, who had been in an accident, was unconscious and in intensive care ?

Bleeding internally, a membrane around the lungs that they can't operate on is torn up, her chest cavity is filling with blood each time she breathes,

Patience and a skillful surgeon to make the right treatment decisions, to drain the blood, she makes it thru the night,

3 weeks in intensive care where she could control her pain med., a summer at home of moaning in pain, and off to high school.

This doesn't sound like those describing cancer this was instantaneous, she was 14 years old, unconscious and in unimagineable pain (her spine was bent in the accident), she did fully recover and lives a great life.

Can pain really be a criteria?

"...she was 14 years old, unconscious and in unimagineable pain..."

Can someone be unconscious and feel unimaginable pain?

Skeeter,

I think that depends on your definition of and personal experience with unconsciousness and unimagineable pain.

She was moaning and she sure wasn't sleeping.

Umm the question doesn't make sense when compared to my comments. If you were going to take your own life, due to some excruciatingly painful terminal end stage disease, i would suspect pain would be a criteria in your selection of method. You describe someone who is not terminal, so i would hope you were not considering giving a process for ending her life as solution for pain. However, if she was about to die no matter what, and was no longer productive or capable of living with any value, and the choice was a very painful death or something less painful, i would then hope you would lead her to something less painful. Potassium would equate to causing a heart attack, and as generally everyone knows those are not pain free.

She was in the heart attack ward, intensive care, had the best doctor an ex-military doc, the extent of her injuries were unknown, if the chest drains allowed her to breathe and the bleeding slowed she might live if nothing else appeared and she began to heal all of the unknown problems. And she did.

Many things go thru a persons mind when your flesh and blood, your child is suffering. I bring these comments here to alert others that the human body can go thru some terrific injuries and survive.

Interesting tale. Not sure of the relevance to a profuser that if operated by end stage patients with no hope and nearly unendurable constant pain would cause serious pain by chemically inducing a heart attack. A better story woul drelate a end stage colon cancer patient who survived.

I didn't go into all the details of how she got there (hit a pier then the other larger girl hit her while on a tube behind a turning boat) or the full extent of the injuries (7 broken ribs, bent spine, internal bleeding,... don't want to remember). The other girl got a cut on her leg and walked away.

I brought this up as an example of accident victims that may get to the "decision" time instantly, but need healing time to evaluate survival or recovery before decision, i.e. injuries can get you (quicker) to the same place as disease.

We've also had other people (hypothermia) recover from less then 60F body temperatures.

The "Profuser" may be a medical "niche" solution?

Umm yeah, i think it is for the end stage patients without hope of recovery who still are capable of making their own decisions and actively participating to some degree.

Here's a new article I found about possibly legalizing Euthanasia in some states. According to the article more than 80% of Americans think it should be legal.

A New Fight to Legalize Euthanasia

I can see a few episodes of law and order from this. He was a bed ridden rich older man with cancer, she was a cheating wife with a prenuptial agreement. He finds out about the fooling around and starts talking to an attorney through his children. He turns up dead from his suicide machine with assistance from his young wife. She claims it was Euthanasia and he was in pain, she asistant him out of love. The children claim murder before he could file for divorce. The ending will have to wait.

The problem i see with legalized murder by individuals, is that the line you distinguish legal murder from euthanasia. Would there need to be observers?

I'd like to see the polling methodology as well as the actual questions posed in this 'poll'. It would be hard to get 80% of Americans to agree on the easy stuff. When you concider that right-to-lifers helped put Bush in office not just once but twice in the last 8 years this 'poll' appears ludicrouse on it's face.