Hi Loudmouth- Grayzie replied to your question to me perhaps better than I could have.
Euthanasia, meaning a good, soft death, should always be thought of as legal, voluntary and active; never as involuntary or passive- and never outside a euthanasia law.
I only mentioned the Peaceful Death because Rhys glorified suicide. I fully agree with RObert regarding suicide.
IF someone like Rhys advocates suicide, then at least advocate the most safe forms and methods of suicide, as discussed in the book.
However, euthanasia is always preferable because it is kinder to the patient and their loved ones. Suicide, when euthanasia is illegal, will always remain a very lonely thing to do, because loved ones have to be excluded.

Two people in my family opted for, and were granted euthanasia. I have discussed this in a previous euthanasia debate some time ago.
In short, a woman in her mid-late twenties, mother of a 4-year old daughter gained permission to be euthanised. She suffered from terminal cancer, had had several operations, chemo therapy and radiation. Her cancer had advanced too much and there was no outlook that she could ever recover.
She suffered much pain. If she took morphine for pain, she suffered nausea and drowsiness. If she didn’t take enough morphine she suffered unbearable, incessive pain.
Her doctors gave her another month to live, at the most, and she would gradually worsen.
After a professional counselled her little daughter and husband, a time for euthanasia was arranged. Her daughter had put all of her soft animals as a blanket over her mother and held her hand. Her husband held her other hand. Music of her choice was playing, the curtains were drawn. Her parents were present in the room. She told everybody that she loved them. She thanked them for letting her go. She was given the introvenous euthanatica of her choice and passed away very, very peacefully as if she was falling asleep.

Isn’t this method much more humane than forcing her to live a miserable and painful extra month?

TBC

Also, my mother and uncle have both made arrangements for euthanasia while they are still in their late 60s, early 70s.
It is an involved process. They had to talk to their own family doctor, then to a counsellor, and to a second doctor who all took independent notes. My mother had to keep explaining every little detail. Doctors needed to be sure at which exact point she would want to be euthanised incase she suffered from alzheimers plus a painful disease without positive outlook.

Also, for those who oppose euthanasia for ‘slippery slope’ reasons, keep in mind that the vast majority of patients who request euthanasia are denied it. Often, other treatments and pain relief can be tried first.
And only about 65% of the patients that were granted euthanasia actually go through with it.

For many, many patients it is just enough to know that they have permission and can have their life ended in a painless manner at any time they please. Having this reassurance actually gives them the courage to try living… perhaps one more day, one at the time. Until they die a natural death. Just knowing that they won’t have to choke to death when paralysed, or have some other scary or painful death, really relaxes these patients. Being relaxed and reassured, in turn, somehow eases their suffering.

I won't comment on the authors thoughts on abortion because I too feel that it is no one's business except the parents and Doctor.
In any case, it is already legal in Australia, so that battle is already won.

Euthanasia, on the other hand, remains undecided both medically and legally, so discussion should be encouraged.

JL Deland, I feel for you if your family has a history of MND.
I have in the past and still do nurse people with this terrible disease.

I too would feel exactly as you do if I was diagnosed with this cruel disease.

I also care for terminally ill people with cancer, lung diseases, multiple sclerosis, Huntington's disease, Alzheimer disease and other forms of dementia, to name a few.

Having also worked in Aged Care Facilities, I can say that probably 75% of residents regularly ask to be 'put out of my misery'. The ones that don't, are usually those who no longer can speak or think for themselves.

As long as we ensure that people aren't clinically depressed and therefore may be able to be helped to enjoy what little life they have left, I believe voluntary euthanasia should be legal.

However, as a medical professional, I worry how this request will be medically managed. Questions to be sorted would include:
*Will all Doctors be expected to give that 'final' injection?

*If some doctors refuse, will there be doctors who are known to be sympathetic to the requests to die who will be expected to give the 'final' injection to patients unknown to them?

*Will there then be a few doctors who are doing 'the final injection' very often?

*How will they cope with that job?

*Will doctors be allowed to 'authorize' nurses to give this injection?
If so, what if the nurse refuses on religious grounds etc ?

Suzeonline. Easy answer for me about unwilling medical participation in such things. I believe in civil liberties for everyone. That means religious and moral objections are respected and the State pulls out it's finger out and puts in real assistance to people wanting access to euthanasia or abortion (free safe and legal thanks) instead of trying to bully reluctant medical staff into it.

The support of that some people who pushed a secular and political line on forcing medicos in Victoria to be engaged in against their conscience even to a small degree in abortion whilst labelling it civil liberties I think was largely an embarressment and undermined confidence in the broader civil liberties movement. It certainly bit the same people in the rear when they then tried to push for a Australian Bill of Rights. There may have been lots of lawyer wriggling that happened about the whole thing, but in the end the Victorian Charter of Rights which was supposed to be a model for the Australian one was made to look a joke. Stop start Civil liberties! Steam is probably still coming from Frank Brennan's ears.

So it would take some work, but I'm sure there are enough committed people around to make it happen without coercing people to be involved. Locally there was talk of letting the local hospice go Catholic. Well, that should be avoided straight away - that's asking for trouble. Personally too, if I want assistance, I would want it from a happy supportive person, not someone who is only doing it because they compelled too.

Rhys Jones

Celivia has responded to your article with experience and far more understanding of the issue of euthanasia than you have expressed in your article.

My mother has scleroderma, a disease that attacks skin cells anywhere in the body. The result is that the dermis becomes rigid, inflexible. In my mother's case it is her lungs that are primarily affect by this incurable disease. She is on oxygen 24/7 - without which she would die. However, this disease cannot be halted, eventually the lack of oxygen will most likely result in a heart attack. The affects of oxygen depletion can also be observed in her brain function - her memory most significantly. My family and I are grateful that her capacity to reason is still intact. As such, we have had many discussions should she reach a time when the current medical aids no longer support her. The hospital she attends is aware that should she suffer another heart attack, she does not want to be revived. My mother is very clear on how she wants to live the remainder of her life. It is a decision between my mother, her family and her doctor.

It is no-one else's business.

As for bringing abortion into a debate on euthanasia, I agree in full with Suzeonline. At the very least it is a different issue with different consequences. The only thing the topics of euthanasia and abortion have in common are the people who would control the personal lives of others, that they would inflict beliefs on others and increase suffering to an inhumane extent.

I can only begin to imagine what my mother (very much a lady in the old fashioned sense) would say to the likes of you Rhys Jones. It would probably be less than you deserve.

My wife and I are both healthy and old. We do not want a lingering painful death nor do we want others to suffer such a fate. We belong to the Voluntary Euthanasia Society of Queensland.

The article is a nobrainer, and I see no point in arguing with it.

Both the government and the opposition will not allow the Northern Territory law which provided for a peaceful release from terminal suffering to be reinstated. In fact they even may introduce net censorship to prevent access to sites or information about sites which give VE information.

http://www.exitinternational.net/ is the website for exit international. You can read about the Australian government censorship plans there, and get information about other related societies.

http://www.peacefulpillhandbook.com/ is the website for getting end of life choices online.

http://www.lib.flinders.edu.au/resources/sub/healthsci/a-zlist/euthanasia.html
directs you to other related links where you may locate a voluntary euthanasia society in your area.