Alex Schadenberg: Oregon citizen wants assisted suicide for people with Alzheimer's

Euthanasia Prevention Coalition ^ | 2/2/11 | Alex Schadenberg

[wagglebee]

Rodger Winn, an Oregon citizen, wrote an article promoting the extension of assisted suicide laws to people with Alzheimer's that he titled: A matter of choice

Winn is proposing that the answer to people with Alzheimer's is to give them a lethal dose.

Since when is it a matter of choice for people who cannot ask for assisted suicide, and what happens when the person is unable to "self-administer" the lethal dose themselves. Well, self-administer is really a misnomer in Oregon because it has been defined as "to ingest" and because there is no witness required at the time of death. To ingest could mean that you swallow or that it is absorbed throught your IV.

I wonder if Winn would say that there is no fear of a slippery slope in Oregon?

Link to Winn's letter that was published on Oregon Live on Saturday, January 29, 2011.

[wagglebee]

Pinged from Terri Dailies

[tuckrdout]

So, government assisted murder, in other words? Hasn’t that been tried in places like Germany and the USSR. I think China practices this..

[Strk321]

“Do you know that despite not being in the good health of a 20 year old, that they may still find life worth living?”

I know. I just feel sad that so many suffer. I wish something could be actually done for them more substantially than just patching the person up, so to speak. Please don’t get me wrong. I don’t believe in assisted suicide. Your life is between you and the man upstairs.

[Strk321]

“A person has every right to have a DNR or medical directive against ventilators. This IS NOT incompatible with being pro-life because they do not necessarily end a person’s life.”

True. Although you could end up like Ariel Sharon (ie. braindead, but your organs still function without life support machines attached). What then? There’s no real answer to a situation like that.

[Strk321]

Not at all. You’re still able to be active and do something you love doing.

[Strk321]

Ah, that was a heartbreaking episode. Here was a woman that maybe couldn’t speak, but otherwise was fully conscious and aware of her surroundings. We could have saved her, but sadly failed.

[Strk321]

“Do you know that someone over the age of 75 is still a human being?”

Absolutely. Unfortunately, society doesn’t value people that age the way they should. An example would be the mandatory retirement age of 65 that many companies have, which is essentially equivalent to euthanizing someone.

I admire anyone who can still work and be productive into their old age. To me, it means you did something right with your life and aren’t a quitter.