Germany's top court to decide on legalizing assisted suicide

Deutsche Welle ^ | 02.25.2020 | Wolfgang Dick

[Olog-hai]

“I want to end it if the pain gets unbearable,” 63-year-old Melanie S. tells Lukas Radbruch, a doctor at University Hospital Bonn, who has also been serving as the president of the German Association for Palliative Medicine since 2014. She has end-stage lung cancer, and fears she could suddenly lose the ability to swallow and this suffocate while fully conscious. This possibility has led Melanie S. to consider assisted suicide.

But so far, paragraph 217 of Germany’s criminal code prohibits assisted suicide. The law was adopted in 2015 by Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag, to prevent associations or individuals from turning suicide into a kind of business.

Specifically, the law states that “anyone who, with the intention of assisting another person to commit suicide, provides, procures or arranges the opportunity for that person to do so and whose actions are intended as a recurring pursuit incurs a penalty of imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or a fine.” Legal experts have since hotly debated whether the law also criminalizes consultations — or merely mentioning, for example, that one may end one’s life by foregoing (sic) food. […]

Most observers predict that Germany’s top court will rule that paragraph 217 is incompatible with the constitution. If this happens, assisted suicide would once more be possible in Germany, as it previously was. Doctors would again be permitted to counsel patients about this option and provide them with lethal drugs, yet not administer them. …

[jmacusa]

I thought all these (socialist/neo-socialist)European countries had free health care and everything was swell and nobody ever got sick. That's what Uncle Bernie says and Lizzie Warren and all they Democrats say. And they wouldn't lie, right?. (sar.)

[lee martell]

For unbearable physical pain with little chance of relief?
I say yes. I am Catholic, but I’ve seen enough suffering not to reject the entire notion.

[caww]

There’s no reason today for anyone to have unrelieved pain even if in the dying process. If they are it’s because of poorly managed pain relief....when a person is in severe pain, there’s no reason to withhold powerful painkillers.

[metmom]

Germany's top court to decide on legalizing assisted suicide Murder.

There, fixed it for them.

[metmom]

I know there isn’t but they do.

They are so worried about old, terminal people who might become addicted to pain killers, that they’d rather see them suffer.

[metmom]

So whatever happened to the Catholic notion of offering up your suffering to God?

And besides, if the person goes to hell, are they really being done a favor?

[caww]

At that point of terminal illness pain killers are not considered addictive but palliative care....rightly so. Our family’s grandmother eventually had a morphine drip and were proactive in preparing ahead for whatever was needed for her to be as comfortable as possible at every stage.... She did not suffer.

[Olog-hai]

Seems like they think every old person is Mrs. Dubose from To Kill A Mockingbird, who was apparently trying to kick morphine before she died; her suffering made her lash out at the neighborhood children, particularly Scout and Jem.

[metmom]

No kidding.

However, being in constant pain does have an affect on one’s ability to tolerate anything. It’s no wonder people in constant pain are often cranky.

Take care of the pain and maybe the crankiness would go away.