Dementia patients' 'right-to-die'

BBC News ^ | 9/19/08 | BBC News

[wagglebee]

People should be able to say if they wish to die, Baroness Warnock says

People with dementia should be able to end their lives if they feel they are a burden to others or to the NHS, according to a respected ethicist.

Baroness Mary Warnock, who has made similar calls in recent years, first made her remarks in a Church of Scotland magazine.

She told the BBC she believed there were many who "sank into dementia when they would very much prefer to die".

But Alzheimer's charities called her remarks "insensitive and ignorant".

Around 700,000 people in the UK have dementia and the number is expected to double within 30 years.

[wagglebee]

But she added: "I still think that there is a very huge number of people who sink into dementia and mental incapacity who would really very much prefer to die rather than continue in the state they are in."

And I think YOU personify evil.

[wagglebee]

Pro-Life Ping

[wagglebee]

Moral Absolutes Ping!

Freepmail wagglebee to subscribe or unsubscribe from the moral absolutes ping list.

FreeRepublic moral absolutes keyword search
[ Add keyword moral absolutes to flag FR articles to this ping list ]

[kms61]

I expect to get flamed for this, but I have no interest in sticking around once I lose my mental capacity.

[wagglebee]

Socialized Medicine Ping

[koraz]

Interesting how Pope Benedict just spoke about this on Sept 15, 2008. This is an issue near to my heart since my mom has been suffering from dementia since at least 2002.

“People must accept death at “the hour chosen by God,” Pope Benedict XVI told ailing pilgrims Monday in an anti-euthanasia message at Lourdes, the shrine that draws the desperate, sick and dying.”

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080915/ap_on_re_eu/eu_france_pope

[USMCPOP]

“I expect to get flamed for this, but I have no interest in sticking around once I lose my mental capacity.”

I drift in and out of giving a rat’s butt about life. See you in the next life, eh?

[mkjessup]

I expect to get flamed for this, but I have no interest in sticking around once I lose my mental capacity.

Ahhh c'mon, look how much fun all those deranged 'Rats are having this election cycle? They're mad as hatters and provide endless hours of entertainment! LOL

[hinckley buzzard]

People with dementia should be able to end their lives if they feel they are a burden to others or to the NHS, according to a respected ethicist

Anyone whose dementia has progressed to that stage probably does not retain the critical judgment to make such a decision. But what the hell--kill 'em off. The "ethicist" says it's OK.

[E. Cartman]

While abhor any attempt to end the lives of the elderly disabled prematurely, it's also absured to spend beaucoup government bucks for aggresive medical treatment (especially when so many other worthy causes go begging) to keep them around, wandering the halls, their faces in a perpetual vacant stare.

Of course, on the other hand, if you and I have to pay taxes to bail out "blameless" Wall Street billionaires, whyever should we object to keeping people alive past their natural lives folks who would have deceased without extraordinary intervention?

[E. Cartman]

But what the hell--kill 'em off. The "ethicist" says it's OK.

It is rather Straussian(Leo), don't you think, a wise vanguard elite deciding the fate of the unwashed masses?

[CindyDawg]

If they have dementia they aren't able to make that decision. My parents and my husband's mom have nothing to worry about. It would be an honor and not an inconvenience to help them. I hope I can afford to hire a companion to drive them where they want to go and help them do what they want. If not, we will still make it work. Mom likes fishing, Dad likes flying and MIL likes traveling.

[Harry Pothead]

My Grandmother spent 8 + years in a nursing home not knowing who she or any one else was. My mother the same thing. My mother saw it coming and denied it was happening. When/if my time comes I will take action.

[CindyDawg]

No flaming here but...When it is your time. We all have a purpose .Don’t cheat your grandkids out of enjoying your company, taking you for “walks” drawing you happy pics....learning to care for others.

[webrover]

I don't believe I have the right to end my life, except to save another. But if you want to die, it's Okay with me. Please, just don't try and involve the medical profession in it or some government entity. Their involvement will surely and ultimately lead to the “duty” to die. There is nothing altruistic about those who advocate for this “right”. This is the 21st century and there are myriad ways to exit without involving others.

[G Larry]

Do you have the right to enlist your Doctor in your despair?
Do you mind if the hospital or insurance company decides you need to die, because you’re costing them too much money?
Do you mind if greedy relatives decide they need quicker access to your estate or life insurance?

[USMCPOP]

“No flaming here but...When it is your time. We all have a purpose .Don’t cheat your grandkids out of enjoying your company, taking you for “walks” drawing you happy pics....learning to care for others.”

Sorry, Cindy. It’s just there are days that I get down. Look at my signature line. Half of my chances at grand-kids are dashed, though my wife and I collect children. We have a recent acquisition now, though he’s about grown-up. We’re trying. Keep the faith, as they say.

[trisham]

People with dementia should be able to end their lives if they feel they are a burden to others or to the NHS, according to a respected ethicist.

********************

Imagine being stricken with dementia and knowing that this is the attitude of those around one. Knowing that one is considered a burden by others. Feeling unloved and unwanted. I could cry.

[socialismisinsidious]

Socialized Medicine aka Universal Health Care PING LIST

FReepmail me if you want to be added to or removed from this ping list.

[wagglebee]

Imagine being stricken with dementia and knowing that this is the attitude of those around one. Knowing that one is considered a burden by others. Feeling unloved and unwanted. I could cry.

Precisely. It is disgusting to think that those you love will simply kill you the minute your health declines.