Aristotle
Senior Member
- Sep 9, 2012
- 1,599
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I don't consider euthanasia the same as assisted suicide. I do think it matters if you shoot me, or you load the gun and then hand it to me. I see a distinction.
It doesn't matter what you think, the medical board is in agreement that Euthanasia means physician assisted suicide.
What medical board?
Well for starters the California Medical Association. In 1988 the board of trustees voted to oppose the "humane and dignified death act" and also proposition 161, "Death with dignity act" in which this board felt:
"Legalizing physician "aid-in-dying" would introduce disturbing potentials for abuse. The "right" to a lethal injection could become an expectation of appropriate behavior, and then a duty, pressed forward by other demands on scarce resources and by the perceived burden imposed on others. Further down this "slippery slope," an expectation might arise for other "unfit" members of society (e.g., certain disabled individuals) to voluntarily end their expensive suffering as well."
As I mentioned before they also discussed psychological factors in the following:
"Suicide is rarely a rational decision; most often it is a psychologically abnormal event associated with depression or other disorders. This has been found to be as true among terminal patients as among others. Suicidal behavior suggests a condition deserving medical treatment, not lethal medication."
Regarding pain, they said in the following:
"Pain suffered by the vast majority of terminal patients can be controlled, and other needs, including emotional counseling and support, can be provided for through hospice care. Legalizing euthanasia could undermine efforts to further improve pain control and to promote hospice care, since an expectation could arise that terminal patients should simply dispatch themselves rather than consume valuable resources by "prolonging the inevitable."
See: California Medical Association Policy On Physician-Assisted Suicide