sly juxtaposition

[Gary_Yngve]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/11/01/katrina.deaths.ap/index.html

 

Discussion of the nursing home abandonment/negligence and the purported hospital euthanasia where the doctors and nurses stayed with their patients till the end are in the same article. The implication is that both incidents have some equivalent amount of wrong, a subliminal message squeaked in by the right-to-lifers.

 

Or am I reading way too much into it?

[Stonehead]

Assisted suicide, as it's practiced within the confines of the law, is one thing. I suspect also that some terminal patients are 'assisted' by their personal physicians so that the patient can die with dignity and discretion. The common thread here is that there is consent of the patient while lucid and fully conscious of the decision.

 

With abortion or this reported euthanasia, there is no consent from the subject or in the latter case, the consent is not implied. I suspect this practice of abandonment is more common than realised especially in war zones and other areas of calamity.

 

It's really sad. It seems that these deaths are more a matter of convenience. You know, there are a whole category of crimes of convenience, or rather, that the crimes are committed as a matter of convenience.

 

Maybe the reality of this world is: "Justice is only the will of the stronger." And the weak are left to their own devices.

[Gary_Yngve]

You're playing their game too.

 

Nursing home case: owners flee the place, leaving the patients alone and abandoned. Complete cowardice.

 

Hospital case: nurses and doctors tough it out with their patients. Realizing that they are low on supplies, food, water, power, etc., some of them may have made the decision to ease the suffering of patients, who under all known scientific/medical fact, weren't expected to last more than a week or two.

 

The two stories do not belong side-by-side at all.

[archenemy]

Assisted suicide, as it's practiced within the confines of the law, is one thing. I suspect also that some terminal patients are 'assisted' by their personal physicians so that the patient can die with dignity and discretion. The common thread here is that there is consent of the patient while lucid and fully conscious of the decision.

 

With abortion or this reported euthanasia, there is no consent from the subject or in the latter case, the consent is not implied. I suspect this practice of abandonment is more common than realised especially in war zones and other areas of calamity.

 

It's really sad. It seems that these deaths are more a matter of convenience. You know, there are a whole category of crimes of convenience, or rather, that the crimes are committed as a matter of convenience.

 

Maybe the reality of this world is: "Justice is only the will of the stronger." And the weak are left to their own devices.

 

Really we have no idea if these folks discussed being euthanized or not. It is possible that this was, indeed, their wish.

[cj001f]

Really we have no idea if these folks discussed being euthanized or not. It is possible that this was, indeed, their wish.

Of course even if it was their wish they do not have that right in "the land of the free"

[archenemy]

ah yes. prosecute the corpses for expressing such an unpatriotic thing.

[cj001f]

ah yes. prosecute the corpses for expressing such an unpatriotic thing.

Suicide isn't a crime in any US state currently (it was historically). Aiding is in many states, including WA I believe.

 

Of course the standard retribution for medical personel asissting suicide is extrajudicial revocation of licensure.

[archenemy]

Really? I was under the impression that suicide and attempted suicide are illegal. When was this changed?

 

But either way, I was advocating that we prosecute the corpses for being unpatriotic (like treasonousness behavior); not for suicide. This is serious stuff here. Dude.

[tomtom]

It's ok for a mother to kill her son.

 

In Britian.

[Stonehead]

Really? I was under the impression that suicide and attempted suicide are illegal. When was this changed?

 

I'll use the correct term here: physician-assisted suicide. Check out the link on the State of Oregon's website.

[Stonehead]

You're playing their game too.

 

Nursing home case: owners flee the place, leaving the patients alone and abandoned. Complete cowardice.

 

Hospital case: nurses and doctors tough it out with their patients. Realizing that they are low on supplies, food, water, power, etc., some of them may have made the decision to ease the suffering of patients, who under all known scientific/medical fact, weren't expected to last more than a week or two.

 

The two stories do not belong side-by-side at all.

 

Politically, I'm an independent. I can't support the entire platform of either party enough to call myself exclusively one of the two. I support some of the planks on both parties. The same goes for the liberal-conservative labels. I can't say that my thinking is not flawed but I strive to think out certain issues so I can develop my own standing without relying on prepackaged positions. Simply, think outside the box.

 

I can't help though but chuckle when someone criticizes someone on the Christian Right for being rigid in his beliefs. I'd be willing to believe that some of you are exactly the same with regard to your preconceived ideas concerning issues such as abortion. If you grew up in an environment that espouses liberal ideas, then quite likely you'll not question your beliefs and you'll fiercely hold them. An attack on your beliefs is akin to an attack on your very own identity.

 

Anyway, what I'm saying is question your preconceptions and maybe think about it from the other person's viewpoint. I'm not injecting any right or wrong about it into your worldview, it just seems more sensible to move beyond the partisan stalemates.