Do you think she should have killed herself?

Question

What would you have done?

Click here to view story.....

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23407034-1702,00.html

Answer 1

Gosh, how horrible! I can definitely understand how she lost her will to live. I cannot say whether she should have killed herself or not because of the way I was raised and what I was taught about suicide...but there are exceptions to every rule. I cannot imagine this woman's ongoing pain and agony and I do imagine she lived in absolute misery for a very long time and this would definitely take it's toll on any human being and I would think they would probably want to escape the nightmare she must have been living every minute of her life. I guess the more I think about it, even though I have never agreed with suicide, I will admit that I would probably felt the same way she did and cannot say for sure that I would not have done the same thing. I imagine the worst pain I have ever been in that lasted only for several hours and I remember wishing I was dead or in a coma for relief..won't go into details, but it was pure h**l and I begged the nurse to just "put me to sleep". It was so bad that I just didn't care if I lived or not...anything to escape the agony. And can you imagine the suffering this caused her family to see her suffer so much every minute of every day? I have to try to put myself in the situation when it comes to answering questions like this..and that takes me to the other side..her children and family's side..when my own mother was on her death bed..she had Alzheimer's and was only 66, she had gotten to a point in the disease that she could not eat or drink and was so severely dehydrated that her tongue turned black and I would sit by her bed for hours on end dipping a thing like a long swab into a glass of water and wetting her mouth knowing that she wanted so much more but would choke if given a drink of water. This lasted for more than a week and my love for my mother was immense..I would have done anything in my power not to lose her because she was my angel and my best friend but I had to be unselfish because I could not bare to see her suffer any longer and when her doctor told me that all he could do was try to keep her comfortable with morphine...I immediately asked him if he could "accidentally" give her too much so she could just peacefully go to "sleep". I have never regretted that, as my love for my mother was so strong and I knew it was an unselfish act. The doctor said he could not do this and explained to me the signs to look for that would show that her death was very near..like how her breathing would slow, etc. I was devastated that he could not help but I understood and I prayed that she would go to sleep soon and not wake up even though I wanted her to be alive and well more than anything in the world but there was no chance of that. The dr. said this could go on for several days..and walked away. I went back into my mother's room and within a couple of hours of my having this conversation with her dr., she started breathing slower and passed away within just a few hours...and even though that hurt me more than I can describe, I was so happy and relieved for her that she was no longer suffering..and I will always wonder if that dr. actually done what I asked him to do because he agreed with me but just couldn't say. I will never know but I can say that I am forever grateful that her horrible suffering didn't have to last much longer for whatever reason...so take what you want from my answer. I am sorry to give this long story but I could not help remembering this while trying to decide how to answer after reading the story about this woman. God bless her soul..and I hope she is now at peace at last....

Answer 2

Hey you read the same news page as me!

All I can say is the French Government's decision was HEARTLESS and Sarkozy is too busy with his 'private life' to care!!

Heck if all those wanker politicians stood up to me and said I did not have the right to die (and I really wanted to), I would produce a pistol and shoot myself point blank in the temple in front of them and hope to god they are freaking traumatised!

Would be better if their little kids were there to see!!

Perhaps that would make them think twice about legal euthanasia as opposed to people commiting suicide!

Thank god for me I have enough drugs at home to be lethal if I took em all at once!

Answer 3

Was there any way to save her? Could she not make the decision to die with dignity? I do not blame her, for she was not living, merely existing

Answer 4

I thought I had problems. Poor woman.

Answer 5

I saw nothing in that article that stated she wasn't being treated for pain or that her pain wasn't being managed. It did state that she was being denied lethal doses.

The story is really about assisted suicide or euthanasia. She asked the state (France) for help in ending her life, in which they refused, so she took matters into her own hands so it seems.

This is a subject that will likely never be resolved in our lifetime as the two sides of the debate are:

One wouldn't allow an animal to suffer such horror so assisted suicide should be sanctioned legally.

Assisted suicide devalues life and therefore is immoral because all life is precious regardless of suffering or indignity.

Personally, I see both sides of the argument having validity. I wouldn't protest legally assisted suicide but still have enough value for life that I wouldn't advocate for it. Regardless, anyone suffering should be given as many narcotic pain relievers as necessary in order to at least exists pain free in terminal cases.

Answer 6

I didn't see where she wasn't allowed to take morphine, but I probably would've killed myself.  There's no way anyone could be remmotely comfortable with their body being extorted like that.  The fact that the government denied her right to die is a shame, and had i been her, I would've found other means to do it myself.

Answer 7

WoW that's crazy. Who'd want to live like that?

If people want to die because they have a terminal illness and are in pain, I think it's up to them.