With the recent ruling in New Mexico to allow physician assisted suicide for the mentally competent terminally ill, it made me wonder current views on physician assisted suicide. I found a topic on this from 2007, but a lot changes in 7 years.
I personally believe that every person has the fundamental right to choose if they want to die. As a nurse I would refuse to administer the medication but that is because I don't want to be responsible. As a future NP I would also refuse to prescribe it (for one because I think that's way out of an NP's scope) because I would not want the moral liability.
As far as suicide being a sin: What is a "sin" is determined by each individual person, and is between them and G-d. No one should be forced to suffer.
I wish there was a way to make it available to the incompetent also, patients who are in a persistent vegetative state or severely debilitated... I think PAS is much more humane than pulling someone's G-Tube and letting them starve to death... But that's just me.
This has been my experience as well. Horrible.... especially if they have family who are caring, yet in denial. These poor people linger, for so long. And one 'blink' in answer to a question and it's pull out all the stops, again. Don't get me wrong, I've seen plenty of evidence that a patient may well still be 'in there,' but they will never be the same. Families will ask, 'what would you do?' I don't ever weigh in, I just say 'what would they want?' Which is obvious, they tried to kill themselves. But, I'm powerless.
I am a little on the fence about involving someone else. In that case, why not make solid dependable information available and let patient self - administer? It's a little unfair to say you are against suicide while asking another to do it for you, I think. At least with guidance they know they won't wake up gorked out from it. As to the vegetative state, I still think turning off the feeding tube is the only way to avoid being accused of homicide.
This debate is disconcerting for me. But, I believe it needs to be better everywhere, for everyone.
Dear God, I had a suicide survivor on my assignment once. So horrible. Without going into detail I'll just say I couldn't understand how anyone could have wanted her/him to live in the state they were in. Haunts me to this day.
To me, it's worse if they're "in there", which i believe this person to have been. It would be one thing if we could be certain they were "gone", but....ugh, I just can't even imagine.
Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN
5,047 Posts
I was referring to this poll option
“Allowable for all terminally ill and vegetative (decision can be made by family or patient if the patient is competent).”