Voluntary Euthanasia

Nurses Activism

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I think one of the cruelest things we do is let patients lay in nursing home beds without the legal ability to terminate their own lives. I'd be interest in what other nurses think of this.

If you ask active people who are in their 40s and alert and you say to them "when you get older and you lose the capacity to know your surroundings and you no longer recognize your family members, and if you reach a point where someone has to change your brief in a bed or feed you your meals, would you prefer to live your life like that or would you prefer someone terminate your life painlessly and peacefully?"

What do you think most people's response would be???

Mine would be termination of my life! But guess what that is against the law in most states.

I'd be interested in knowing what other nurses think about this. We get trained over and over again about abuse. Well to me, the biggest abuse we commit is we do not allow Voluntary Euthanasia over laying in a soiled brief in a nursing home bed where we can't even feed ourselves anymore. Voluntary Euthanasia is illegal in all states and PAD is allowed only in Washington, Oregon, Montana, and Vermont.

Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
I think it's a slippery slope. Anyone seen "Soylent Green"?

"Soylent Green is people!"

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Specializes in Post Anesthesia.
Slippery slope. I can see the logic in it but the potential for abuse scares the crap out of me.
I agree. Who decides if the patients judgement is questionable, what qualifies as an acceptable quality of life? I work acute care, so my experience is insufficient to have an informed opinion, but in my practice, people that are on deaths door generaly go through without my help. It is a rare patient that has enough damage to be in a vegatative state, yet continues to live on and on and on. It happens- but it is uncommon in my experience. Dementia patients- when do they cross that "kill them" line? I'm a bit forgetful now, and I don't get around as well as I did 10 years ago. I don't want to have to worry about having to pass my "good enough to keep alive" physical if I require assisted living in a few more years.
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Specializes in School Nursing.

I don't think euthanasia should ever be legal. HOWEVER, I do believe we should follow people's wishes and not take extraordinary measures to prolong life/death. If someone is terminal and stops eating, it is insane to me to place a feeding tube, to what end? If they CHOOSE to stop eating, let them stop eating. A patient in end end stage Huntington's, a full code? Are you f'ing kidding me??

Perhaps after we've tackled the problem of not allowing people to die, we can then tackle the ethical issues of hastening death

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I hate the waste and suffering that occurs with futile care at the end of life. However, I think much of that could be avoided if the public were more educated on end of life decision making and palliative care. Yes, euthenasia is illegal, but for a competent person to decline treatment is absolutely legal. Have a living will, have a health care POA who knows your wishes in case you can't speak for yourself.

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There's a PBS Frontline documentary called The Suicide Tourist, about a man with ALS who chooses to travel to Europe for assisted suicide. It's a pretty powerful documentary in terms of looking at human suffering and the importance of being in control of one's disease process, especially for terminal diagnoses. Interviews with the subject and his family members are emotionally charged, but very insightful.

I saw that documentary, too. It was very moving and very powerful. His death was so peaceful.

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Specializes in CRNA, Finally retired.

Please see "How to Die in Oregon." I think it was an HBO documentary. It is a legal option that very few people choose and the patients must purchase and drink the barbiturate on their own. It tastes very awful but the patients didn't complain and the coma comes almost instantly. I wish someone would be around to help me when I'm ready. I don't want the next generation to have to pay for my care. Their lives will be hard enough.

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Specializes in hospice.
. I don't want the next generation to have to pay for my care. Their lives will be hard enough.

Haven't we seen enough in the last couple generations to realize that removing all obligations from the young is extraordinarily BAD for them?

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Haven't we seen enough in the last couple generations to realize that removing all obligations from the young is extraordinarily BAD for them?

There are GOOD & bad characteristics that accompany each generation. I don't think that was his point. Today's generation is faced with a less than stellar economy & less opportunities for things like career advancement. The middle class is shrinking. My guess is the previous poster's comment was referring to these realities.

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Specializes in Emergency Room, Trauma ICU.

I am a huge believer in euthanasia. If a pt is of sound mind and doesn't want to live their life in what they consider suffering, then they should be able to die with dignity. I've seen too many pts tortured to death in the ICU against their wills because the family can't let go. And yes it's the same family that can't be bothered to visit the family member either. In the US people are so afraid of dying and I just don't get it. There are worse things than dying, and keeping someone who is terminal alive against their will is one of them.

I think with proper steps to guard against abuse if the system, it should be legal in all 50 states.

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Specializes in CRNA, Finally retired.
Haven't we seen enough in the last couple generations to realize that removing all obligations from the young is extraordinarily BAD for them?

I'm hope I don't, but statistics prove that the large majority of folks spend more in Medicare than they put into the system. Plenty of people will have the opportunity to pay for my care before I die. Let's just hope that I don't have to "spend down" to get put on Medicaid and slowly fade away in some institution. I DO NOT want that for myself or for anyone else.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.
I am a huge believer in euthanasia. If a pt is of sound mind and doesn't want to live their life in what they consider suffering, then they should be able to die with dignity. I've seen too many pts tortured to death in the ICU against their wills because the family can't let go. And yes it's the same family that can't be bothered to visit the family member either. In the US people are so afraid of dying and I just don't get it. There are worse things than dying, and keeping someone who is terminal alive against their will is one of them.

I think with proper steps to guard against abuse if the system, it should be legal in all 50 states.

Aren't many of those ICU patients, who are being tortured against their wills unable to communicate their needs or wants which is why the family is able to make decisions for futile care? A competent patient CAN opt to forego curative or life prolonging treatments and seek palliation of symptoms only.

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