Gvac
03-11-2009, 07:49 PM
This was a topic of debate on today's show and one that brings out passion on both sides. I think the main reason it will never be passed into law is the inability to draw lines as to when it's acceptable or not. It's like abortion in a way; you can't say it should be legal in certain cases and illegal in others. It's all or nothing, and I guess I can understand that.
I watched my grandmother wither away and die from the ravages of Alzheimer's Disease and if there was ever a time I wished someone could be allowed to die, that was it. She was pretty much brain dead and being kept alive with feeding tubes and breathing apparatuses. The doctors were confounded as to why her heart continued to beat for so long, and she "lived" for 7 months in a vegetative state until she passed away on Christmas morning in 2002.
It was such an awful and painful experience for the entire family, particularly my mother and grandfather. Both refused to pull the plug, so to speak, so we had to watch my grandmother literally rot away before our eyes. Her skin was decaying and she was, for all intents and purposes, a breathing corpse. I mourned for her more when she was no longer with us mentally than I did when she officially died.
I'd like to think that if it was my own mother in that situation I'd have the fortitude to "do the right thing" but I guess it's impossible to know until you're in that situation.
What are your feelings on the subject?
I watched my grandmother wither away and die from the ravages of Alzheimer's Disease and if there was ever a time I wished someone could be allowed to die, that was it. She was pretty much brain dead and being kept alive with feeding tubes and breathing apparatuses. The doctors were confounded as to why her heart continued to beat for so long, and she "lived" for 7 months in a vegetative state until she passed away on Christmas morning in 2002.
It was such an awful and painful experience for the entire family, particularly my mother and grandfather. Both refused to pull the plug, so to speak, so we had to watch my grandmother literally rot away before our eyes. Her skin was decaying and she was, for all intents and purposes, a breathing corpse. I mourned for her more when she was no longer with us mentally than I did when she officially died.
I'd like to think that if it was my own mother in that situation I'd have the fortitude to "do the right thing" but I guess it's impossible to know until you're in that situation.
What are your feelings on the subject?