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I'm choosing euthanasia etd 1pm. I have no last words.

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Re: I'm choosing euthanasia etd 1pm. I have no last words.

#161

I have a degenerative spinal condition, 38 years old, no idea if/when the degeneration will reach the point where I need to use a ventilator or when my faculties will dip below a certain point on the [CGS][1]. But when these things start looking more imminent, I hope I have the courage to do what he has just done, I really do. Incredibly brave decision. [1]: http://www.glasgowcomascale.org/ Edited to Add: Added link…

I don't think GCS is a terribly useful metric for evaluating your own quality of life... You may place more or less value on certain functions, so a '13' might be totally fine, or not worth carrying on, depending on which points were 'lost'.

Re: I'm choosing euthanasia etd 1pm. I have no last words.

#162

This keeps me up at night. I hope the collective advancement in science makes it possible to defeat cancer some day. I believe/hope that my contribution as a insignificant CS-student helps somebody develop tools that help somebody researching etc. I am really convinced that every advancement is connected somehow and the collective improvement in efficiency and livings standards makes it possible to commit more resour…

We don't have a lot of confidence about curing cancer near term (next decade or two). What we are really working on is turning it into a chronic condition, beating back recurrences occasionally with different therapies (and we hope with fewer less bothersome side effects)

Re: I'm choosing euthanasia etd 1pm. I have no last words.

#163
post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only way to win is not to play. I'm past 50. I'm not overly fussed about dying, it's not like it's avoidable. I'm not overly fussed about how either as I'll get what I'm given. Of course I'd prefer a pain-free exit rather than a 2 year painful decline to incoherent as my father had. Unless you go in your sleep I suspect all routes have pain as the final memory. I have no fear of any of it. The only thing actually…

It's pretty obvious to me most people debating how unethical euthanasia is have no exposure to needlessly prolonged suffering or just favor dogmatic cruelty over humane treatment of people. The kind of folks who think mother Theresa was a saint with her horror houses of suffering.

It amazes me how many people will favor putting a suffering animal out of its misery, then fight tooth and nail against offering that same mercy to their fellow human beings.

Re: I'm choosing euthanasia etd 1pm. I have no last words.

#165
post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry, I didn't mean to speak of death in dismissive form. I've seen too many relatives and those close to me perish in various of ways before old age not to care about it. To me all forms of it ... just feel equally bad in the end from the point of fearing some personal fate or another. My view is not of someone oblivious to life's hardship. Life hits you, you take the punches, and stand as long as you can. "Cancer"…

Radiation and chemo therapies are one of the most horrific things one can endure. Depending on the type of cancer, you can go in a few weeks, months, or fight the battle for years. Even if you endure and persist, which gets progressively easier for a lot of cancers thanks to more advanced therapies, you have to fear recurrence. I'm not at all opposed to ending one s own life if done without severe psychological issue…

It's your own life to take and as long as your brain still works and you have some freedom of movement, nobody can actually stop you from doing it if you're so determined.

And granted, when talking about mental illnesses that are considered treatable, like depression, you can't expect assistance for suicide. But when talking terminal illnesses, like cancer or dementia, then not legalizing assisted deaths is not only dangerous to others, but also an act of extreme selfishness.

We're basically condemning people to suffer extreme physical pain and/or insanity until their last breath. And as a non-practicing Christian, I suspect the reason has less to do with God and more to do with not wanting to take on some fucking responsibility for others.

Re: I'm choosing euthanasia etd 1pm. I have no last words.

#167

This keeps me up at night. I hope the collective advancement in science makes it possible to defeat cancer some day. I believe/hope that my contribution as a insignificant CS-student helps somebody develop tools that help somebody researching etc. I am really convinced that every advancement is connected somehow and the collective improvement in efficiency and livings standards makes it possible to commit more resour…

>I believe/hope that my contribution as a insignificant CS-student helps somebody develop tools that help somebody researching etc.

I somehow ended up in a academic Genetics lab, writing software. We use a lot of languages here (Php, python, perl, java, R, javascript and even some C) and various web frameworks to let people use our tools to do science. I don't know if the creators of these tools imagined they'd be used for science, but they put the tools out there in the public and they were used.

You contribute, because its the right thing todo, that makes you significant. You never know how significant what you put out there will end up being, but it helps you grow too. The open source community inspires and you by contributing are part of that. Every little bit helps.

"Bioinformatics" is a general term of the use of computing in Biology. Its an interesting field.

Re: I'm choosing euthanasia etd 1pm. I have no last words.

#168
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cancer seems more scary to me than a stroke or a fatal car accident because you can try to prevent those things. Health choices can decrease chances of a stroke, being an alert/careful driver can decrease chance of an accident. Cancer though...I mean yeah you can avoid longterm sun exposure or not smoke, but there are so many out-there types of cancers that just swoop in out of nowhere that you don't stand a chance o…

When it comes to cars, nothing is stopping some yahoo not paying any attention from careening into you no matter how careful you are.

By choosing not to drive and being vigilant while crossing the street, you definitely reduce your cross-section (although drivers do plow into pedestrians every once in a while)

Re: I'm choosing euthanasia etd 1pm. I have no last words.

#169
post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Do you think it meet of a Christian man to speak so at a time like this, or indeed any other? I do. > This is cruelty. Is it cruelty, or love? Is it kindness to say to someone, 'the world is better off without you in it'? Is it kindness to help someone destroy himself, and with himself every second he could have had? > Do you think it's your place to judge what God will and won't forgive? This is arrogance. We are…

> Do you think it's humble to arrogate for oneself the ending of one's life? Do you think that radical self-determination is not arrogance? Serious question: Arrogance towards whom?

I assume gp would say arrogance towards the god of whichever monotheistic tradition they're adherent to.

Re: I'm choosing euthanasia etd 1pm. I have no last words.

#170
post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> hard to fear it more than any other thing that can kill me - a stroke, a car accident, etc. Hm. I wonder your age. Young folk seem to think death impossibly foreign, and fear it / ignore it all equally. Older folk, that have had more first-hand experience with the decline of the flesh in themselves and those they grew up with, have more an appreciation for the difference between an abrupt death in a car accident, a…

The only way to win is not to play. I'm past 50. I'm not overly fussed about dying, it's not like it's avoidable. I'm not overly fussed about how either as I'll get what I'm given. Of course I'd prefer a pain-free exit rather than a 2 year painful decline to incoherent as my father had. Unless you go in your sleep I suspect all routes have pain as the final memory. I have no fear of any of it. The only thing actually…

The only way to win is not to play

It may be hokey but I believe the only way to win is to play excessively ;-)

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