Hellobee Boards

There's a heartbreaking, wonderful documentary called "How to Die in Oregon" which discusses what she's doing. The film is hard to watch, but so amazing and powerful. I think it's on Netflix right now. I watched on HBO years ago. They keep it in their On Demand queue on Comcast, I believe. Here's the film's website: http://www.howtodieinoregon.com/

My dad was faced with this decision earlier this year, when told he at best had 6 months if he went through awful treatment. It was really tough to go through, but it gave us a chance to spend more time together and say goodbye properly. I think this is an important right to have, though its very tough being the family of someone choosing to take it.

Her decision doesn't in any way align with my personal beliefs, but that said, I respect her decision and can definitely understand why that would be appealing.

This article really touched me personally as my cousin actually has stage IV terminal glioblastoma brain cancer. He is under 30 and had his first brain tumor surgery back in 2012 and was given 14 months to live. He has made it 26 months since that diagnosis now, but actually just found out that the tumor is back. He is having his second surgery tomorrow.

@cascademom: Thanks for the recommendation. I will have to check this documentary out.

I support this 100%. So heartbreaking.

@jetsa: on netflix there's a great film called, 'how to die in oregon' about death with dignity and end of life choices, really interesting (and heartbreaking!)

having witnessed death on both ends of the spectrum as far as someone being an active participant in their end of life choices and being able to have the death they chose compared to someone who had little to no say in their end of life care, i cannot imagine depriving someone of the right to make informed choices regarding their death. people so often imagine that when things get really bad, they'll just shut down and die very quickly, sometimes that's true, but often death is a very long and agonizing process.

i have sooooo much respect for hospice workers! i know a lot of people who have used hospice meds to expedite end of life, the drug kit you get when you start hospice is unreal, the trouble is that often you need someone to continue to administer meds after you've lost conciseness and that's hard for some family members (even just when they're giving it to provide comfort, not to speed things up). frankly, i'd rather take the morphine until i lose conciseness then have them continue it until i die (if my family members were willing to) than drink all those foul pills crushed up that they give for end of life. i want to die at home, i think i should have the right to make that choice if there comes a time when i need to.

I support her decision. I just wish she didn't have to pack up and move to Oregon to do it legally. It's so honorable that she is choosing to testify and speak up about end of life decisions for the terminally ill. I admire her strength. I'm sad for her husband and family, what a loss it will be for them.

@blackbird: that's what i don't understand, why SHOULDN'T someone have the right? when my grandfather was taken off a vent in the hospital and was going to die, i asked the nurse for more morphine for him, she refused because he was on the highest 'safe' dose they could give.... why does it matter if it's safe (i'm talking about someone that took 45 minutes to basically drown in their own lung fluid, not someone who had any significant quality of life or time to look forward to, but we weren't allowed to get him comfortable or depress respiration)?!? we're talking about people who are actively dying, what's the worst thing that's going to happen if you let them take the meds as they see fit, they might die?! that's going to happen anyway, why shouldn't they be able to choose to do it comfortably on their own terms?! they can choose to smoke and slowly kill themselves slowly and cost ins companies astronomical amounts, that's allowed even if you're healthy! but you can't choose to skip the really horrible parts of dying because some person who's never met you, who isn't a medical professional, who knows nothing of what you're experiencing voted 'no' when dying with dignity was put to a vote where you live... no, that's just so wrong.

Working in hospice this is very close to my heart. Dying with dignity is something I 100% advocate.

I didn't know you weren't allowed to die by your own choice.
I don't believe it's possible to die with dignity- live with it, yes, but you can't die with it.

My husband's uncle was parapalegic since he was 18 and wrecked his truck. His spine wasn't fully attached to itself anymore and he ended up having that main artery break, which is what sent him to the hospital the final time. He'd made it through so many years of dialysis, pain I can't even imagine, beat all the odds and lived to be 35 I think.
Even when he lost his legs at the knee due to blood deprivation, he had a fighting spirit. But in the end, he faced the option of major surgery to basically cut him in half, and even after all that, he wouldn't be able to sit upright like a torso in a little barrel, he'd still be laying in bed all day.

He finally made the choice that that was no way to live, and he chose to stop dialysis. He would not let me say goodbye, but my husband and uncle's parents did. They stayed until he fell into the sleep he wouldn't wake from, and then came home. We got a phone call to tell us when he was finally gone the next day.

I think it should be anyone's choice when and how they die, if they have the option to make it.

My Masters degree studies were in dying with dignity (also my undergrad thesis) My professor and I published an article about how Oregon hospices deal with Death With Dignity. It's a really fascinating ethical argument, actually, although I understand that there needs to be a very human element to the conversation. There are some issues with DWD as it's practiced in the US states where it's legal. For instance, we only extend the right to DWD to those who can physically ingest the drugs themselves, which means people with things like Lou Gherig's Disease (pretty sure I spelled that wrong) have to make the decision before they might want to because they have to be able to physically put the medicine in their mouth and swallow it.) So who really has the "right" to die with dignity, because it's not everyone, etc.

The line between DWD (or physician-assisted suicide) and something like passive euthanasia (which many people aren't okay with) is far more blurry than most people believe. That makes conversations about DWD tricky.

With all that said, I do think DWD ought to be an option, I just think we need to have hard conversations about what that looks like.

@Ms.Badger: I'm so sorry you had that experience. I can't even imagine.

So incredibly heartbreaking.

I support her choice and I believe that everyone should have the right to chose in this situation.

Ahhh..this video breaks my heart. My dad passed away from a Glioblastoma..that started as 1 small brain tumor that ended up morphing into 7 brain tumors.

His death was very rough, on him and all of us. Depending on where the tumor is located in the brain, it inhibits the functions that area of the brain is in charge of--for my dad, it was first his left leg--he couldn't move it anymore. Then it was his left arm as well, then his whole left side, then both legs, then his bowels, then...his breathing. But by then he was 'sleeping' most of the day, but I will never forget his last 24 hours where he just loudly rasped and gurgled to breathe before he passed away.

I fully support this woman's choice.

What a heartbreaking situation but I fully agree with allowing people to chose to die on their own terms.

@Jess1483: it's an allowable defense for a physician, right? I went to a talk in it years ago but I forget.

@jedeve: I'm not even sure because (and I'm ashamed to admit), the supreme court ruling that said it's not illegal came right when I finished my masters degree/was getting married and moving, so I didn't really keep up with it. I think it's a super irresponsible place for the legislature to leave it. They need to pass a law. But you know how that goes...

I do believe the SC decision said it wasn't illegal for the doctor to assist (so yes with what you said about allowable defense for physician), but didn't necessarily make the act itself legal for the patient...or something.

I am watching some facebook drama unfold in which a religious person stated she does not judge this woman, yet states her decision is "not right. not brave, not loving". How ironic and sad.

@jetsa: I just don't know how you can say "Please know I am not judging her" and in the same breath say those things about her choices. They just contradict! And i find it frustrating (SO frustrating) when religious people say "i'm not judging, but....." and then...judge.