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Comment by wiffledust on March 27, 2010 at 5:22pm

i think we really ought to let people go with as much help as we can give them rather than have them suffer needlessly. i know there are religious groups who disagree, and i respect the idea that each breath of life is sacred. however it seems to me that we have so many ways of keeping people alive these days than is natural and have so much needless suffering because of it. if we're going to keep people alive, we need to be brave enough to make the big decisions that go along with that. people who say let nature take its course don't realize that nature would be doing things quite differently.

Comment by Jami Ward on March 27, 2010 at 4:55pm

I agree that we need to have more compassion for the terminally ill and maybe a little less for their survivors who insist on keeping them alive simply because they don't want them to die - even when that's obviously the humane choice. I've just been reflecting on euthanasia lately because a very good friend/neighbor and my cousin both recently died from breast cancer complications after prolonged struggles.

Comment by wiffledust on March 27, 2010 at 10:20am

i personally feel that the greatest gift we can give a terminally ill loved one is the lack of pain. i often think we are much more merciful to animals.

Comment by Jodie Ann Christiansen on March 27, 2010 at 9:21am

Decades of being an oncology registered nurse, I have relieved pain,as there is never a reason for unrelieved pain, yet the very meds we give to the terminally ill are, in themselves, agents that both relieve pain AND suppress respirations, much like causing an passive type of euthanasia ! I oft' felt ambiguous over this. And, your "death's lullaby" does indeed exist,sometimes very pronounced.......loved ones then request MORE anti-pain meds/narcotics for their family member !!