Should the terminally ill have the right to die

[Cheraphy]

It's funny you say that ModShop because one answer is being forced by lawmakers, and that answer is "no."

[ModShop]

And from a lawmakers point of view, that makes perfect sense. There's just too many liabilities with making a form of murder legal (call it what you will, sugar coating the name doesn't hide the action done). Animals get euthanized wrongly all the time through stupid mistakes, who's to say that the same couldn't happen for humans? And what if the family turns around and sues (you know lawyers these days) even after they consent to have it done? A person was killed on a roller coaster not too long ago where I live, and his family publicly stated that they would not hold the amusement park accountable, as he had no legs and therefore couldn't be properly restrained (and blatantly ignored several warning signs). You wanna know what happened? They sued several weeks after, despite their original claims. Imagine how many more stories like that would happen if human assisted suicide were legal? Not to contradict my earlier post, but one must view more points of view than their own, especially if lawyers were get involved.

[Computergeek01]

Today I learned that ModShop lives near me....

Anyway back to the discussion. You DO have the right to die in the US, you do NOT have the right to kill yourself. As has been said previously you have the right to refuse treatment. But what hasn't been mentioned is that you also have the right to refuse treatment for injuries that have not occured yet but would prevent you from being able to say no to the doctors. One way is what we call a DNR order, it stands for Do Not Resuscitate and is a legal document expressing your wishes not to be kept alive on life support. The draw back to this is that it may be too general and prevent doctors from treating you for injuries that you would have allowed treatment for. Second option, you can file a document (I forget what it's called) granting Power of Attorney to just about anyone you want in the even that you become incapacitated. You can say that this person has the legal right to act on your behalf and make the decision of weither or not to treat you. This has a few necassary holes in it to allow others to call into question weither or not that person has your best interests in mind but over all it's the better of the two options. I'm sure either of these options are avalible in other countries, they would use different terms.

[BHX]

Yeah with Jack Kevorkian gone and no one stepping into his shoes I wonder what people are going to do for assisted suicides now. :/

[1vRz3TCk]

My uncle spent seven days in absolute agony, begging for death before going. The doctors know there was nothing they could do, my uncle knew, we knew. I think everyone would have been happier if he could have gone peacefully but the law does not allow it, as a result my last memories of a once proud man are him crying and begging for death. All people want is the ability to determine their own death when all that is left in life in undue suffering.

I, for one, would like to be able to say; if, due to accident or illness, I am left in a permanent vegetative state then end my life.

[TheMeerkat]

I find it interesting that when an animal is in vast pain and is going to die, it is said to be humane put put it down. Yet when it comes to humans this is not the case.

Especially when it is only assumed that the animal would want to die, whereas the human could actually be asking you to kill them and it is still considered wrong in the eyes of the law (for most countries). Although admittedly, often the person is in no state to talk at the point when euthanasia is being considered.

That said though there is a lot to be said against euthanasia. Who should get the final say if the person in question is not in a fit state to say his/her wishes? And even if they can effectively communicate, huge amounts of guilt can be placed on the sick person. If your illness is dragging on for years, and you might not actually wish to die yet, but you feel you are becoming too much of a burden on your family, should you decide to die anyway? That's quite the decision on your shoulders.

Over all it's quite complicated, I would probably be in favour, of if they sick/injured person specifically requests euthanasia then OK, and also if a form like Computergeek was talking about existed that extended to include euthanasia then also OK. But in cases of non-voluntary euthanasia I would be quite strongly against it.

On a side note though. How does euthanasia take place in the Netherlands? Are the persons organs able to be donated afterwards (assuming they were fine to do so before the death)?

[wtf]

m4ster r0shi: What is this dota?

[m4ster r0shi]

wtf wrote:

m4ster r0shi: What is this dota?

I know a google search isn't enough for this. I've been trying to find time for this post.

DotA (Defense of the Ancients) is a custom map for Blizzard's Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne (which is a(n) RTS with RPG elements), where two teams (the Sentinel and the Scourge), consisting of up to five players each, battle against each other. The purpose of the game is to destroy the opposing team's main building. The Sentinel are located on the bottom left corner of the map, while the Scourge lie on the top right one. The two bases are connected via three routes, like this (dots denote a shallow river (walkable) that connects the three routes (denoted by stars)):

------------------
|  * * * * * * B |
| * ..       * * |
| *  ..    *   * |
| *   .. *     * |
| *     * ..   * |
| *   *    ..  * |
| * *       .. * |
| A * * * * * *  |
------------------

Along these routes, there are towers that make life difficult for the opposing team's players:

------------------
|  * B * B * B * |
| *          B B |
| A        B   * |
| *      B     B |
| A     A      * |
| *   A        B |
| A A          * |
| * A * A * A *  |
------------------

Every 30 seconds, on each route (and for each team, of course), AI controled soldiers (we call them "creeps") spawn at one end and begin marching to the other.

Now, each player controls a hero (there are 100+ different heroes available), a significantly powerful unit, which becomes more powerful as the game progresses, by leveling up (up to level 25), learning/upgrading spells (three four-leveled spells and one, ultimate, three-leveled spell), and buying items (up to six items can be carried simultaneously, and there are 120+ different items in the game).

Unlike other unit types, heroes have attributes (strength, agility, intelligence), that affect their performance in battle. Strength offers increased hp capacity and regeneration. Agility provides increased attack speed and armor, and intelligence boosts mp capacity and regeneration. One of these attributes (depending on the particular hero) is the primary one and also adds to the hero's damage.

Apart from the primary attribute classification, you can divide heroes (depending on their role in the game) to damage dealers (self explanatory), tanks (can withstand big amounts of damage before dying), supporters (provide benefits to nearby friendly units), disablers (can render enemy heroes unable to attack and/or cast spells for an amount of time), pushers (can easily bring down enemy creep waves and towers) and maybe some other categories that I can't recall.

So, basically, the gameplay consists of moving around your hero, killing creeps and enemy heroes to get experience points and gold, strengthening your hero by leveling up and buying items, and destroying towers and, eventually, the enemies' base. It's not as shallow as it sounds, though. There's a lot of room for both strategic planning and micromanagement. For example, if the opposing team consists exclusively of intelligence heroes, you may want to buy magic resistance/immunity and mana-burn items early. Also, spells A and B may not pose a real threat if cast separately, but if you combine them at the right time and place, the result can be devastating. I can't describe it with words. You really have to play the game to understand its depth.

The popularity of this map has lead to the development of similar stand-alone games, with better mechanics and polished graphics (e.g. HoN and LoL), but DotA will always have a place in my heart.

darkestfright wrote:

your analogy is pretty ridiculous

Is it? Well, go tell that to \/ this \/ guy. I have a feeling that he begs to differ.

When I first saw Dean sitting in my waiting room, he smiled and winked at me. On his face he had two tumors the size of very large lemons. One was under his chin on the right side, and the other growth was on his forehead on the left side. During my examination, Dean explained that he had leukemia. I asked him what medications and therapies he used to keep the disease under control. "None, never", he replied. I continued my examination, trying to focus on what I was doing but wanting to ask him dozens of questions. I had healed from an injury, but this was clearly different. Leukemia, especially untreated acute myelogenous leukemia, was a debilitating and painful disease. It was not an injury the body could simply heal over time, like a broken bone.

The doctors who diagnosed Dean had given him six months to live. Right then, Dean said, he had made himself a promise to see his son graduate from high school. That pivotal moment had occurred 25 years earlier. Now, beaming at me across the examination table, Dean announced that in a few months, he was going to his youngest grandchild's high school commencement. I was amazed.

After our first encounter, Dean returned to my office for a couple of followup visits. One day, after I finished treating him, I finally had to ask, "How did you do it? You should have been dead 24 years ago, but with no medications, no surgeries, no therapies, you are still alive. What's the secret?" Dean smiled broadly, leaned across the examining bench to bring his face close to mine, pointed to his forehead, and said, "You just have to make up your mind!" He shook my hand firmly, turned to leave, and then gave me one more wink.

http://www.amazon.com/Evolve-Your-Brain-Science-Changing/dp/075730480X

[ultifinitus]

m4ster r0shi wrote:

What is this dota?

I thought you meant "what is this, dota?" So I didn't respond- as I though, everyone knows what Dota is, if for no other reason than basshunter...