Maine becomes 8th state to legalize assisted suicide for the terminally ill

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

Maine legalized medically assisted suicide on Wednesday, becoming the eighth state to allow terminally ill people to end their lives with prescribed medication.

Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who had previously said she was unsure about the bill, signed it in her office.

[...]

Maine's bill would allow doctors to prescribe terminally ill people a fatal dose of medication. The bill declares that obtaining or administering life-ending medication is not suicide under state law, thereby legalizing the practice often called medically assisted suicide.

NBC News

Good for Maine.

[CrypticParrot]

I hope more states follow suit

[S019]

How is this good news??

People should not be allowed to choose to end their life??

Plus, they could possibly be tricked into doing this, bad idea!

[Progressive Pessimist]

How is this good news??

People should not be allowed to choose to end their life??

Plus, they could possibly be tricked into doing this, bad idea!

Why not? It's their choice, especially if they're suffering and from a disease or other malaise and would rather pass away on their own terms. It's a tool of mercy.

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

How is this good news??

People should not be allowed to choose to end their life??

Plus, they could possibly be tricked into doing this, bad idea!

People don't need the government to tell them whether they can end their own life.  You can never outlaw suicide, anyway.  The law passed in Maine allows people, who are already dying, to die with dignity.

[Fuzzy Bear]

How is this good news??

People should not be allowed to choose to end their life??

Plus, they could possibly be tricked into doing this, bad idea!

People don't need the government to tell them whether they can end their own life.  You can never outlaw suicide, anyway.  The law passed in Maine allows people, who are already dying, to die with dignity.

It's not death with dignity when it's murder disguised as mercy so greedy survivors can get Grandma's inheritance earlier.

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

How is this good news??

People should not be allowed to choose to end their life??

Plus, they could possibly be tricked into doing this, bad idea!

People don't need the government to tell them whether they can end their own life.  You can never outlaw suicide, anyway.  The law passed in Maine allows people, who are already dying, to die with dignity.

It's not death with dignity when it's murder disguised as mercy so greedy survivors can get Grandma's inheritance earlier.

Grandma's already dying.  That is what the bill is intended for - terminally ill patients.  In what way does Grandma benefit from suffering needlessly for six months?

[Person Man]

How is this good news??

People should not be allowed to choose to end their life??

Plus, they could possibly be tricked into doing this, bad idea!

People don't need the government to tell them whether they can end their own life.  You can never outlaw suicide, anyway.  The law passed in Maine allows people, who are already dying, to die with dignity.

It's not death with dignity when it's murder disguised as mercy so greedy survivors can get Grandma's inheritance earlier.

Grandma's already dying.  That is what the bill is intended for - terminally ill patients.  In what way does Grandma benefit from suffering needlessly for six months?

I just really feel uncomfortable with there being some sort of OBLIGATION to life.

[Fuzzy Bear]

How is this good news??

People should not be allowed to choose to end their life??

Plus, they could possibly be tricked into doing this, bad idea!

People don't need the government to tell them whether they can end their own life.  You can never outlaw suicide, anyway.  The law passed in Maine allows people, who are already dying, to die with dignity.

It's not death with dignity when it's murder disguised as mercy so greedy survivors can get Grandma's inheritance earlier.

Grandma's already dying.  That is what the bill is intended for - terminally ill patients.  In what way does Grandma benefit from suffering needlessly for six months?

I just really feel uncomfortable with there being some sort of OBLIGATION to life.

What does "terminally ill" mean?

At a certain level, we're all dying.  There are people who have cancer that will die from it whose death may not happen for years, and who may have a decent amount of productive living in between that point.

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

How is this good news??

People should not be allowed to choose to end their life??

Plus, they could possibly be tricked into doing this, bad idea!

People don't need the government to tell them whether they can end their own life.  You can never outlaw suicide, anyway.  The law passed in Maine allows people, who are already dying, to die with dignity.

It's not death with dignity when it's murder disguised as mercy so greedy survivors can get Grandma's inheritance earlier.

Grandma's already dying.  That is what the bill is intended for - terminally ill patients.  In what way does Grandma benefit from suffering needlessly for six months?

I just really feel uncomfortable with there being some sort of OBLIGATION to life.

What does "terminally ill" mean?

At a certain level, we're all dying.  There are people who have cancer that will die from it whose death may not happen for years, and who may have a decent amount of productive living in between that point.

Rebecca VanWormer, the woman who pushed for this bill whose breast cancer spread to her bones, could probably answer that question for you.  You know damn well there's a difference between prostate cancer, which may not kill a man for decades, and something as painful and debilitating as terminal cancer.

Even for you, this is an extremely disingenuous argument.

[Fuzzy Bear]

How is this good news??

People should not be allowed to choose to end their life??

Plus, they could possibly be tricked into doing this, bad idea!

People don't need the government to tell them whether they can end their own life.  You can never outlaw suicide, anyway.  The law passed in Maine allows people, who are already dying, to die with dignity.

It's not death with dignity when it's murder disguised as mercy so greedy survivors can get Grandma's inheritance earlier.

Grandma's already dying.  That is what the bill is intended for - terminally ill patients.  In what way does Grandma benefit from suffering needlessly for six months?

I just really feel uncomfortable with there being some sort of OBLIGATION to life.

What does "terminally ill" mean?

At a certain level, we're all dying.  There are people who have cancer that will die from it whose death may not happen for years, and who may have a decent amount of productive living in between that point.

Rebecca VanWormer, the woman who pushed for this bill whose breast cancer spread to her bones, could probably answer that question for you.  You know damn well there's a difference between prostate cancer, which may not kill a man for decades, and something as painful and debilitating as terminal cancer.

Even for you, this is an extremely disingenuous argument.

I'm not unmindful of this.  My own mother died of cancer in the 1990s.  It was a cancer that lasted a number of years, involved pain in both the disease and the treatment, and my mother was very much pro-assisted suicide.  It was during the time when Dr. Jack Kevorkian was being tried for his assisted suicides.  Someone asked my mother what she thought about him.  Her eyes lit up and she said, happily:  "Oh, he's the greatest!".

I'm not questioning the motives of this bill's sponsors.  I do fear that such a thing has the potential for horrific abuse.  And the definition of "terminally ill" has the potential to be a movable legal goalpost that would, indeed, legalize murder in some cases. 

That's where I'm coming from on this.

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

How is this good news??

People should not be allowed to choose to end their life??

Plus, they could possibly be tricked into doing this, bad idea!

People don't need the government to tell them whether they can end their own life.  You can never outlaw suicide, anyway.  The law passed in Maine allows people, who are already dying, to die with dignity.

It's not death with dignity when it's murder disguised as mercy so greedy survivors can get Grandma's inheritance earlier.

Grandma's already dying.  That is what the bill is intended for - terminally ill patients.  In what way does Grandma benefit from suffering needlessly for six months?

I just really feel uncomfortable with there being some sort of OBLIGATION to life.

What does "terminally ill" mean?

At a certain level, we're all dying.  There are people who have cancer that will die from it whose death may not happen for years, and who may have a decent amount of productive living in between that point.

Rebecca VanWormer, the woman who pushed for this bill whose breast cancer spread to her bones, could probably answer that question for you.  You know damn well there's a difference between prostate cancer, which may not kill a man for decades, and something as painful and debilitating as terminal cancer.

Even for you, this is an extremely disingenuous argument.

I'm not unmindful of this.  My own mother died of cancer in the 1990s.  It was a cancer that lasted a number of years, involved pain in both the disease and the treatment, and my mother was very much pro-assisted suicide.  It was during the time when Dr. Jack Kevorkian was being tried for his assisted suicides.  Someone asked my mother what she thought about him.  Her eyes lit up and she said, happily:  "Oh, he's the greatest!".

I'm not questioning the motives of this bill's sponsors.  I do fear that such a thing has the potential for horrific abuse.  And the definition of "terminally ill" has the potential to be a movable legal goalpost that would, indeed, legalize murder in some cases. 

That's where I'm coming from on this.

Is there any evidence of abuse in the seven other states where physician-assisted suicide is legal?  In Oregon, a patient can only end their life through assisted suicide if they have six months or less to live.  I don't think it matters to a selfish person whether their relative has six months or six days.  Both the patient and the doctor have to consent, so I don't see how it can really be murder.  A doctor cannot administer the drugs to a man whose prostate cancer hasn't metastasized.

I am glad you're keeping an open mind on this.

[Fuzzy Bear]

How is this good news??

People should not be allowed to choose to end their life??

Plus, they could possibly be tricked into doing this, bad idea!

People don't need the government to tell them whether they can end their own life.  You can never outlaw suicide, anyway.  The law passed in Maine allows people, who are already dying, to die with dignity.

It's not death with dignity when it's murder disguised as mercy so greedy survivors can get Grandma's inheritance earlier.

Grandma's already dying.  That is what the bill is intended for - terminally ill patients.  In what way does Grandma benefit from suffering needlessly for six months?

I just really feel uncomfortable with there being some sort of OBLIGATION to life.

What does "terminally ill" mean?

At a certain level, we're all dying.  There are people who have cancer that will die from it whose death may not happen for years, and who may have a decent amount of productive living in between that point.

Rebecca VanWormer, the woman who pushed for this bill whose breast cancer spread to her bones, could probably answer that question for you.  You know damn well there's a difference between prostate cancer, which may not kill a man for decades, and something as painful and debilitating as terminal cancer.

Even for you, this is an extremely disingenuous argument.

I'm not unmindful of this.  My own mother died of cancer in the 1990s.  It was a cancer that lasted a number of years, involved pain in both the disease and the treatment, and my mother was very much pro-assisted suicide.  It was during the time when Dr. Jack Kevorkian was being tried for his assisted suicides.  Someone asked my mother what she thought about him.  Her eyes lit up and she said, happily:  "Oh, he's the greatest!".

I'm not questioning the motives of this bill's sponsors.  I do fear that such a thing has the potential for horrific abuse.  And the definition of "terminally ill" has the potential to be a movable legal goalpost that would, indeed, legalize murder in some cases. 

That's where I'm coming from on this.

Is there any evidence of abuse in the seven other states where physician-assisted suicide is legal?  In Oregon, a patient can only end their life through assisted suicide if they have six months or less to live.  I don't think it matters to a selfish person whether their relative has six months or six days.  Both the patient and the doctor have to consent, so I don't see how it can really be murder.  A doctor cannot administer the drugs to a man whose prostate cancer hasn't metastasized.

I am glad you're keeping an open mind on this.

I'm opposed to the idea on religious grounds.  I do believe that most of its advocates, and, indeed, most of its utilizers are fully informed.  But I never sell short the potential for abuse in something like this.

[DrScholl]

Laws aren't based on religion nor should they be. These laws are crafted in a way that assure that the patient is in control of what they want and that the doctor is credible. Of course there are nefarious people who would want to coerce someone into suicide to gain an inheritance or other financial gain, but the prospect of that actually working is highly unlikely.

[Some of My Best Friends Are Gay]

I strongly support this. if I was in a situation where I was dying from, say, some form of cancer, or HIV/AIDS, etc, I would much rather die peacefully via assisted suicide then continue to suffer needlessly until my natural death.

[JA]

We must certainly take the necessary precautions to ensure that the diagnosed terminally ill patients are not (a) being coerced by family, medical professionals, or anyone else; (b) the patient is capable of applying the necessary cognitive skills to make such a decision; and (c) the patient is not suffering from standard suicidal ideations associated with major depression.

If those requirements are met, then it seems unethical to me to deny a person the option of ending their life on their terms.

[LBJer]

How is this good news??

People should not be allowed to choose to end their life??

Plus, they could possibly be tricked into doing this, bad idea!

People don't need the government to tell them whether they can end their own life.  You can never outlaw suicide, anyway.  The law passed in Maine allows people, who are already dying, to die with dignity.

It's not death with dignity when it's murder disguised as mercy so greedy survivors can get Grandma's inheritance earlier.

Grandma's already dying.  That is what the bill is intended for - terminally ill patients.  In what way does Grandma benefit from suffering needlessly for six months?

I just really feel uncomfortable with there being some sort of OBLIGATION to life.

What does "terminally ill" mean?

At a certain level, we're all dying.  There are people who have cancer that will die from it whose death may not happen for years, and who may have a decent amount of productive living in between that point.

Rebecca VanWormer, the woman who pushed for this bill whose breast cancer spread to her bones, could probably answer that question for you.  You know damn well there's a difference between prostate cancer, which may not kill a man for decades, and something as painful and debilitating as terminal cancer.

Even for you, this is an extremely disingenuous argument.

I'm not unmindful of this.  My own mother died of cancer in the 1990s.  It was a cancer that lasted a number of years, involved pain in both the disease and the treatment, and my mother was very much pro-assisted suicide.  It was during the time when Dr. Jack Kevorkian was being tried for his assisted suicides.  Someone asked my mother what she thought about him.  Her eyes lit up and she said, happily:  "Oh, he's the greatest!".

I'm not questioning the motives of this bill's sponsors.  I do fear that such a thing has the potential for horrific abuse.  And the definition of "terminally ill" has the potential to be a movable legal goalpost that would, indeed, legalize murder in some cases.  

That's where I'm coming from on this.

I find the whole "it could be abused" argument to be very unpersuasive.  Using that logic, people shouldn't have been allowed to own cars when they were invented--after all, people can abuse their driving privileges by drinking and driving and killing others in the process (and of course, this actually happens all the time).  If people value something enough, the potential for abuse is not enough justification for it being illegal.

There's also the fact that assisted suicide happens all the time anyway.  Someone who is determined enough to do right by a loved one is not going to be deterred by the fact that it's illegal.  Nor should they--illegal doesn't mean immoral.  Just like someone who is desperate enough to get an abortion is going to get it whether it's legal or not.  

[Grassroots]

How is this good news??

People should not be allowed to choose to end their life??

Plus, they could possibly be tricked into doing this, bad idea!

This. Suicides are already a problem, I don't feel we should make it worse by making it easier.

[SteveRogers]

How is this good news??

People should not be allowed to choose to end their life??

Plus, they could possibly be tricked into doing this, bad idea!

People don't need the government to tell them whether they can end their own life.  You can never outlaw suicide, anyway.  The law passed in Maine allows people, who are already dying, to die with dignity.

It's not death with dignity when it's murder disguised as mercy so greedy survivors can get Grandma's inheritance earlier.

Grandma's already dying.  That is what the bill is intended for - terminally ill patients.  In what way does Grandma benefit from suffering needlessly for six months?

I just really feel uncomfortable with there being some sort of OBLIGATION to life.

What does "terminally ill" mean?

At a certain level, we're all dying.  There are people who have cancer that will die from it whose death may not happen for years, and who may have a decent amount of productive living in between that point.

It’s defined in the law.

 

"Terminal disease" means an incurable and irreversible disease that has been medically confirmed and will, within reasonable medical judgment, produce death within 6 months.

http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=HP0948&item=1&snum=129

[QAnonKelly]

This is good. Better to let people go out on their own terms rather than needlessly suffer for six months. Look what happened Robin Williams. He knew he wasn’t coming back and hanged himself. Better to be able to do it a controlled medical setting rather than risk something going wrong.

[Bojack Horseman]

This isn’t promoting suicide, it’s allowing people to make the decision for themselves. If I was diagnosed with terminal cancer, I would much rather end my life with a pill than suffer needlessly.

[emailking]

This is good. Better to let people go out on their own terms rather than needlessly suffer for six months. Look what happened Robin Williams. He knew he wasn’t coming back and hanged himself. Better to be able to do it a controlled medical setting rather than risk something going wrong.

Would this cover people with dementia though? You can live a long time with that.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

How is this good news??

People should not be allowed to choose to end their life??

Plus, they could possibly be tricked into doing this, bad idea!

People don't need the government to tell them whether they can end their own life.  You can never outlaw suicide, anyway.  The law passed in Maine allows people, who are already dying, to die with dignity.

It's not death with dignity when it's murder disguised as mercy so greedy survivors can get Grandma's inheritance earlier.

I have hard time believing you're that ignorant regarding how it is being done, so I must assume you're being disingenuous. It's not like a greedy survivor can come to a doctor and say "hey, doc, I can't wait for my grandpa to kick the bucket so I can get that inheritance. Let's just euthanize her."

If you were to become terminally ill, with no hope whatsoever for recovery, but with some more agonizing time to go, and you still decided to hold on till that, it would be your conscious decision. But it should go the other way around. But if you want to force this on a terminal patient that consciously wants to end HIS suffering, that would be no diffrent from torturing someone for weeks, making sure he "doesn't die too fast".

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

This isn’t promoting suicide, it’s allowing people to make the decision for themselves. If I was diagnosed with terminal cancer, I would much rather end my life with a pill than suffer needlessly.

I can't say for sure what I would do in such situation. I could take this way or hold on for whatever reason, but I know one thing: I'd like to have power to make that choice.

[GoTfan]

My grandfather was terminally ill. Instead of slipping away peacefully in his own bed as he would've been able to under assisted suicide laws, he died in debilitating pain in a hospital bed with cancer wracking his body. My great uncle went through the exact same thing last year.

I see no reason why someone who is sound of mind and has a terminal illness should not be allowed to pass on peacefully.