[Vision2020] "unpleasant death as a result of disease or illness". and other discriminatory statements against the elderly and disabled

Fri Nov 14 00:24:15 PST 2008

Gary,

Society would stop seeking better treatment of the sick and infirm if it was to give the patient suicide as a solution. Nor would it be a person's free choice with insurance companies making the financial decisions. Insurance companies devote lots of resources just to deny small claims, image what they would do to get out of claims of an elderly person completely by giving them the "Death with Dignity" option. 

You live in a TV fantasy world if you think a doctor can be so exact as to tell a person how long they have to live. That doesn't exist in real life. So, I must disagree with you that people have a right to knock themselves off just because they are suffering at the moment, mainly because people suffer as a result of humankind's unkindness or lack of knowledge. 

Most of the advances in today's society toward the conditions of the sick and infirm are the result of people being compassionate to those that suffer needlessly. Advances in early diagnoses, treatment, and prevention were all motivated by a desire to find a solution to end the suffering of a person they love. 

Suicide is a selfish act, which serves no purpose, and should never be allowed as an acceptable solution to your problems. People are allowed to live longer, healthier, and happier lives precisely because we do not kill off our elderly and disabled, but work to minimize and eliminate their suffering and refusing to give up on them, and refusing to let them give up on themselves. 

Best Regards,

Donovan  

--- On Thu, 11/13/08, Glenn Schwaller <vpschwaller at gmail.com> wrote:

From: Glenn Schwaller <vpschwaller at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] "unpleasant death as a result of disease or illness". and other discriminatory statements against the elderly and disabled
To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Date: Thursday, November 13, 2008, 5:46 PM

Donovan - Well I don't think I will take your advice quite yet, since
I'm in great health (as far as I know) and not facing any prolonged
terminal, painful disease or illness.  But be very sure that if
tomorrow I find out I have 6 months to live and the last 4 will be in
pain and suffering, I'll be on the first bus to Oregon, lawyer in tow.

This really has nothing to do with age per se.  Granted many of those
suffering from incurable illness and pain are elderly, and many of
them would like the opportunity to say "Hey I've had a great ride and
I'm ready to get off."  That being the case, who are we to say
"Nope -
suffer and enjoy your old age you ingrate!"

I think if someone 20, 30, 40, whatever is facing an unpleasant demise
from illness, they should have such a choice as well.  Many elderly
people enjoy their later years, and I applaud them for that.  I hope I
am one of them.  I also hope that if my quality of life is so very
compromised that it will not allow me to do so, I have the right go to
a much more pleasant place.

GS

On Thu, Nov 13, 2008 at 5:00 PM, Donovan Arnold
<donovanjarnold2005 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Well, if you feel this way you might as well knock yourself off now
because
> it is inevitable if it isn't happening already.
>
> Older age is a part of life. It should be cherished, not frowned upon.
There
> are so many elderly in this world that feel terrible about themselves
> because people say they would rather be dead than old or in pain.
>
> Stop for a moment, and ask yourself how you would feel if you heard people
> and society say they would rather be dead, or they would kill themselves,
if
> they had to live the way you do? Your self esteem and sense of value and
> purpose would be smashed, as you are doing to others with such a negative,
> and might I say false, perspective of later years in life.
>
> There is purpose and meaning and all life, and at all stages of
people's
> lives. People suffer at all ages of life. Focusing on the age is
> discrimination. We should be focusing on ending the suffering in the life,
> not end the life for the suffering.
>
> I just want to smack people that assign the elderly and disabled, the
label
> of "life not worth living", because you couldn't be more
wrong. IMHO, I
> would rather end the lives of the selfish and  vein that cause the
suffering
> rather than the elderly and disabled.
>
> Best Regards,
>
> Donovan
>
>
>
>
> --- On Thu, 11/13/08, Sunil Ramalingam <sunilramalingam at hotmail.com>
wrote:
>
> From: Sunil Ramalingam <sunilramalingam at hotmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Rights, Guns, Abortion, Speech, and Death
> To: vpschwaller at gmail.com, "vision 2020"
<vision2020 at moscow.com>
> Date: Thursday, November 13, 2008, 12:33 PM
>
> Oh good Lord, it's the seventh sign. Lions and lambs next up.
>
> Sunil
>
>> Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2008 12:24:04 -0800
>> From: vpschwaller at gmail.com
>> To: vision2020 at moscow.com
>> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Rights, Guns, Abortion, Speech, and Death
>>
>> Absolutely!!
>>
>> GS
>>
>> On Thu, Nov 13, 2008 at 12:19 PM, Tom Hansen
<thansen at moscow.com> wrote:
>> > GS stated:
>> >
>> > "As you say 'were I terminally ill and faced with
nothing but a short
>> > life of pain, I'd like to have a choice'. I think this is
indeed a
>> > personal choice based upon the careful consideration of others
who
>> > will be impacted by this decision."
>> >
>> > Then, GS, we are in agreement. President Bush, the courts, and
congress
>> > had absolutely NO right in intervening in the matter concerning
Terry
>> > Schiavo of Florida where Terry Schiavo and her husband had
earlier
>> > agreed
>> > no to prolong life if life amounted to no more than (as you say)
>> > an "unpleasant death as a result of disease or
illness".
>> >
>> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terri_Schiavo
>> >
>> > Tom "Pro-Choice" Hansen
>> > Moscow, Idaho
>> >
>> >
>> > ---------------------------------------------
>> > This message was sent by First Step Internet.
>> > http://www.fsr.com/
>> >
>> >
>> >
>>
>> =======================================================
>> List services made available by First Step Internet,
>> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>> http://www.fsr.net
>> mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
>> =======================================================
>
> =======================================================
>  List services made available by First Step Internet,
>  serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>                http://www.fsr.net
>           mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
> =======================================================
>

=======================================================
 List services made available by First Step Internet, 
 serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.   
               http://www.fsr.net                       
          mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
=======================================================

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/attachments/20081114/c5209047/attachment-0001.html 