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>> I would want to end my life while I'm able to >> competently choose to do so. At least with Alzheimer's, there is no bright line between competence and inc
by hsitz 12y ago
>> I would want to end my life while I'm able to
>> competently choose to do so.
At least with Alzheimer's, there is no bright line between competence and incompetence. It's a relatively slow slide into incompetence. And not an even progression, since in fuzzy area there may be periods of competence mixed with periods of incompetence. I think big part of problem for person with Alzheimer's to make decision of suicide is to have the resolve to do it early enough, while they're still clearly competent and would have much more time as a competent person, instead of waiting to try and milk out as much time as they can. Cause if you wait you're likely to forget your strong desire (I'm not joking here) or simply lack the resolve to do the deed.
>> I would want to do so with quick and painless drugs
>> instead of a gun. However, assisted suicide is only
>> legal in a handful of US states, and then only in
>> cases of terminal illness with less than six
>> months to live.
I'm not sure why, but you seem to think use of "quick and painless drugs" requires use of assisted suicide. Maybe one solution would be for someone to publish some "How To" information on how to assemble and use a quick and painless drug solution, all on your own. Then at least anyone worried enough about developing Alzheimer's would have a length of time measuring in years to get their solo-suicide plan in place.
I say this as a person who hopes he'd be able to take his own life before incompetence comes. My father and several members of my extended family had Alzheimer's. I think that people who lack experience with it are sometimes unaware of how Alzheimer's robs a person of their personhood. It's not pretty and nobody should ever have to go through it.
- mdaniel 12y agosomeone to publish some "How To" information on how to assemble and use a quick and painless drug solution, all on your own There are a lot of sites and organizations dedicated to that exact thing. An interesting one, in my opinion, is "Max Dog Brewing"[1] which uses nitrogen as an alternative to the helium asphyxiation technique. No drugs required. I regret that this comment is so brief, as I don't want it to appear curt. I just have a lot of opinions that I don't feel like putting in this thread. 1 = https://youtube.com/watch?v=tY5ysgqMMPE https://youtube.com/watch?v=tY5ysgqMMPE
- jgable 12y agoI suppose I didn't do much research before posting my original comment. I should have known that there would be plenty of resources out there.
- ef4 12y agoIf there was a legal framework for assisted suicide, you could state your wishes unequivocally today -- while you're still competent -- and have help carrying them out later when you're vulnerable and no longer competent.
- Someone 12y agoYou won't find a legal framework anywhere that assumes your wishes years ago still are your wishes today. The best you probably can do is to repeatedly state something along the lines of "if I haven't repeated this statement for a month, ask me about it. If I am competent, I will repeat the statement; If I cannot, and don't answer the question, try again a few times in the next month. If I never answer the question, I would want to die." That would give those who would have to decide about your wishes at a time where you cannot communicate them anymore a track record of what your past self thought the wishes of your current self would be. It still would be a tough decision for them, but you cannot give them more.
- ido 12y agoYou can actually find such information online already.