I don't believe in prolonging misery if something can be done to alleviate it. Of course there are those that may choose to endure the agony in favor of life, I don't understand it but it is up to the sufferer what they choose to do. If one prefers to end the suffering early, I don't think we should be selfish and deny them, if they choose to live and endure the suffering, that is their choice to make. If asked to v**e on making physician assisted suicide legal, I would v**e in favor of it for those that would choose it, just so long as the choice is left to the sufferer and not their caretakers, unless unfeasible to ask the patient of course. If the sufferer can not answer, then it should be based on such things as a DNR, a will, and/or previously mentioned preferences/comments on the matter made by the person in misery.

My mother was a lung cancer patient, and she passed away due to complications from a new kind of chemotherapy.

She went into a coma -- she had a "do not resuscitate" order, so I had to let her spend her last ten days of life at a hospice on pain meds so she wouldn't suffer. She never regained consciousness.

It was a painful ten days for me, but I had to respect her wishes.

However, I wouldn't have allowed anyone to end her life in a premeditated manner, I would have k**led them first, but that's just me.

I suppose if there was profound suffering that couldn't be relieved with pain medication and the doctors were 100% positive that her death was imminent, and it was what she wanted, I might have thought differently.

It would be an extremely tough call.

All you people have done an excellent job of discussing one of the most controversial and intriguing questions that be Holdings us all. As you have all discussed DNR do not resuscitate is a decision made by the person suffering. Is this decision a mistake and should the doctors continue to try to say the person because all life is precious. But let's say you had a heart attack due to AFib. So after this happens you decide to take an aspirin a day to prevent another episode. Question? If you take an aspirin a day as part of your regimen are you interfering with the Lord's plans for you? Trying to escape death per se. Does the Lord have a calendar with our date of birth and a date of passing? Are we allowed to intervene to make a decision so we may live a second longer or that we may leave a second earlier? We can discuss this every second of every day for the rest of our lives and never come up with an answer. Or we'll come up with many answers. Is it true in a good Christians heart to be compelled to fight for your own life all the way up to the last second or to be able to make the decision to lay down and rest because you've earned a good rest due to your good fight. If you can no longer participate in the good fight physically you can still participate by sharing wisdom with younger people hoping they will hear words of wisdom and change their life early and live a better life through Christ. We can only try to plant that little mustard seed and when it grows into a person it becomes the main route of life and t***h and wisdom. I think the most important and compelling thing a person can do is to accept Christ as Lord and savior and champion and live your life through him and to love him as he loves you. We cannot understand the overwhelming love Jesus has for us. I watched both my parents suffered to the end keeping and holding my faith in Jesus. My mom went first. And then my dad went due to complications not from the COPD but by carelessness due to the caregivers. My dad asked 4 DNR. I had to respect his decision and was there to last moment. I knew it was coming and was deep in prayer and I asked Jesus for a sign and upon the moment of my Dad's passing I felt and I believe this to be true with every fiber in my heart and mind that the Christ came and took my dad and then they walked right through my body and upon that moment I could feel what my dad was feeling on the other side of the Veil. It was the most overwhelming feeling of love and comfort I ever experienced at any point in my life and I knew my dad was okay. The feeling was there for 2 seconds but felt like an eternity. The Christ took away all my pain my suffering my agony my anxiety all melted in the twinkling of an eye. This only reinforced my true belief and my love for the Christ. I know we could caught bickering with each other here on the political Plaza. I believe the word political needs to be left out of critical thinking. What is right is right what is wrong is wrong it's all black and white. We have argued in the past and insult each other which is what Satan wants us to do. King of deception and lies cast aside and left behind and no longer exists in the heart of a good Christian. I pray and wish that all good things will come to all you good people and that all you good people can forgive each other as the Lord would ask. Remember what Jesus said, when you relieve another man of his burden you help yourself in ways you do not know. I do anything and everything I can to help my fellow man. My experience in pain management due to my lower back issues which I think cannot be reversed all I can do is share my wisdom and help those do not know what to do at a point in time in their life and only to help them make their own decision and to treat them as I would treat a family member with love and compassion as the Christ would. It is always darkest just before the dawn. The Christ is real. He is the real deal in the greatest thing that's happened in the history of man. Notice how our leaders try to drive a wedge between us in him. Jesus drove the Romans crazy and feared him because he had no fear in them. Christ be with you all in all of your days. And all of God's children said Amen!

I’ve thought about this for years due to events that have occurred in my own family. I speak for no one but myself on this. I feel it should be available as an option, yes. After watching and caring for a loved member of my (now ex) wife’s family fade into a skeletal shell of a once strong man, whose only future was waiting until he could no longer swallow and would drown in his own saliva, then yes given the opportunity to pass with dignity would have been a much preferable option. I’m sorry to hear about any issues, Rumi. I don’t post a lot on here but I read all the postings daily and while I don’t agree with all your stances, I do appreciate your passion and your willingness to defend your position. I wish you well.

Thank you very much. Your testimony is extraordinary. You have given me much more to reflect on than expected. I feel compelled to share a story that has really nothing to do with the topic.

You said, "...upon the moment of my Dad's passing I felt and I believe this to be true with every fiber in my heart and mind that the Christ came and took my dad and then they walked right through my body and upon that moment I could feel what my dad was feeling on the other side of the Veil." I believe you.

My dad died in his sleep from a myocardial infarction; probably never knew what hit him or suffered. He was an abusive drunk that hurt and terrorized his family. And a decent man that loved God and did his best for his family. Complicated person, like most of us. His death was in 1976. But I also had a problem with alcohol and believed after I got sober in 1984 I understood and forgave him. Then this woman gave me some literature on Adult Children of Alcoholics--and I was in a rage for weeks.

A friend suggested I pray for forgiveness; I thought about hitting him, yet I did. One night, may be a week later, had this incredible vision about my father, extremely real and detailed. It is too lengthy to get into but at the end we get out of his car and walked along this path in the forest. He had his arm around my shoulder as a 7 year old and that still brings tears. As we walked, I steadily grew older until we came to a clearing at the age I was then. We stood a few inches apart. He looked me in the eyes for a moment, hugged me, and said, "I love you, son," before he just walked away into the forest. Every ounce of anger and recriminations left me and have never returned. I found a deep love for him.

I am highly prejudice on this issue. Both my mother and sister died in agony for an extended period of time from cancer. If either had asked for help to the other side, I would have helped, though never suggest it. (As I know now, a peaceful extra dose of morphine would have done it.) But we were very Catholic. It was thought to be murder. And there was also the belief that God would find it in his mercy for a cure. I guess more than it would be murder as a deterrent, turning one's back on hope and God's power was a more effective argument.

In 1989, I went for a Hospice Degree. What I learned over the next four years, both in class and in hospitals, made me advocate for assisted suicide, even in cases of Alzheimer. But I am still not totally comfortable with my belief. Mostly that it can become a slippery slope and, like the presence of a******n, might inculcate a decrease in the sacredness of life. Or not. Maybe increase it.

If you were in extreme agony and told there was no possible cure, your family forced to see you tortured day after day after day and unable to help, what would you do and why?

Curious, how the Health Department is both morally and financial bankrupt. They would prefer to balance their budget over a mountain of corpses than find a cure for "chronic" diseases. What ever happened to the Sanctity of life? When it comes to the government, it is cheaper to k**l us than cure us.

Fortunately, there is new private pharmaceutical research in strengthening immunological responses by enhancing human bone marrow's creation of antibodies. Check out the TREM-2 pharmaceuticals:

https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/gene/TREM2
TREM2 gene triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2

Normal Function:
The TREM2 gene provides instructions for making a protein called triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2. As its name suggests, this protein is made in myeloid cells, which are cells produced in bone marrow. The TREM2 protein is found on the cell surface, where it interacts with the protein produced from the TYROBP gene. The TREM2 and TYROBP proteins form a complex that t***smits chemical signals to activate the cell.

The TYROBP-TREM2 complex was first identified in the i****e s****m. This complex is involved in the growth and development of several types of immune cells, particularly dendritic cells. The TYROBP-TREM2 complex activates these cells, triggering an inflammatory response to injury or disease.

The TYROBP-TREM2 complex also activates cells in the skeletal system and in the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system). In the skeletal system, the complex is found in osteoclasts, which are specialized cells that break down and remove (resorb) bone tissue that is no longer needed. These cells are involved in bone remodeling, which is a normal process that replaces old bone tissue with new bone. In the central nervous system, the complex appears to play an important role in immune cells called microglia. These cells protect the brain and spinal cord from foreign invaders and remove dead nerve cells and other debris. Although the TYROBP-TREM2 complex plays a critical role in osteoclasts and microglia, its exact function in these cells is unclear.

TREM 2 definition: Triggering Receptor Expressed on Myeloid cells

A candidate regulatory variant at the TREM gene cluster associates ...
https://www.pubfacts.com/.../A-candidate-regulatory-variant-at-the-TREM-gene-cluster-...
Results: A variant within a DNase hypersensitive site 5' of TREM2, ... young men after six weeks supplementation of whey protein isolate and resistance training.
US20160251434A1 - Novel receptor trem (triggering receptor ...
https://patents.google.com/patent/US20160251434
TREM-2 is also a t***smembrane glycoprotein expressed selectively on mast cells ... and mammary gland-specific promoters (e.g., milk whey promoter; U.S. Pat.
US20130028901A1 - Novel receptor trem (triggering receptor ...
https://patents.google.com/patent/US20130028901

https://patents.google.com/patent/US20130028901
TREM-2 is also a t***smembrane glycoprotein expressed selectively on mast cells ... and mammary gland-specific promoters (e.g., milk whey promoter; U.S. Pat.
Novel receptor trem (triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells) and uses thereof
Abstract
Novel activating receptors of the Ig super-family expressed on human myeloid cells, called TREM(s) (triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells) are provided. Specifically, two (2) members of TREMs, TREM-1 and TREM-2 are disclosed. TREM-1 is a t***smembrane glycoprotein expressed selectively on blood neutrophils and a subset of monocytes but not on lymphocytes and other cell types and is upregulated by bacterial and fungal products. Use of TREM-1 in treatment and diagnosis of various inflammatory diseases is also provided. TREM-2 is also a t***smembrane glycoprotein expressed selectively on mast cells and peripheral dendritic cells (DCs) but not on granulocytes or monocytes. DC stimulation via TREM-2 leads to DC maturation and resistance to apoptosis, and induces strong upregulation of CCR7 and subsequent chemotaxis toward macrophage inflammatory protein 3-β. TREM-2 has utility in modulating host immune responses in various immune disorders, including autoimmune diseases and allergic disorders.

This would include HIV infections. Lordy, Lordy, wake up all ye liberal dingbats. The government does not love you!

Thank you very much. Your testimony is extraordinary. You have given me much more to reflect on than expected. I feel compelled to share a story that has really nothing to do with the topic.

You said, "...upon the moment of my Dad's passing I felt and I believe this to be true with every fiber in my heart and mind that the Christ came and took my dad and then they walked right through my body and upon that moment I could feel what my dad was feeling on the other side of the Veil." I believe you.

My dad died in his sleep from a myocardial infarction; probably never knew what hit him or suffered. He was an abusive drunk that hurt and terrorized his family. And a decent man that loved God and did his best for his family. Complicated person, like most of us. His death was in 1976. But I also had a problem with alcohol and believed after I got sober in 1984 I understood and forgave him. Then this woman gave me some literature on Adult Children of Alcoholics--and I was in a rage for weeks.

A friend suggested I pray for forgiveness; I thought about hitting him, yet I did. One night, may be a week later, had this incredible vision about my father, extremely real and detailed. It is too lengthy to get into but at the end we get out of his car and walked along this path in the forest. He had his arm around my shoulder as a 7 year old and that still brings tears. As we walked, I steadily grew older until we came to a clearing at the age I was then. We stood a few inches apart. He looked me in the eyes for a moment, hugged me, and said, "I love you, son," before he just walked away into the forest. Every ounce of anger and recriminations left me and have never returned. I found a deep love for him.