Physician Assisted Suicide

[Sahar Majid]

Honestly this is a difficult debate. I can understand where people are coming from religiously and all but maybe we should leave it up to fate or nature because just like Mcdowell's situation, you never know when it might turn around. In the case of Jeremy though, he was pretty harmful to everyone else so I'm not sure whether it was justified in this case or not.

[Jacci]

For christians me include, I totally disagree with euthanasia because you cannot know God's plans on someones future, God is the giver of life and He should be the only one to take it

You're right! If only everyone knows the value of life.

[mosael]

While it isn't a major theme in the book, the issue of euthanasia comes to the fore. Do you agree with McDowell'ss view on physician assisted suicide? Did his experiences with it change your preconceived notions about euthanasia?

As I would like to think, benevolence murdering is as yet a wrongdoing. In the event that I were in his shoes, I would have given Jeremy a chance to live and apologize amid that last minutes of his life. It's God who gave us life, and He ought to have the main ideal to take it away.

[ShailaSheshadri]

If I were in Mc Dowell's shoes, I would not have been able to consider euthanasia with Jeremy. But, I don't want to say that Mc Dowell did a bad thing. He was a doctor, and he would have assessed the condition of Jeremy properly before taking the decision. It looks like Mc Dowell came to know there was no hope for his revival. As portrayed in the story, Jeremy was critically ill, and he was not responding to the treatments. Plus, he was responsible for his mother's dying state. All these circumstances make me think that Mc Dowell's decision is not bad.

[sarahmarlowe]

I don’t think this was a case of physician-assisted suicide. Jeremy didn’t ask for help, and Hiram acted as a grandfather who happened to be a physician.

[fredrick otieno]

In as much as euthenasia is considered a crime and illegal, people would still be willing to do it.

[Hiruni Bhagya 81]

Allowing a person who tried to commit suicide to continue suffering might have looked pointless to Hiram since he's a practical man. But I think what Hiram did was wrong. We can't decide whether a person should die or live. So, assisting in a suicide can't be justified by telling it's what that person wanted or it might bring closure to the family members.

[Kharyi]

it is generally not acceptable based on suicide isn't a very good thing to do. The mercy killing in some cases should be considered if the person couldn't stand the pain they go through daily. Wish everybody good health though

[Haylee McKinney]

I do not agree with assisted suicide. In my opinion, it is the same as killing someone. It is a crime and in the end it isn’t your body to have say over whether you stay alive or not, it’s God’s.

[Alice Thokchom]

I totally disagree with this kind of practice. A life is in the hand of God. He can only decide the last moment of a person. A physician's duty is to try to save a life in any possible way. He can't terminate a person's life just because he was given the consent.

[fredrick otieno]

The physician nay be did put himself in Jeremy's shoes, and he saw no life no matter what. But even with that, there is no single justifiable reason to take a life.

[Okafor Prosper]

I don't agree with the concept of euthanasia, but there are always special cases that just make me want to rethink my opinion on it, just like any other concept.

[somersas13]

While normally I personally don't have an issue with physician assisted suicide, it has to be conducted in the right circumstances. A plan must be in place for the patient ahead of time with a directive and a humane method so that it can be clear no crime took place and it was under the wishes of the patient. In this case, Hiram took it upon himself without discussing his plan with anyone and it wasn't even clear if he had thought out this plan or its implications well, either. He did it impulsively, and though he claims he did it for Ann, the family, and Jeremy himself; Hiram is an extremely selfish and ambition driven person who is often given to fits of anger. I think he was enraged by the murders and suicide attempt because of how it affected Hiram, not any one else. He was worried about his own PR. This incident ruined his chances at his federal government position and he was already under scrutiny for other issues so when this happened I think he was angry and not thinking clearly. In the end, it was probably for the best given the circumstances, but I really think it was for the wrong reasons.

[Manali_DC]

This is indeed a tricky subject. But I think euthanasia would be a mercy to some people who are terminally ill and have no quality of life and the only thing that lay ahead was suffering and pain for them and their families.

[Cristina Chifane]

I don't agree with the pretexts Hiram finds for himself to justify his gesture of kiling his grandson. I might agree with euthanasia only if the person living only by means of machines has priorly stated that if this were ever be the case, s/he would prefer physician assisted suicide. In this case, Jeremy was only a boy who was terribly confused and did not have any responsible parents around who could have helped him way before any horrible thing happened.