If putting animals to sleep is considered the kind option why don't we do it for people?

[Anonymous]

I get stuck on this philosophical question every time I have a dying pet. My cat is dying in the bathroom right now. We were at the vet yesterday for some tests but it's now clear to me that he will expire before the results are back. He is very elderly and lived a long life. He does not appear to be suffering. I am glad I don't have to make any decisions but if pet owners are taught that it's better to euthanize why don't we do it for people?

[Anonymous]

People who are actively dying often don’t have agency or the ability to make decisions. There’s also the possibility of abuse. As a pet guardian you can.

[Anonymous]

We have at least one state where it's legal when you have an advanced directive. People who still have capacity and money also go to Switzerland etc to do this for themselves.

[Anonymous]

But we do...

[Anonymous]

Pets can't tell you if they're in pain

Pets can't understand what is happening when they receive medical treatment or follow instructions like not to chew out stitches, swallow a pill or pull out an IV.

Pet owners can't afford 24/7 care for pets like humans can receive in the ICU, so it's hard to maintain adequate care for a pet that is immobile or incontinent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But we do...

End of life hospice is a lot of ways is this without actually providing the lethal dose....

[Anonymous]

Feel free to kill your loved ones, OP.

[Anonymous]

Please go take your cat to be put down right now op. Good God.

We do. Don't twist this and give yourself an excuse to let your cat pass like this.

[Anonymous]

For years, my father donated money to an organization that lobbies for the right to assisted suicide. It’s not legal in very many states, and he did not live in a state where it is legal. In his late 70s, he received a terminal cancer diagnosis. It was an uncommon, very aggressive cancer that is not usually diagnosed until it is late stage (there’s no screening test for it and no early symptoms). He died less than 7 weeks after the cancer was detected. The rapidity of his physical deterioration was astonishing and traumatizing for us to witness. The maximum dose of morphine plus fentanyl was not keeping him comfortable. He was in agony. A week before he died, he was placed in hospice care. Hospice confiscated his drugs and would only dole out a couple days’ worth at a time. I wouldn’t wish the final 4-5 days of my father’s life on anyone. They were filled with pointless suffering and were horrifying to watch. We no longer had any options because we no longer had a cache of morphine. I am filled with deep regret that I couldn’t spare my father at least those last 3 days, especially because of his personal views on assisted suicide. I feel that I let him down.

I now have a different terminal cancer diagnosis. I’m much younger and have more time left than my father did. I’m in treatment and plan to be an outlier and defy the odds. However, I have already had a talk with my family about decisions that need to be made before involving hospice and losing control of meds. I also do not live in a state where assisted suicide is legal. I want options at the end.

My father was very involved in his church and a faithful Christian, but the truth is that most states don’t allow people to terminate human life because of the common religious belief that life is sacred and we are commanded by God not to end life, even to spare suffering. Too bad for you if you don’t share that belief.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But we do...

End of life hospice is a lot of ways is this without actually providing the lethal dose....

Morphine is usually how it's done.

[Anonymous]

I'm so sorry for your cat, OP.

We put people to sleep all the time, but only after agonizing pain, and only after being sure beyond a reasonable doubt that they can survive.

This bar is too high, I feel. Most people do not realize how painful the end of life actually is, perhaps because at some point, pain is endured without screaming or signs of suffering, because the patient can no longer express themselves. Like for our pets.

I really wish we could see our way, as a society, to more compassionate euthanasia, and that we could research and compile an entire body of knowledge that is specifically about detecting pain in humans, and at what threshold it's too much and they should be released.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For years, my father donated money to an organization that lobbies for the right to assisted suicide. It’s not legal in very many states, and he did not live in a state where it is legal. In his late 70s, he received a terminal cancer diagnosis. It was an uncommon, very aggressive cancer that is not usually diagnosed until it is late stage (there’s no screening test for it and no early symptoms). He died less than 7 weeks after the cancer was detected. The rapidity of his physical deterioration was astonishing and traumatizing for us to witness. The maximum dose of morphine plus fentanyl was not keeping him comfortable. He was in agony. A week before he died, he was placed in hospice care. Hospice confiscated his drugs and would only dole out a couple days’ worth at a time. I wouldn’t wish the final 4-5 days of my father’s life on anyone. They were filled with pointless suffering and were horrifying to watch. We no longer had any options because we no longer had a cache of morphine. I am filled with deep regret that I couldn’t spare my father at least those last 3 days, especially because of his personal views on assisted suicide. I feel that I let him down.

I now have a different terminal cancer diagnosis. I’m much younger and have more time left than my father did. I’m in treatment and plan to be an outlier and defy the odds. However, I have already had a talk with my family about decisions that need to be made before involving hospice and losing control of meds. I also do not live in a state where assisted suicide is legal. I want options at the end.

My father was very involved in his church and a faithful Christian, but the truth is that most states don’t allow people to terminate human life because of the common religious belief that life is sacred and we are commanded by God not to end life, even to spare suffering. Too bad for you if you don’t share that belief.

That is incredibly shocking. Why on earth did hospice not alleviate his pain??? Is that the whole point of palliative care?

[Anonymous]

I’m hoping more states allow it.

List of states allowing it or thinking of it.

https://deathwithdignity.org/states/

Go Virginia and I rarely say that

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For years, my father donated money to an organization that lobbies for the right to assisted suicide. It’s not legal in very many states, and he did not live in a state where it is legal. In his late 70s, he received a terminal cancer diagnosis. It was an uncommon, very aggressive cancer that is not usually diagnosed until it is late stage (there’s no screening test for it and no early symptoms). He died less than 7 weeks after the cancer was detected. The rapidity of his physical deterioration was astonishing and traumatizing for us to witness. The maximum dose of morphine plus fentanyl was not keeping him comfortable. He was in agony. A week before he died, he was placed in hospice care. Hospice confiscated his drugs and would only dole out a couple days’ worth at a time. I wouldn’t wish the final 4-5 days of my father’s life on anyone. They were filled with pointless suffering and were horrifying to watch. We no longer had any options because we no longer had a cache of morphine. I am filled with deep regret that I couldn’t spare my father at least those last 3 days, especially because of his personal views on assisted suicide. I feel that I let him down.

I now have a different terminal cancer diagnosis. I’m much younger and have more time left than my father did. I’m in treatment and plan to be an outlier and defy the odds. However, I have already had a talk with my family about decisions that need to be made before involving hospice and losing control of meds. I also do not live in a state where assisted suicide is legal. I want options at the end.

My father was very involved in his church and a faithful Christian, but the truth is that most states don’t allow people to terminate human life because of the common religious belief that life is sacred and we are commanded by God not to end life, even to spare suffering. Too bad for you if you don’t share that belief.

That is incredibly shocking. Why on earth did hospice not alleviate his pain??? Is that the whole point of palliative care?

He was on the maximum dose of morphine and using fentanyl patches. He was always asking when he could have more pain meds. There was nothing more we could give him without killing him. Nobody would explicitly authorize us to go ahead and give him more pain meds every time he asked for them, no matter how often he asked. Then hospice limited our access to narcotics. I don’t know if that was to prevent assisted suicide or narcotics abuse or selling them on the street, but that was their policy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For years, my father donated money to an organization that lobbies for the right to assisted suicide. It’s not legal in very many states, and he did not live in a state where it is legal. In his late 70s, he received a terminal cancer diagnosis. It was an uncommon, very aggressive cancer that is not usually diagnosed until it is late stage (there’s no screening test for it and no early symptoms). He died less than 7 weeks after the cancer was detected. The rapidity of his physical deterioration was astonishing and traumatizing for us to witness. The maximum dose of morphine plus fentanyl was not keeping him comfortable. He was in agony. A week before he died, he was placed in hospice care. Hospice confiscated his drugs and would only dole out a couple days’ worth at a time. I wouldn’t wish the final 4-5 days of my father’s life on anyone. They were filled with pointless suffering and were horrifying to watch. We no longer had any options because we no longer had a cache of morphine. I am filled with deep regret that I couldn’t spare my father at least those last 3 days, especially because of his personal views on assisted suicide. I feel that I let him down.

I now have a different terminal cancer diagnosis. I’m much younger and have more time left than my father did. I’m in treatment and plan to be an outlier and defy the odds. However, I have already had a talk with my family about decisions that need to be made before involving hospice and losing control of meds. I also do not live in a state where assisted suicide is legal. I want options at the end.

My father was very involved in his church and a faithful Christian, but the truth is that most states don’t allow people to terminate human life because of the common religious belief that life is sacred and we are commanded by God not to end life, even to spare suffering. Too bad for you if you don’t share that belief.

That is incredibly shocking. Why on earth did hospice not alleviate his pain??? Is that the whole point of palliative care?

He was on the maximum dose of morphine and using fentanyl patches. He was always asking when he could have more pain meds. There was nothing more we could give him without killing him. Nobody would explicitly authorize us to go ahead and give him more pain meds every time he asked for them, no matter how often he asked. Then hospice limited our access to narcotics. I don’t know if that was to prevent assisted suicide or narcotics abuse or selling them on the street, but that was their policy.

I’ll add that my father did not have any tolerance built up to pain meds. The first week or two that he was sick, he wouldn’t even take Tylenol. Then he’d only take one Tylenol. The pain just became excruciating and ended up completely overwhelming him.