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Simplified euthanasia

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Apologies for the morbid nature of this post - it doesn't reflect my current state of mind, but it's something I've been pondering.

There are people who want to able to die rather than live on in pain or in an incapacitated state. This should be easy to arrange, but all sorts of hangups (in the minds of fit, healthy people) prevent it from being the case. In some cases, treatment can be withdrawn to allow death, but this often amounts to killing the person slowly through starvation or thirst.

MaxCo. (Assisted Suicide and Landscape Gardening Division) is therefore proud to introduce its Time-2-Go! implantable device. The T2G! is a small, battery-operated device which can simply inject a hefty and fatal dose of morphine into an artery. The device is implanted with minor surgery, preferably while the patient is alive and mentally competent.

Once implanted, the device will activate unless, every 24 hours, it receives a radio signal from a small transmitter. Activating the transmitter each day requires a conscious effort and intervention by either the suicidee or someone else. Should the suicidee decide it is time to shuffle off their mortal coil (or should their carer decide for them, on the basis of a living will), all that is required is inaction for a day. Since there is no active intervention to bring about death, this should raise fewer legal and moral objections than the direct administration of a lethal dose of eternity.

MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 26 2020

Dylan Thomas https://poets.org/p...o-gentle-good-night
[theircompetitor, Feb 26 2020]


       category choice must have been difficult.
po, Feb 26 2020

       not my bone.
po, Feb 26 2020

       99.99% of people have the ability to handle such questions themselves. Why they insist on having a centralized medical or state apparatus relieve them of their responsibility, other than being hierarchy-loving Saxons, gives one a clue how little those same people want to accomplish same.
4and20, Feb 26 2020

       So if you travel outside transmitter range or to an area with no 4G coverage or regularly work in a secure RF-shielded environment, you die?
hippo, Feb 26 2020

       There is a very good reason news sources have a policy against reporting such methods.
4and20, Feb 26 2020

       [4and20] This is for people who are incapacitated, mentally or physically.   

       //high risk of accidental activation// Yes, that's true.   

       //if you travel outside transmitter range// The transmitter would be kept with (or by) the patient.
MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 26 2020

       It is a grave mistake to make deadly policy out of the wishes of 5 people (or maybe just their relatives who are speaking "for" them). No one ever accused the Belgians of being geniuses, but they and the Dutch are offing 10% or more of those who have died, through state combines. One psychiatrist was rightfully taken to court for making it easy for people with depression to just off themselves. No one has the right to make their own deadly choice suddenly my policy when doctors or state administrators get lazy.
4and20, Feb 26 2020

       No Max! Don't even think about that, especially now that I've begun growing an extra set of fingers for your chemo date.
xenzag, Feb 26 2020

       I'm not, don't worry. It came up as a topic of discussion outside the HB, and I thought it was an interesting problem. I shall be going down fighting, if at all.
MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 26 2020

       Society demands that individuals take responsibility for themselves, their decisions, actions and all their worldly affairs, so why does it suddenly balk at the final one? Makes no sense.   

       This could be an app, which upon not being used for 24 hours would uninstall itself.   

whatrock, Feb 26 2020

       Yes I was thinking of a mechanical switch as well, since the radio transmitter just seems a little too unreliable for my taste.
pocmloc, Feb 26 2020

       I would stand and applaud this idea if I wasn't so lazy today.   

       I am a huge fan of freedom to let go of a life that is no longer worth living and is lacking those qualities that previously made that person's life valuable and satisfying.   

       Dr. assisted is fine, if you fit all the parameters that society has put up for THEM to decide if indeed it's time to allow the person to go. State by state here it differs, and my belief is that at the very least all beings should be allowed the human dignity and acceptance of one's own timeline to travel to the next dimension, whatever that looks like for that person, the one who has lived in the conditions of that particular life. NOT an outsider, relative, or paid employee of the individual, (like a medical professional).   

       "Befriend death", as Tara Brach would say because at some point we must all trust ourselves enough to know when the time is right, and then treat the transition more as a ceremonious time, not as something scary or dreadful, or a stage that one can avoid.   

       This is simply one woman's opinion but is most decidedly the one that I intend to follow.   

       I Will go gently into that dark night, for it is the way I have tried to live my life. I have tried, (failing many times, however), to cultivate and nourish a life and belief system and philosophy that supports kindness as a religion, (like the Dali Lama), and that includes a compassionate ending for myself. One that follows one simple and final act of surrender; surrendering to a Universe that has directed the flow of my life all along.
blissmiss, Feb 26 2020

       There are entire books written about how the era of "choice" is about false choices, like, for example, the choice to pay for your own medical care, but only if you can afford it, which, for many people, automatically means the "choice" to die.   

       I am also no longer surprised when engineering types take a callous attitude towards death. Likewise, I would take great care in entrusting my life to British doctors. While they may have been trained to the gills, they are just as apt to be coldly calculating in marshalling their efforts.
4and20, Feb 26 2020

       We will pay to test this on [xen].   

       We will pay for all the R&D and the installation, and when the system develops an entirely unanticipated malfunction (possibly due to a frequency overlap with garage door opener systems) we will post the video online to prove that it was entirely accidental.
8th of 7, Feb 26 2020

       A week instead of 24 hours and I'm on board.
tatterdemalion, Feb 26 2020

       // We will pay to test this on [xen] //   

       You two (three?) wouldn't, by some wild chance, happen to be married to one another?
whatrock, Feb 26 2020

       // every 24 hours, it receives a radio signal from a small transmitter //
// all that is required is inaction for a day //

       So, a bit like diabetes and sugar levels going awry, but with more euphoria at the end?
Mindey, Feb 26 2020

       // A week instead of 24 hours and I'm on board. //   

       Human lifespan being approximately 12 galactic seconds, I'd would go for something longer, like 1 galactic second. Had an internet friend, who planned suicide for 20 years. Having graduated with a degree in psychiatry, she decided to take away her life with 5000 mg of amitriptyline, evenly distributed in 30 minutes, after taking some alcohol... It worked.   

       According to someone who actually has survived a 3500mg oral dose of amitriptyline (reportedly, due to the significant other acting within an hour of taking, and having a weight of 100kg), -- "I felt NOTHING. I fell asleep. Woke up a week later after being out of an induced coma."
Mindey, Feb 26 2020

       //We will pay to test this on [xen]// Pay me first! The email address is on my hb page.
xenzag, Feb 26 2020

       Will you accept some form of escrow ?
8th of 7, Feb 26 2020

       Cash only. I can send a friend to collect it.
xenzag, Feb 26 2020

       No problem. What imaginary currency shoud your imaginary friend be paid in ?   

       Why not come yourself, in person ? We will make you a nice cup of Fair Trade herbal tea, and bake some chocolate chip cookies to a Vegan recipe we have.   

       Ah, no, sorry, a Vulcan recipe. But they're very nice cookies...
8th of 7, Feb 26 2020

       Since we're being morbid I'll share my experiences with this stuff for whatever it's worth, sometimes talking doesn't necessarily need a purpose. I think it's ok to look at death even as you're fighting it. It's in no way some kind of acceptance that something's inevitable. It's just certainly on one's mind and it doesn't necessarily need to be a verboten subject.   

       I've mentioned in the past that my best friend of 39 years passed do to cancer and our last conversation was very dignified. There were jokes, there was laughter, there were no teary goodbyes because "That's for pussies." (This was our approach, not applicable to anybody else but us.)   

       I haven't mentioned that my first wife had a much different departure. We divorced very young but remained friends through our crazy life adventures. She had said I was foolish to be pursuing a particular life goal then saw me on TV several years later and sent me a telegram saying "I was wrong, I should have known. Congratulations, I'm very proud of you!" This rekindled our friendship for the remaining years.   

       She was very successful and married an even more successful businessman who was at the forefront of the personal computer revolution. They weren't billionaires but they were a few notches above just well off. She had offered at one point to fly me and my family anywhere in the world we wanted to go in her private jet except Europe (some kind of landing tax they charge that's stupid expensive) I thanked her politely but said I'm pretty sure my current wife doesn't want to fly anywhere on my ex wife's private jet. (I was quite correct by the way. Should have seen the look on my wife's face. Like "If you said yes, don't bother flying back.") My ex also told me about the time her husband was very excited about selling the old private jet and getting the one he had always wanted. I said "Keep in mind it's an alien concept to me to be getting rid of an old junky private jet to be getting a real nice one." She laughed and addressed the elephant in the room, the disparity of wealth. She said "I'm very lucky to have what I do, but you don't celebrate a fancy car or a big house every day any more than you celebrate your regular car or house. What makes my life special every day is that when I go to work at my company, (she owned a land development firm) everybody who works for me is smarter than I am and I learn something new every day." That always stuck with me and I've always strove to the the dumbest person in the room which is why I enjoy chatting with Max and many of the other people here. Anyway, she was very well off but that doesn't mean you can't get cancer like everybody else.   

       When she was going in for her last ditch effort treatment she sent an email out to all her loved ones describing the odds of this final treatment being effective, the pros and cons etc. We didn't hear from her for a couple of weeks then we got the email simply titled "What an eagle sees when it flies." Attached to the email were beautiful pictures of majestic valleys, beautiful oceans scenes, mountains, etc all take from about 2,000 to 10,000 feet. Nothing else was said, nothing was needed to be said. I thought that was a very beautiful way to let us all know and say goodbye.   

       She kept my last name by the way. Max, if you do a Google search using that name that I shared exclusively with you, and put the word "park" after it, you'll see the largest park in a certain state named after her because she donated the land for it. You can also read the story of this amazing person and dear friend of mine.   

       Anyway, that's my story of dealing with this stuff, but enough of this morbid shit. Go out and beat the hell out of this Max. Fight like the warrior you are brother.
doctorremulac3, Feb 26 2020

       I love her method of passing on the news of her passing. It almost sounds like something a Native American might have said, in drawings, or something, to describe their passage.   

       Meaningful, moving and minimalist. Can't beat it. She must have been amazingly grounded.
blissmiss, Feb 26 2020

       You would have liked her.
doctorremulac3, Feb 26 2020

       Hey, [doc], good people should not have to leave the party early - my condolences. And yes, I'll be fighting every inch - but it would be comforting the know that if it all goes Tango University, I can fall on my own sword rather than being taken by the enemy.   

       A lot of people who signed up for Dignitas (or who had other similar plans in place) said they enjoyed their remaining life all the more, knowing that the end would be under their control.
MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 26 2020

       Whatever you do Max, you’ll do it the way you’ve lived your life, with grace, honor and dignity.   

       Excuse me, I’m in public and I probably shouldn’t be reading this stuff. Allergies are killing me.
doctorremulac3, Feb 26 2020

       //honor and dignity// Hey, get back here! Nobody accuses me of dignity!
MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 26 2020

       Lol. Absolutely god damned right, what was I thinking? All this boo hoo shit? That’s for sissies. Let me rephrase that.   

       Whatever you do, you’ll handle it like a man.
doctorremulac3, Feb 26 2020

       I've never handled a man, [doc]. Never.
MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 26 2020

       LOL! Dammit Max this is serious!   

       Still LOLin'.
doctorremulac3, Feb 26 2020

       Maybe a "hold my breath until I turn blue" switch?   

       I mean, every kid's dream.
reensure, Feb 28 2020

       // .. hypercapnia is not a pleasant way to go .. //   

       Research is full of conclusions drawn from studies of buttons people like to push.
reensure, Feb 28 2020

       So, anoxia (as opposed to hypercapnia) was not unpleasant at all?
MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 28 2020

       No. It's one of the reasons that inert atmospheres such as nitrogen are extremely dangerous; unlike hypercapnia, the victim has no alarming sensations, just a growing sensation of overwhelming tiredness. Unconsciousness follows almost immediately, death soon after.   

       Inerting of enclosed volumes, such as oil tanks, for safety (against fire r explosion) is commonplace, but also makes them dangerous working environments. SCBA or an air line are used, but the main precaution is a harness and line run to a safety team outside the space; then the worker can be rapidly extricated without endangering anyone else.
8th of 7, Feb 29 2020

       " not my bone. — po, Feb 26 2020 "   

       I saw that one - from the new genre of mystery porn ...
normzone, Feb 29 2020

       Fear not - I'm in good spirits and plan on sticking around. But knowing there are emergency exits makes the flight more relaxing.
MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 29 2020

       Is not the ultimate version of this idea the Suicide Vending Machine? Simply insert £1 and the machine will shoot you.
hippo, Feb 29 2020

       //Consider skydiving.// Ahhh, many years ago. Was never suicidal, though. The closest I got was when it started snowing as I was on the way down, and I was hypnotised by the sight of snow hurtling upwards toward me, to the point where I almost forgot that the ground was doing much the same.
MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 29 2020

       Flying into snow at moderate altitude can have the same effect ... after prolonged fascination induced by turning the landing lights on and watching the "warp stars" streak past, and you've done all the stuff about saying "ENGAGE !" and "Jump to hyperspace, Chewie ! " there's this sudden realization that someone is yelling your callsign over the R/T, it sounds like a very pissed off version of the nice ATC person you were chatting to a few minutes previous, and you have no idea of the height, course or speed you're on or should be on ....
8th of 7, Feb 29 2020

       //almost dying and really dying is a large matter/   

       Died on the operating table is a misnomer because it is, in fact, an event horizon. Getting close isn't crossing the threshold. Even if the doctors couldn't bring the person back and later the patient wakes up to a higher energy state, the patient didn't die. Hence the word dead.
wjt, Feb 29 2020

       //.. Not being able to breath - ... - pure panic. ..//   

       I had the experience once of an accidental paralysis of respiration. It was odd. I had none of the 'normal' fight or flight responses. Just a very uncomfortable feeling like I had to do something, fast. I stood there with my mouth open for an indeterminate time ~10-15 seconds trying to speak and holding on to the container of the offending substance before 'a switch flipped' and air entered. That was strange!
reensure, Feb 29 2020

       What was the offending substance?   

       //the patient wakes up to a higher energy state// Hey, if I wake up and I'm on fire, I'd rather just not wake up, thanks.
MaxwellBuchanan, Mar 01 2020

       Surely to simplify euthanasia we need to also simplify the spelling. Maybe we could change the name to "21 Boys."   

       (Hint: youth in asia...)
RayfordSteele, Mar 01 2020


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