[Magdalen] permission to die with dignity

[Jay Weigel]

There was a case fairly recently, I think in Pennsylvania(?), where a woman
was charged with murder because she *handed her grandfather his bottle of
morphine pills* when he asked for them. Nothing more. She didn't open the
bottle, count them out, give him the individual pills, or anything of that
nature. She gave him the pills, and apparently left the room. He took an
overdose and died. The over-zealous DA decided to put a notch in his belt
by charging her with murder for handing him the bottle. Fortunately the
jury didn't see it his way and found her not guilty. In other states which
are dominated by more rigid and highly moralistic church groups that might
not have happened.

On Wed, Oct 15, 2014 at 4:46 PM, James Handsfield <jhandsfield at icloud.com>
wrote:

> I agree it should be a person’s choice.  Marcy and I have discussed this
> from time to time.  She has often said she hates her life as it is, and she
> often asks people to pray for her to die.  When I returned from my respite
> trip I asked her directly if she ever thought of taking direct action to
> end her life*.  She said ‘no’, which was a relief to me.
>
> However, I’ve been doing some research about requirements for assisted
> suicide in other states.  I haven’t checked Oregon yet, but Washington
> requires the patient to be a resident of the state, and requires an
> agreement by two independent psychiatrists who have not consulted with each
> other.  One thing is true about both Washington and Oregon:  the final act
> MUST by done by the person themselves, whether it’s pushing the plunger on
> a syringe or taking pills or . . .  It’s likely that, if Marcy gets to the
> point of wanting to take her own life, it’s also likely that she would not
> be able to take that last measure without assistance.  I don’t know what
> I’d be willing to do under those circumstances.
>
> -------------------------------------
> Education is its own reward, both for the individual and for society.
>
> Jim Handsfield
> jhandsfield at att.net
>
> On Oct 15, 2014, at 4:21 PM, Grace Cangialosi <gracecan at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > I've done lots of Hospice work, too, Jay, and I understand the issues.
> > That's why I said I think it should be a person's choice. I don't have a
> > moral objection to it, though I sometimes get caught up in the question
> of
> > whether we have the right to take a life--even our own. And I simply
> don't
> > know what I'd do if I were ever in that position.
>
>