transabled.org

 

• About
• Login
• Contact
• Accessibility

Google Search:
Web transabled.org Go

 

Home / Thoughts / Sean's Thoughts / Physician Assisted Suicide And BIID

Physician Assisted Suicide And BIID

Written by Sean on Thursday, April 9, 2009

Today’s topic is one that can be quite controversial. Legalised Physician Assisted Suicide, or Legal Euthanasia, and how BIID relates to that. It is interesting that between the time I conceived of this post and now, I’ve had two other people write about that theme (upcoming posts). The basic idea here is to contrast the "value" of death vs the "value" of life with a physical impairment.

I shall not disclose my personal feelings about euthanasia, as it is not germaine to the discussion, and further, I do not want this to turn into a heated debate that cannot, in the end, find any resolution.

1. Euthanasia is legal in some parts of the world

   Whether we like it or not, there are several places in the world where physician assisted suicide is legal. off the top of my head, I can think of the state of Oregon in the US, the Netherlands, and even Switzerland.

2. Before getting "in the programme", one must get psychiatric approval

   These programmes have “safeguards”, to make sure no one is helped to die that didn’t really want to, or was unable to make that decision due to altered mental abilities. One of these safeguards is that a couple psychiatrists must agree that the person is "sane" and able to make that decision (obviously requirements vary from one place to the other, so the "2 shrinks" policy may not be correct everywhere).

3. Before getting psychiatric approval one must have stated their desire to die.

   To be able to be assessed, it’s not enough to say once "I want to die", but you must have a condition that would lend itself to it (terminal illness, or even just mental illness!). And you must state your desire a few times over time (several weeks to a few months).

   I’ve stated often enough: I don’t really want to die, but I can’t continue living like this. If the only probable prospect I have for the rest of my life is raging BIID, I want *out*.

4. BIID is persistent and long-time emotional pain

   If nothing else, this blog is the documented proof of how BIID makes me, and others, suffer. The anguish is strong and constant. It saps joy out of life. It starts pre-puberty for most people, and ends when we die, or if we’re lucky, once we acquire our required impairment.

5. Only solution to BIID is surgery

   We don’t know all that much about BIID yet. More research is required, and it is possible that in 10, 15 years they’ll find a less invasive solution than surgery. In the meantime, there is nothing that significantly reduces the BIID pain. Psychotherapy doesn’t work - A multitude of types of psychotherapy have been tried to no avail. Pharmacotherapy doesn’t work - a multitude of medications and different medication types have been tried to no avail.

   The only thing that has shown to work is for people to acquire their needed impairment. Of course this is anecdotal evidence as nobody has yet done formal research on this. But the vast majority of people who have BIID and have become amputees report that the only regret they have is to not have done it sooner.

6. I do not wish to continue living if surgery is not available

   I get *really* depressed at times. When I’m depressed, I also become suicidal. At those times I would not be a good candidate for assisted suicide. But when the fog of depression lifts, I can think clearly. This is such a time. I am not greatly affected by depression. BIID is strong as ever. Doctors have stated that people who have BIID are not psychotic, not deluded in our thinking. I can therefore know that my feeling on the matter is true. I would prefer to die than to live the rest of my natural life with BIID and not have the impairment it makes me need.

7. Many people say/think "I’d rather be dead than disabled"

   Ok, so it’s not really "I’d rather be dead than disabled", it is more like "I’d rather be dead than paralysed" or "I’d rather be dead than blind" The thing is, there are many people who have said this, or who have thought it. One would think that medical professionals should know better, but really, *should* they know better? Studies show that doctors grossly underestimate the quality of life with a physical disability. It is easy to assume that having a better understanding of physiology and seeing more people with such impairments, that the doctors would be more accepting of disabilities. But they are human, they don’t, afterall, always know better.

8. What would a psychiatrist think of my situation?

   So, if I were to live in one of those places where physician assisted suicide, I would try and get the process started. There’s no harm in getting started, you can always pull out at the last minute. If surgery really is not an option for me, then I do believe I would seriously entertain such a possibility as being euthanased. And I’m sure many people would rejoice, while many other would not. Never you mind, this is rethorical anyway, physician assisted suicide is still not happening in this part of the world.

9. Interesting ethical dilemna

   I think that I would present an interesting ethical dilemna for any shrink I went to see about this. On the one hand, life should be preserved. On the other hand, disability is perceived as a strong negative.

   • Life is sacred and should be preserved

     Most people would agree that life is "good". In fact that statement is a truism (in my opinion anyway). If we can find a way to preserve life, then we try and find it. To me, it seems that the calculation sees "life" win. It would seem to me that if it came down between helping someone die, or helping someone be paralysed, the later would be preferable, since life wins out in most arguments. Quality of life is not regarded quite so highly in general, but I suspect that quality of life is one of the major arguments behind the legalisation of euthanasia.

   • Disability is a fate worse than death.

     But life doesn’t always win out. It isn’t life at all costs, is it? Particularly where physician assisted suicide is legal. And we’ve heard stories where surgeons did everything possible to save a limb, often to the detriment of the patient which was at risk of dying. Just have to read Lily’s story to get an idea. And as mentionned earlier, a majority of doctors don’t believe you can have a decent quality of life if you have a disability.

   So, while for me the dilemna’s solution firmly leans towards *life* and *surgery*, I’m not entirely sure that a psychiatrist or a surgeon would see it the same way.

Tags: BIID, Disability, euthanasia, Impairment, Pharmacotherapy, Physician Assisted Suicide, Psychiatrist, Psychotherapy, Surgeon, Surgery

Twitter Updates

Follow me on Twitter