Euthanasia debate again ignites in Spain
The Associated Press carried a story on November 29, 2006 entitled, "Bedridden woman with muscular dystrophy prompts euthanasia debate in Spain."
The victim of severe muscular dystrophy was quoted as saying, “I don’t want to die with pain, like Ramon Sampredo" (the person who died from drinking cyanide -- the story of movie “El Mar Adentro/The Sea Inside,” which won an Oscar for best foreign film in 2005).
She has ignited the debate of euthanasia in Spain.
But what she wants is for a machine to be unhooked, not an assertive act that would actually cause her death, such as a lethal injection.
The controversy is probably due to her being in a Catholic hospital. Even though her request to discontinue the ventilator is legal, it is problematic for her religious caregivers to comply with her request. To make her dying peaceful, she would need her doctors to prescribe sedatives so she does not suffer from air hunger anxiety.
Ramon Sampredro had no ventilator that could have been discontinued. But he did not have to die in pain -- eleven people helped, each with a small part. He could have instead exercised his right to refuse all food & fluid.
The victim of severe muscular dystrophy was quoted as saying, “I don’t want to die with pain, like Ramon Sampredo" (the person who died from drinking cyanide -- the story of movie “El Mar Adentro/The Sea Inside,” which won an Oscar for best foreign film in 2005).
She has ignited the debate of euthanasia in Spain.
But what she wants is for a machine to be unhooked, not an assertive act that would actually cause her death, such as a lethal injection.
The controversy is probably due to her being in a Catholic hospital. Even though her request to discontinue the ventilator is legal, it is problematic for her religious caregivers to comply with her request. To make her dying peaceful, she would need her doctors to prescribe sedatives so she does not suffer from air hunger anxiety.
Ramon Sampredro had no ventilator that could have been discontinued. But he did not have to die in pain -- eleven people helped, each with a small part. He could have instead exercised his right to refuse all food & fluid.
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