It is a convenient myth (convenient for the proponents of euthanasia) that euthanasia (in its various forms and incarnations) is painless and dignified.
There is absolutely no evidence to show that it is either.
But there is plenty of evidence to show that it is neither.
Euthanasia does not provide the painless, peaceful death which its advocates claim it to be. There is no perfect way for the government to kill people. As Samuel Beckett said: “Even death is unreliable.”
Here are 25 things everyone should know:
1. A study in the journal ‘Anesthesia’ reported that there were no standardised methods for euthanasia and so, as a result, there are frequent cases of prolonged and distressing deaths. There appears to be a high incidence of vomiting, re-awakening from coma and prolongation of the dying process (with some individuals taking up to seven days to die.)
2. In America, doctors cannot access drugs to use in cases of the death penalty because of cost and availability. International drug companies are unwilling to provide drugs intended to kill people on ethical grounds. (It is unusual to see drug companies citing “ethical grounds” as a reason not to do something. I suspect that the real reason is that the drug companies are worried more about legal and reputational issues.)
3. Dr Bryan Betty, medical director of the Royal New Zealand College of GPs has warned that mixing concoctions of drugs has led to traumatic deaths.
4. There is considerable confusion about what to do if an initial attempt at euthanasia fails. Should the patient be told that they have to give their consent a second time? Or a third time? What should be done if a patient is semi-conscious and has not died? Should they then be kept alive? Or should another attempt be made to kill them?
5. A study performed in the Netherlands showed that in 21 of 114 cases, the patient did not die as soon as expected or woke up and the doctor had to kill them for a second time.
6. What happens if the doctor or nurse who is performing the euthanasia has left the building – which is likely to happen if a death takes a number of days?
7. What happens if a doctor or nurse cannot put an IV line into a vein? (This is something which often happens with elderly patients whose veins may be frail or damaged.)
8. The same drugs which are used for killing prisoners on death row are sometimes used to kill patients who have consented to euthanasia. But there is evidence that the killing of prisoners does not always go smoothly and can take longer than might be expected. (Lethal injections were introduced as more humane than the gas chamber or the electric chair. There is no evidence that they are.)
9. One of the drugs used in the authorised killing of patients is propofol which can sting as it flows through a vein when given in normal doses. No one knows what effect it has when given in large doses in euthanasia.
10. Dr Joel Zivot, an anaesthesiologist and critical care doctor, has suggested that death by euthanasia could feel like drowning. If paralysing drugs are used, the patient appears calm, peaceful and quiet – but that doesn’t tell us what the patient is experiencing....<<<Read More>>>...