[Corkey]

Originally Posted by Selenay

We have people in place to evaluate whether or not people are competent enough to stand trial, we have people to evaluate whether or not parents are fit to raise their children... all of these institutions are subjective, but are guided by overarching concepts of what determines competency.

As to the example of a patient not being deemed aware enough with the advanced form of cancer... No. I do not support euthanasia in this case because if they are not mentally competent to make a medical decision about themselves, then how can we be sure it is not something said in the throes of mood? If a patient determines that they do not wish to go through treatment, they can deny it, and once it is in the stages of decline, they can request to be euthanized.

I am not placing value on anyone over another, merely saying that... Well. Here's an example back to you:

Patient X has end stage pancreatic cancer and has stated, when previously asked, that they do not wish to be euthanized. Patient X is now in excruciating pain, slipping in and out of consciousness, talking about how she wishes for them to just kill her. Do we euthanize her?

How do we know that her request made from a conscious choice to refuse treatment or if it is a fever raving made from a wish for the PAIN to stop, not the LIFE? How can we be sure that Patient X truly wants to die, if she is not mentally sound to make that decision?

Should terminal children be euthanized solely on their parents say-so? Someone who is mentally impaired?

Mentally impaired, no, children no, because their minds have not fully developed to understand the consequences of such an act. My mother had her mind, she never complained till the day she could not take the pain any longer. At the time Kavorkjan was in jail and could not come to help her. She had expressed in life as well as at the end that she didn't want heroic measures, and that she wanted if available legal euthanasia. That never happened in California. So her desperation to end the pain put my father in the unattainable position of having to deny her what she wanted most, her dignity. He would have gone to prison if he had complied with her wishes. That is why we need to have a national policy on this, and we need to treat our terminally ill citizens with all the respect they deserve.