Review of How to Die in Oregon (2011) by Kat V — 13 Sep 2012

Wow.

During the first couple of minutes I thought this was going to be far too depressing and I was ready to switch it off for another time, but I stuck it through and the rest - though still sad - was much easier to watch.

This is such a touchy subject, such a slippery slope, but after watching this documentary, which I thought fairly showed different sides of the argument, I must say.... I'm for the Death With Dignity Act.

I would not have been so certain about my answer if you'd asked me before seeing this, but now that I understand better the first-hand accounts of family members that have been involved as well as the affected/ill person, I understand what it's all about in a whole new way. It isn't assisted suicide, as much as it is giving the patient the control and option, to exit life in a dignified, planned, and graceful manner when, and ONLY when there is no hope for a cure or prolonged life of good quality. One of the family members said it best in this when she said "It is different to suicide, because suicide is when someone who is otherwise physically healthy or has their life ahead of them, but because their are clinically depressed or otherwise, do not want to live it and want to choose to end it. This isn't that.".

The bottom line is, the doctor does not take the patient's life. The patient must be of sound mind and body, and must administer the lethal dose of medication to themselves by drinking it down. They then slip into a coma, and pass away shortly after. It is a very, very hard thing to think about.... but what I support is not people opting to kill themselves when things get too hard... I support the OPTION. People have the option to refuse treatment if they do not want to fight any longer, why should they then suffer through months of absolute agony, with fluids seeping out of their pores, and family members having to clean after them, if they could choose to end it just slightly sooner while laying comfortably in bed with loved ones, still being able to communicate and physically connect, having done and said everything you wanted to...?

I don't know. Maybe it's because I have experience with my father who was sick for a long time, and I know what it was like for him to be so tired of the pain and so tired of being tired all the time...and for my mother and I, not being able to help and/or relieve him in any significant way.... We were all lucky that my Dad passed in his sleep, so his suffering prior to that point was minimal compared to a lot of people out there... but if he'd had to decline much more than that, and be in more pain each day, just for an extra month? It isn't easy to say, because I'd cherish another minute with him, but.... at what price? It isn't worth it.