Could you pull the plug?

[elfpirate]

[b]This question has been running through my mind a lot recently, because a friend of mine is currently in a coma after a really horrible car accident (she was hit by a drunk driver last week:animeangr ).[/b]

[b]I've thought about it quite a bit in the past, because my mom once told me that if she ever ends up in a state in which she can no longer function on her own, she wants [i]me[/i] to euthenize her somehow- the whole "Death before dishonor" thing.[/b]

[b]I used to think that I wouldn't have much of a problem doing that for someone, but now I'm not so sure.[/b]

[b]If it was my son, I don't know if I would be able to let go- even if there were no chance that he would ever wake up... but if it were anyone else, I think that I would see it as a mercy killing. I know- that's terrible, right- that I say it depends on who the person is... I must be evil...[/b]

[b]So I pose the question to all of you: [/b]

[b]If one of your loved ones was in a coma and there was no possibility that they would ever come back (ie- the brain is simply too desroyed to function again)- and it was up to you to decide whether or not to take them off life-support, would you be able to "pull the plug"? Why or why not?[/b]

[Sol-Blade]

Needless to say, I've never been in such a situation but in purely a hypothetical viewpoint, I honestly believe that I could and, probably would take someone off of life support. Surely, I wouldn't want to let anyone die, but situations are never going to be picture perfect, and unfortunate things happen. If there is abosolutely no chance that, the victim will recover...no matter how close this person is to me, if the choice was up to me, I would take them off. It may seem harsh to some, but clinging on to something with little or no possiblity of it happening just seems a little...for lack of a better word...[I]pointless[/I] in my opinion.

But again, I have never been in such a situation so I'm sure my opinions may change if (Or when...) it happens to me. It's human nature to do so. ;)

[DBZgirl88]

[COLOR=#004a6f]Sometimes your religion plays a part in whether or not you decide to pull the plug. Even if the person is in a vegetative state, people who believe in God still beleive that God decides whether the person dies or not. God can even suddenly end the coma and the person would wake up.

I went to a releigious lecture one day about death. The guy who was giving us the lecture told us that one day, he was called to a hospital for advice about someone's loved one (a father and husband) who was on life support. They were asking him whether or not it was right to pull the plug or not. He stated that someone in the family must decide, that that God would propbably be forgiving because the situation seems hopeless. The man's soul might have even left his body, and you just have a lump of flesh right there. The man's wife was considering pulling the plug, but then, the man's son, who was living in another country, called and forbid her to do so. So the guy who was asked for advice stated, "okay, the decision is made".

Miraculously, the man in the coma woke up a month later, and although he had suffered brain damage and was unable to speak, he still lived happily with his family for another full year.

Weird huh? As I see it, from a releigious point of view, it was God's will that this man lived. It was him who allowed the phone call to be made and the boy's decision to get through, and it was him who allowed the man to wake up.[/COLOR]

[Billy Shears]

[COLOR=DarkRed][SIZE=1]I know it sounds a little barbaric, but why let them suffer? If they will never wake up again, what good is it going to do to keep them alive? I had to help my grandmother make that desicion with my grandfather. He had a stroke and a heart attack at the same time, completly destroying his brain and putting him in a coma. Why keep him alive when you can't actually express your love and caring with no response? He would never know.

-the one and only[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Delta]

[COLOR=#B33D79][SIZE=1]Perhaps.. perhaps I would. First up, the use of life-support systems isn't for free. Plus you said that there was no possibility of the person coming back 'cause the brain's too messed up. I'd probably donate that person's organs; at least somebody could benefit from his situation.

Hmm... Is there some way to determine if the person is still, um, thinking? You know, like the brain's still functioning beyond the minimum activities to keep a person alive. If test shows that the person in question is still active in that sense then I'll keep him /her alive.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Pumpkin]

[FONT=Georgia][SIZE=2][i] It all depends on how bad the situation is. If the person has no chance of waking up, I would wait awhile before pulling the plug, but I would definately do it. The longer you wait, the more you suffer. Why let the person be in pain? It would pro-long the family's sorrow if he/she were kept alive and cannot function. If I were a "vegetable" and suffered brain damage, I would want the plug pulled on me. I would rather die, then to suffer that way. It sounds awful, but I feel like if the person died, it would be easier to put to rest then to have that hanging over your head for many years later. [/SIZE][/i][/FONT]

[elfpirate]

[quote name='Sol-Blade] If there is abosolutely no chance that, the victim will recover...no matter how close this person is to me, if the choice was up to me, I would take them off. It may seem harsh to some, but clinging on to something with little or no possiblity of it happening just seems a little...for lack of a better word...[i]pointless[/i'] in my opinion.[/quote]
[b]I used to think that way, too... but then I thought: If it were my child, I would probably have a truly hard time letting go. [/b]

[b]I would want him there so I could hold his little hand and kiss his little cheek... it would be so hard to let go and never be able to see his face or to touch him again... even if he didn't know I was there.[/b]

[Panda]

If I were the one who was in the coma I would want to have the plug pulled. I think having my family suffer ever day, wondering if I would wake up, would be too hard and sad. I wouldn't want to put my family though that heartache. If I were gone they could mourn and move on with their lives. Which is what I would want.

If it were a loved one. I would follow their wishes. My grandpa had a DNR order towards the end of his life. We honored that. If one of my loved ones didn't want to be in a coma hooked up to machines then I would honor their wishes and pull the plug. If I didn't know what their wishes were...I am not sure what I would do. I just pray that I am never put into that situation.

[elfpirate]

[QUOTE=Panda] My grandpa had a DNR order towards the end of his life. We honored that. [QUOTE]

[b]My mother and one of her sisters honored their mother's DNR order... a wish that she had made clear for decades... and now, their other sisters won't talk to them, because they "murdered" my grandmother. Stupid, neh?[/b]

[Morpheus]

In early February, a 17-year-old from a neighboring school was badly injured in a single car accident and was put on life support for four days before his parents ordered his feeding pipe removed. He starved to death over 22 hours. I didn't know him personally, but one of my friends was really shaken up about it.

I think it is necessary to eventually take the life support off, but you need to wait a little bit. Comas last more than four days, and should be waited out. At least the family an friends have a little hope.

[Excel]

This is hard question for me. I ussually get attached to people and it's really hard for me to let go also beacuse of my religion I don't feel like im cut out for this desicion. But I will pull the plug after a cetain amount of time I believe that they need a little more time but if the suffer much I will pull the plug I don't want anyone to suffer it just tears me apart.

Kitty Excel :catgirl:

[IceWolfEyes]

----------------------------------------

[Cazzilla]

I have never been in that situation. But I know I would never be able too. It is so hard to let go, I would never want to truely admit they were out of my life.

It sucks about your friend. So many promising lives have been ruined by complete ****-ups on the roads.

[Skye]

[size=1]Yes. I don?t have to think about it. Yes.

This sounds selfish, but I would not be able to look at their body ? no soul home ? forever in a coma, and hope they would get better. They wouldn?t I wouldn?t be able to watch them die before my eyes, not like that, when ?they? were already gone.

My mom has it written that if she gets in an accident, if the doctors can help her recover, then they may. But if she is going to live the rest of her life in pain, or crippled, she wants them to end it. That would be really hard for me to get over, but it is what she wants, and I love her.

So yes.

Mouse[/size]