Nobel-winning cancer researcher ends his own life

[MrBurns]

Wish we could all go this way -

Belgian scientist and winner of the Nobel prize for Medicine, Christian de Duve, has died at the age of 95 after committing euthanasia, his family said.

Mr de Duve was the second well-known Belgian to choose mercy killing after the death in 2008 of writer Hugo Claus.

He died on Saturday, his family said.

Belgium was the second country in the world after the Netherlands to legalise euthanasia in 2002.

"It would be an exaggeration to say I'm not afraid of death, but I'm not afraid of what comes after because I'm not a believer," Mr de Duve told Belgian newspaper Le Soir last month.

"When I disappear I will disappear, there'll be nothing left."

Mr de Duve had decided to commit euthanasia after suffering a fall in his home but was awaiting the arrival of his son from the United States in early May in order to die surrounded by family.

"He left us serenely and refused to take anti-anxiety pills before the final injection. He left with a smile and a good-bye," his daughter Francoise told Le Soir.

Mr de Duve, who studied medicine and chemistry, picked up the 1974 Nobel with fellow Belgian Albert Claude and American George Palade for research on cancer.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-07/nobel-winner-ends-his-own-life/4673418

 

[Julia]

Good that he had that choice.
There is, I think, a gradual move in thinking here amongst the medical profession, with some intensive care specialists speaking out about the pointless waste of resources keeping up intensive care with heroic life saving measures in the last weeks of life. It can costs tens of thousands for people who will die anyway.

They are urging people to have Advance Health Directives in place making clear their end of life wishes.
That then provides the doctors with the authority to avoid life saving measures, and instead assist the person to die as comfortably as possible.

 

[MrBurns]

Good that he had that choice.
There is, I think, a gradual move in thinking here amongst the medical profession, with some intensive care specialists speaking out about the pointless waste of resources keeping up intensive care with heroic life saving measures in the last weeks of life. It can costs tens of thousands for people who will die anyway.

They are urging people to have Advance Health Directives in place making clear their end of life wishes.
That then provides the doctors with the authority to avoid life saving measures, and instead assist the person to die as comfortably as possible.

I think that would be received extremely well by the majority of people Julia...........

 

[explod]

They are urging people to have Advance Health Directives in place making clear their end of life wishes.
That then provides the doctors with the authority to avoid life saving measures, and instead assist the person to die as comfortably as possible.

No it does not, we still have to have a law in this country behind them.

Having some insight into the profession however I do know that morphine etc are incrfeased by Doctors at certain point s near the end. But it is not legal.

But yes absolutely for it too, lets see if we can get Abbott onto the cause. gotab......jocking.

 

[Julia]

No it does not, we still have to have a law in this country behind them.

You are not correct, explod. If a patient's Advance Health Directive (a legal and binding document) directs that no heroic life saving measures are to be employed, and instead sufficient pharmacological assistance is to be administered in order to keep the patient completely pain free and comfortable, the doctor is absolutely within his rights to increase the dose of eg morphine even in the knowledge that so doing will almost certainly hasten death.

Having some insight into the profession however I do know that morphine etc are incrfeased by Doctors at certain point s near the end. But it is not legal.

See above. It is legal under the terms of the Directive.
Which is why everyone should have one of these documents in place if they do not want to be kept alive via expensive and intrusive measures when they are absolutely going to die anyway.