On Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:06:01 -0700, "Mr. Joseph Littleshoes Esq."
> wrote:

<snip>
>
>I had a relative that was dying of cancer in a Catholic hospital back in
>the 1960's they would not give her enough morphine to stop the pain for
>fear of making her an addict!

I will never understand that way of thinking. It was probably more
like "why waste good drugs on the dying".
>
>She was moved to another hospital not associated with any religion and
>was prescribed not only enough pain killers to make her comfortable but
>which, in increasing doses intentionally hastened her passing. she was
>neither rich nor powerful, but her doctor was compassionate enough to
>inform the relatives of the option of moving her out of the Catholic
>hospital to one where his standing order for pain medication would be
>carried out by the nurses around the clock. Iirc, she would have had to
>agree to it and to have done so would have been considered by the church
>suicide which they could not become involved in promoting. Good
>Catholic that she was im told she accepted the alternative for
>alleviating her pain with alacrity.
>
>As i understand it the relative was told of the option and agreed to it,
>(with alacrity) she had some sort of cancer through out her body and was
>in constant and increasing agony which, towards the end the drugs only
>dulled, did not eliminate the pain till the doctor gave her an extra
>large dose and ... well ... her pain along with her life ceased.

That is highly rational and if I'm ever in a no win situation like
your relative, I hope my loved ones will let me go that way.

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.