Would you kill an ill spouse?

September

Would you make a pact with a spouse to kill him or her if either one of you was terminally ill? That’s one of the questions being debated among readers after 77-year-old Paul Weinstein of New Rochelle was arrested by police Wednesday for killing his ill wife. Police said the two had an agreement wherein he promised not to put her in a nursing home. Read the story and then tell us what you think.

Many readers sympathized with the man. Here’s what one had to say:

No greather display of love, I can only hope that the gentleman is at peace with himself. Going to be interesting to see what our great liberal justice system does to this man.

Another said:

It’s sad that they felt this was their only option. Now he gets to stand trial and go to jail while greiving his loss. Sad!

More than a few readers talked about having had similar discussions with their spouses. One person wrote:

I would want my husband to do that for me if the time came. If anyone had the opportunity to see patients in a nursing home just vegetating, poor care and no family visitors is not living. If I were the judge trying your case I would be very lenient. … My prayers are with you and your family.

Another wrote:

How many other elderly people make this choice because they don’t want to die in a nursing home? They just may be less obvious about it. I keep saying that if I ever come down with a serious illness and can’t work … I’d prefer to commit suicide rather than be a burden.

Others were opposed to the killing. One reader countered:

That was selfish to murder someone because he couldn’t handle seeing her suffer.

Another wrote:

I do not believe anyone should kill anyone. … Jack Kevorkian went to prison for this same type of crime at almost 70 years old. A human is not a dog that you euthanize because it’s ill or a horse you shoot because it has a bum leg. I have been to many nursing homes through the years and have had family members with dimentia, but I would not think about killing them like old shep.

At least one reader saw this as a commentary on nursing homes:

A terrible tragedy—and it points out the fact that nursing homes are worse than cemetaries!

And one person predicted this type of situation will become more common, writing:

Unfortunately I think we will see more and more of this as the boomer generation moves into its golden years, people don’t want to be shelved away in a nursing home and the costs are very high. In addition, many nursing homes require you to give up your estate to cover their expenses, even if you are inclined to do so, it wouldn’t change the quality of the care you receive.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 24th, 2009 at 10:23 am by Tracey Princiotta. | Email This Post

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