Assisted suicide/euthanasia

[Valdez]

There's been a lot of thought-provoking discussions here, so I thought I'd bring this one up.

Assisted suicude/euthanasia; should it be legal? Why? Why not? What are your thoughts about it?

 

[Irinya]

I think it depends on the situation. I mean, if you are in a hospital bed, and the doctors are telling your family that you will most likely spend the rest of your life as an unfeeling vegetable taking up space in their hospital, they should be able to decide whenever they want to "pull the plug" on you, so to speak.

However, if your friend comes up to you with a syringe in hand, telling you to inject whatever is in it into his/her bloodstream when he/she sleeps because they don't want to live...well, I think that should be classified as murder. No matter how you spin it, you just killed a fully conscious human, whenever they were willing or not doesn't matter, I still believe that's wrong.

 

[Flaze]

No cause technically that'll be murder, even if the person wants to die you'll be the one killing them

 

[NeonTidalWave]

Well, I think living wills work well at the moment, but I think as long as some one is mentally capable they should have the right to choose when they die. It's not something I personally would do, but I feel people should be allowed.

I think it is an unfair stress/burden to ask families to decide, and when inheritance is involved you'd be surprised how people will behave. So I think it should be a choice made by the individual, not anyone else.

 

[ImJessieTR]

I also think it should be legal. However, I think family and the doctors in question or anyone else who might benefit should be left out.

 

[Baashka]

if the person really wants to die and their killer is willing to end it for them, i don't see why not. it's their decision what to do with their life and how to end it, not the government's - meaning, they shouldn't hunt down the person's assistant of sorts and charge them with murder or accessory to murder or something. maybe it's inhumane to some, but if they wanna die, they wanna die. at the core, euthanasia is just another way to keel over.

of course, if their killer doesn't have permission, then it's not assisted suicide, it's murder. but if the person leads someone to believe that they're ready to end it (although they're really not) and they decide to help out, that's assisted suicide. same thing if the killer was forced into the situatuon. the poor guy shouldn't be charged for something he didn't want to do or was fooled into believing in.

 

[Mooites]

I dont like the idea. I mean, if someone wants to die, why cant they just do it themself?

 

[NeonTidalWave]

Because suicide is actually illegal. =|

 

[ImJessieTR]

And if they're paralyzed or something ... they can't.

 

[ii kanji]

I've always found it ridiculous that this is illegal TBH. Obviously there'd have to be a pretty strong case to show that this is what the patient wants and not just his/her heir, but if I knew that I'd die helpless and in pain by living, I'd probably want to die with dignity.

 

[Lucky Seven]

Much of the reason for the illegality of some aspects of euthanasia is the virtually boundless grey area that rests on the crux of the argument; Under what circumstances should a person be given the option of death? I agree with assisted suicide when the circumstances are dire, such as no possible hope of recovery from something deeply dehabilitating, or when said person will die regardless, and will only live on periodically, in pain, until they do. In those circumstances, I agree with the idea of choice.

Yet I also respect that there are a multitude of other forces at work - Can it ever be totally certain that a person may not recover? And the amount of exceptions, percieved issues under the umbrella of this topic are so vast, that I can understand the difficulty in rendering assisted suicide as totally equitable. That being said, however, I still support it in the manner that I described.

 

[Valdez]

I've compared killing animals to killing humans before, asking what the difference between the two is since we are just animals too (something many people seem to forget). When a human is euthanised it is classified as murder, but when we euthanize a dying pet the vet is never charged with the closest equivalent, animal cruelty. Why does this double standard exist? Are we implying that it's alright to kill any animal so long as they don't happen to be homo sapiens? Why?

I support euthanasia. A person should be allowed to die with dignity if they so choose, and sometimes they aren't in a condition to administer it themselves, especially when they're elderly, crippled in a hospital bed, and there is no chance they will ever recover. Withering away like that is no way to go out. I'd rather end it quickly.

 

[Baashka]

I've compared killing animals to killing humans before, asking what the difference between the two is since we are just animals too (something many people seem to forget). When a human is euthanised it is classified as murder, but when we euthanize a dying pet the vet is never charged with the closest equivalent, animal cruelty. Why does this double standard exist? Are we implying that it's alright to kill any animal so long as they don't happen to be homo sapiens? Why?

i suppose one reason might be because the animal is never put down for any reason other than it's suffering, and would be much better off in the spiritual world. it's not like a house pet is capable of pulling a stunt like pretending to be suicidal. and when the animal is in that situation, there aren't really any alternatives to turn to. while it's depressing to think about (who wants to let their pet go like that, anyway?), that's just how things go for domesticated animals.

however, isn't that why humans can become suicidal? they can suffer just as much as a dying animal - maybe not in the same ways, but any type of pain can become so overwhelming that the person is left totally stranded in chaos. and yet nearly everyone thinks there is always a solution to their problems. sometimes there isn't one besides just fucking dying. and so when someone calls on another to end it for them and allow them their passage to peace or happiness, their assistant will be tracked down and thrown to rot in a jail cell for a horrible crime.

it makes me mad that society has that mentality. suicide is very often a selfish act, but sometimes there are those who simply can't be helped any longer. it's time for them to go.

 

[Eredar Warlock]

Euthanasia is how the T4 initiative began in Nazi Germany. The problem with euthanasia is the potential for political corruption and abusing it for finances.

It might start with good intentions, but it's a very slippery slope. The end result always ends up being about money. If we get socialized healthcare, I do NOT want euthanasia becoming legal. People with disabilities or are aged are naturally more expensive to care for, and I'd rather not have a beaurocrat determine whether I'm healthy enough to live.

 

[Legacy]

It might start with good intentions, but it's a very slippery slope. The end result always ends up being about money. If we get socialized healthcare, I do NOT want euthanasia becoming legal. People with disabilities or are aged are naturally more expensive to care for, and I'd rather not have a beaurocrat determine whether I'm healthy enough to live.

well said, i totally agree.

the idea that someone who is suffering in life should be able to have someone end it for them sounds good, but in the end i think it's too complicated an issue to trust with the government.

 

[Zephy]

This is one of the few political positions I'm undecided on.

On one hand I get the feeling that as previously mentioned by Arcane Mind governments could use it to their advantage. That and the choice being up to the family would be very difficult.

On the other hand it costs a lot of money to keep people alive, especially people with little chajcecof surviving. Plus dying with dignity sounds nicer than having everybody seeing you as a vegetable.

 

[Lucky Seven]

It might start with good intentions, but it's a very slippery slope. The end result always ends up being about money. If we get socialized healthcare, I do NOT want euthanasia becoming legal. People with disabilities or are aged are naturally more expensive to care for, and I'd rather not have a beaurocrat determine whether I'm healthy enough to live.

I don't regard slipperly slope arguments to function in their own right - they have been used elsewhere to prevent reasonable progression, in order to convince me, you need to distinguish a more direct example of the percieved problem. Additionally, why the problem with socialised healthcare? I see more problems with privatized healthcare, becuase the initiative for profit is of higher priority than the former.

Naturally, it is a touchy subject, but that is why it must be performed correctly, instead of assuming that the issue is too difficult to render equitable.

 

[Valdez]

Hmm, in regards to the arguments that the government could simply order people to be euthanized; perhaps wording the law so that governments are unable to do so, or alternatively making it so that only the person directly affected by the decision (aka, the person who would be euthanized) can make the call?

 

[ImJessieTR]

Additionally, why the problem with socialised healthcare? I see more problems with privatized healthcare, becuase the initiative for profit is of higher priority than the former.

That's my question. The people hellbent on not having the government control their healthcare must not have ever been turned down for care by insurance companies.

I know for a fact that doctors are heavily encouraged to word things so that they'll get more money out of any insurance company, private or public. I can just imagine the billing arrangements for assisted suicide.

Imagined note in the doctor's area of a hospital:

Doctors:

PLEASE assign the billing code "Applied [insert lethal medication here] for [highly specific medical diagnosis]" instead of "Assisted Death/Suicide". The MORE specific you are, the MORE money we get.

 

[domesticshorthair]

I've always thought it is more humane, if you're hooked up to machines, just lying there, it would be more humane to euthanise. I mean, what kind of life is that?