assisted suicide

[wixard]

what are your thoughts on it?

i think this is gonna be interesting to discuss (actually have we ever had a debate on it?), because it's completely black and white for me, i'm all for it. the right to die shouldn't be dictated or punished by the government. anybody severely disabled terminally ill should have that right. YET when i say this when someone brings it up in conversation, there are at least 2/3 people that will entirely disagree with me.

as for those healthy but emotionally in pain, obviously i think they should get the most treatment possible and truly think about it before going through with it, and i'm sure procedures can be done to ensure that the patient isn't just temporarily depressed.

anyway i'm not THAT well educated on it, i'll probably be reading up about it sometime in the future but what about you guys?

[buttons]

yeah we've spoke about this in our ethic class and i think everyone bar 1 was for it.

i dont know the specific rules or requirements but i think people should have the right to make their own decisions no matter what. one of the arguments the guy against used was that how do we know those with crippling pain or even mental disorders are making the right decision, how can we tell they're capable of making correct judgements when it could be their disorder making them feel that way temporarily. then you could ask how can someone who isn't in the position of the disabled person be able to make the decision? how would they know the correct one? If it came down to me personally being asked permission to let a family member go it would be v. difficult for me to allow it and id be angry at anyone who did. however, if I was myself in the position and my family refused to let me go then id resent them for it if it was what I really wanted but then I could be thankful if I got courage to live on, it's a real hard decision.

does that place in Sweden (I think) allow those only in emotional pain to be euthanised too ie depressed people? i wonder what it would be like then if it was allowed, it would save the trauma of other people finding their bodies, as with the apparently increasing jumping in front of a train suicides... but then you'd geta lot of angry family members and friends claiming they weren't fit enough to make that decision

so I'm in two minds yeah would be nice if everyone had the decision but how do we know its the right one for them or ourselves. swaying a little more to 'no' now based on the fact someone close to me could decide to be euthanised when it was temporary emotional pain... but more towards yes for those with debilitating physical illnesses

[JACKTARD]

I believe that it's your life so you should be able to do what you want as long as it's been talked about and your family/friends also believe that it's genuinely what you want and it's not a split second decision or because you're mentally ill.

[Kyle]

Only for those with severe physical disability or degenerative brain conditions/terminal illness. If there's a chance that with the right counselling and/or drug treatment a person is able to overcome their current state and not want to die any more then nobody should help them to die just because it seems like an easy option at the time.

[Sharon]

euthanasia happens to be the topic that we're on in religious actually... idk i think it should be legal and people should be able to decide if they want to live. especially people that are terminally ill or have a severe disability should be able to access assisted suicide in this country. we watched a film about a woman who wanted one and she ended up going to Switzerland after a failed attempt as suicide because she didn't want to live anymore after getting an illness (called a short stay in Switzerland, it's on YouTube)

but at the same time if it was legalised in this country it could lead to misuse by people who encounter something like a divorce and just want it because they don't want to deal and move on. people would also be pressured into having one by family etc for reasons like inheritance so idek. so yeah they should have the option but be introduced with strict requirements

[-:Undertaker:-]

I own my body, the state doesn't.

And it's as simple as that.

[MKR&*42]

People have the right to decide to take their own life or not, so I don''t agree with it being banned in this country at all.

Effectively, my body my choice.

[Chippiewill]

One of the reasons it's banned is because distinguishing assisted suicide from murder can be interesting at times. Whilst I have no issues with euthanasia I'd be wary of unbanning it for that reason.

[Demi]

I believe that it's your life so you should be able to do what you want as long as it's been talked about and your family/friends also believe that it's genuinely what you want and it's not a split second decision or because you're mentally ill.

Genuinely exactly what I think!

[bam..its..abbz]

I've recently studied euthanasia at school,
in my opinion I do believe that assisted suciside should be legalised , but you should need some sort of permission for iit ive heard its legal in a few countries.
i think its your body and its up to yourself what you do to yourself, especially if you have to suffer with illnesses . It's your life so you should be able to end it when you like. ?

[Special]

everyone should have a right to die if they wish

as long as it's in writing or on video that it's their wish to die i don't see why it should be anyone elses business

the only problem i can think of is that people will abuse it to cover up murder but there's ways around it

[Catchy]

I don't see the problem with it if the person is in severe pain and has no quality of life and wishes to die. It's their own choice.

[GommeInc]

On paper I am all for it. The only barrier is making your intentions clear and your intentions alone. If it were to be legalised then doctors would need to know as soon as possible if they should consider it an option if you fall so desperately ill that you cannot communicate this when it suddenly becomes too late. It shouldn't be for doctors to decide or family members as they may not have your best intentions to mind, for obvious legal reasons where it becomes assisted murder, such as inheritance or even just to kill you off on the lower end of the scale.

It's a very complex area of discussion, when you consider those who seem in a vegetative state yet can hear and understand you, and also feel pain - should they be killed through the choice of others, if their choice was not made clear before they entered that physical and mental? Car accidents happen all the time and people are left motionless, yet may not fully recover - that is not to say that they want to die, as they may of adapted to the change and essentially put up with a lack of speech and movement. Scanning for brain activity is still not reliable as far as I am aware - there was an interesting case a few years ago which involved a man in a vegetative state who heard family and doctors discussing plans while he was completely aware.

The general gist is that it can only work if the individual has expressed their intentions in person, in front of medical professionals, such as doctors and psychologists, and possibly those in a legal profession, that if worse comes to worse, they can consider euthanasia to end suffering, then it may work - but it does not write off the possibility of being pressured into it if you are severely disabled, by being considered to be a burden.

[geo]

We recently did this in RE and I really enjoyed learning about it. I do think it's your life and you should be able to chose what happens to them. You have the right to chose. It shouldn't be banned.

[Cerys]

Same view as everyone else; If you want to die, why stop you? It is your life, your choice.

The only problem is, you could be forced into making that decision. It would be loads easier to 'murder' someone, cos you can just force them to state that they want to be killed, whereas really they don't. If you see what I mean

[dbgtz]

In theory I'd advocate it for those who are unable to do it themselves, however it would have to be heavily regulated otherwise we could get more Dr. Shipmans.

[Daltron]

Ah in one of my criminal law classes we had a heated discussion on this, but after reading several cases about it, I can understand the need for it to be legal, as someone said before, we should be autonomous about our own bodies, the state should have no control on that part.