Right to die

[Ragna]

I don't know if this topic is much debated but I found an interesting video of something I had never seen before.

I personally think suicide, under its extreme circumstances, is not reprehensible, because the right to live entails the right to die. Euthanasia is illegal in many places and I always thought about it as something private and hidden, but I've recently discovered that in Switzerland there's a legal organization called Dignitas (dignity) who practices assisted suicide on patients who request it. Here's the last part of a 5-part documentary (for those interested it begins here):

[youtube][/youtube]

Question for debate:

1. Do you find what Dignitas does right or wrong? Why (not)?

2. Is what the patient, Craig Ewert, did reprehensible from your point of view? Why (not)?

[LiamOS]

This is a brilliant documentary on the subject.

As for the subject at hand, I'm entirely for the right to die. Both the organisation and the patients shown in this documentary showed full knowledge of what was entailed in such decisions, and given this, I see absolutely no reason to deny such a right.

[sarabellum]

I prefer one emotion at a time...

This footage provoked too many feelings at once....


I am glad I upgraded to a water proof keyboard...

With that said, here's my two cents....

I'm okay with people being able to choose this for themselves...(the right to die)
I would under certain circumstances....

If I'm successful no one can charge me with a crime....
If not...
Try again...

[Ragna]

I agree totally with both of you.

I prefer one emotion at a time...

This footage provoked too many feelings at once....

Me too! It's the situation, the music, the voice, the story... and also the strangeness and almost contradiction that he faces the ultimate fate so tranquil and calm.

[Bdk95]

That documentary is heart-breaking! I feel that Euthanasia is a difficult issue to decide on. On the one hand, I do not feel as if I am in a position to judge somebody in a situation that I have never experienced, and if Craig, or anyone else feels that Euthanasia is the best decision for them then I wouldn't stand in their way. Perhaps it is better to die in relative comfort instead of after a long and painful illness? On the other hand, where do you draw the line? For example, what if a child was suffering from a degenerative condition and wanted to commit suicide? Or perhaps somebody suffering from severe mental illness? There was a perfectly healthy lady (earlier on in the documentary) who wanted to commit suicide so as not to go on living without her husband. Should she be legally allowed to kill herself? I would hate to be in the position of digitas and have to make those decisions! Although I am not christian, I do feel that life is precious but I do not think that any outsider should dictate to somebody how they should live or die. Any thoughts?

[LiamOS]

I think that as long as you make sure your death will not be burdensome on society(Making a mess, burial arrangements, etc.), you should be completely free to kill yourself for whatever reason you see fit.
You weren't given the choice to live, so surely the ability to reject what you don't want should be given.

[Bdk95]

I understand what you are saying, and I suppose that if it isn't your choice, then whose choice should it be!? However, if you look at Euthanasia from the point of view of the doctor, one could argue that they are breaking their Hippocratic Oath by assisting a person's suicide. At the end of the day, it's an irreversible and life-changing decision for the 'applicant' and they are not the only one involved. What if a cure was discovered, soon after etc. Too many variables! I'm still not quite decided.

[Goat]

I understand what you are saying, and I suppose that if it isn't your choice, then whose choice should it be!? However, if you look at Euthanasia from the point of view of the doctor, one could argue that they are breaking their Hippocratic Oath by assisting a person's suicide. At the end of the day, it's an irreversible and life-changing decision for the 'applicant' and they are not the only one involved. What if a cure was discovered, soon after etc. Too many variables! I'm still not quite decided.

And then again, from the view point of the doctor, you could be saving someone a lot of suffering. Is it less harm to end someone's life, or less harm to keep them alive to suffer terrible agony?

[Slopeshoulder]

I'm all for it, as long as the person doing the dying is also doing the deciding.
I hope to end my life this way (unless I go quickly from a heart attack or in my sleep).
And I wish my father, who has late stage ALS and is as miserable as a person can be, counting the seconds until he dies, had chosen this option. Now he's too sick to go to switzerland or establish residency in OR or WA.
Like anything there is the potential abuse, mistakes, and wrong decisions, but I think and hope that we as a civilization can and will move in this direction.

BTW, there was a long and balanced article in The New Yorker last year about Dignitas, the good, the bad, the ugly. Worth a look.

[Bdk95]

I suppose that if the patient and the doctor are acting for the good of the patient and nothing else, for example monetary incentives or pressure from relatives etc, it could hardly be considered wrong. As Slopeshoulder said, the system has the potential to be abused, but I agree that few things come without that pitfall!