Should autistic s be able to euthanize themselves ?

Post Reply New Topic

Everyone who is mentally competent should be allowed to choose when and if they themselves die. Your body should be your own and you should decide what you want to do with it. If you are not allowed to die, who's body really is it? Someone else's religion should have absolutely no bearing on what you can do with your body or life.

Society is so f##ked up.
We'll force people (mostly men) to live in unnatural poverty, rejected and dejected, in a zombie-like state of existence until they "somehow" die, but we won't give them the dignity and the right to die a quick, dignified, painless death at the time of their choosing.

We are the monsters on this planet, not those needing/wanting help with suicide.

Getting help with suicide avoids the nightmare of living through a failed suicide. Of course society never talks about that either.

It used to bother me that I can't drive but nowadays I don't really care. Once I moved to a city with public transportation cars no longer seemed like a necessity. Cars seem like money pits and huge liabilities and I don't envy people who have to find parking space in a crowded city. I'd just as soon not have one.

When I was younger (and lived in a rural area) it seemed like my life would end if I couldn't learn to drive. And many people seemed to think I would never be an adult if I didn't go through this rite of passage. The thing is though, I was wrong and they were wrong too. Life goes on, you find other ways of coping (I moved to a city) and you realize that someone else's rite of passage doesn't really mean that much and that you can do things your own way.

When I was a teenager I was thinking "people like me should be killed in early childhood" and I was often asking my parents why they didn't kill me when I was a kid. I was also planning to kill myself as soon as I hit 18 year old and be forced to stop going to school, move out of my house and find a job.

Now I am 26 year old and while I still sort of regret I was not killed as a young kid I don't want to be killed anymore. It's too late now. I know I am a trash human, I need support and cannot find a job or get into a relationship. But I am allowed to live in my parents house, keep my routine and I have hope of finding a job and getting in a relationship in some point in the future so I don't want to end my life anymore. If I gave up now it would mean all my struggles so far were for nothing.
I've decided to live so I will live the best I can. Maybe I will be successful adult at some point. I don't mind living with ASD traits - I believe I could deal with all my struggles if only my anxiety and some stupid beliefs disappeared (such as "people will abandon you if you show them you are weak so you must pretend to be strong, you have to deal with everything yourself, you don't deserve support, your needs are invalid, if you tell them what you need they will think you are being unreasonable and selfish").

Euthanasia is suicide and a violation of the Hippocratic oath, I don't believe in state sanctioned killings.

I disagree with the idea that there is something inherent in autism that makes autistic lives worth less than other lives, especially for those living them.

However, I think euthanasia should be an option for everyone who does not have an untreated disorder causing suicidal impulses. There should be some mechanism for people who simply do not want to live longer which can make the process of death as peaceful and least harmful to those around them as possible, but I think it has to be a fully realized decision.

I think as medical technology improves and continues to extend human life far beyond the natural limits this is going to become more and more of an issue. I often come across articles about age extension and the end of natural mortality--ie dying from old age, but without mortality we will face a tyranny of the aged monopolizing resources as the population continues to grow (unless population controls like universal implanted birth control are put in place) and there is less for everyone and less opportunity for younger citizens to find positions or create personal wealth.

When mortality increasingly occurs only through accident, violence or personal action, the choice to end ones own life on one's own terms becomes as important a right as the right to live one own life.

Yes... but only if they have a terminal illness.

I was reading a collection of Sir Terry Pratchett's non-fiction this morning. I was already convinced of the need for legal euthanasia. Hard to see how anyone except the most religious could object after reading that. It isn't "state-sponsored killing" or anything that dramatic, it's just giving people prescriptions for the drugs they need to kill themselves peacefully so they can retain control and die with dignity. A large proportion never actually use their prescription, but having the option there stops them from having to commit a brutal suicide whilst they still can.

People with depression or anxiety (but no "physical" illness)? No, we shouldn't help them kill themselves (but equally, punishing them if they do attempt it is silly). These illnesses can and are successfully treated all the time.

OP: your problem is not your autism, it is the psychological suffering. Although it may seem bleak, it will not last forever. Speak to a doctor - you can get therapy or pills.

No, because each life is worth living.

Well if one really wants to put an end to it...there is no law that can stop it. Either way there certainly are struggles with having autism and the existence of co-morbid disorders can make things even more difficult, but that doesn't mean there is no possible way to find any relief or enjoyment. Some days are worse than others, but I still want to experience life for the most part.

I have to say though a lot of that does sound rather ignorant, I am not prone to violent outbursts and in fact it does not seem most autistic people are. Maybe you are referring to meltdowns? though that's not really the same thing as a violent outburst rather in some cases they might hit/kick someone unintentionally cause they are freaking out that seems more likely than your idea that we're all prone to violence. And sexual abuse? we're all rapists now? Also maybe what do you mean lower functioning autistics don't even know how distorted their reality is? I've heard from plenty of them hear who seem to have quite a good grasp on their reality.

And what is normal, why should I care? And I've been suicidal even have attempted suicide when things have gotten really tough...I certainly don't need the state encouraging it just because I may not be able to drive, or have a perfectly normal little life.