Should autistic s be able to euthanize themselves ?

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For severe treatment-resistant psychiatric conditions with no improvement or not enough improvement, yes.

Now, I'm not saying anybody who walks into a clinic should recieve a lethal injection. However for those who have exhausted all reasonable courses of treatment and are deemed to be mentally competent (mental illness does not automatically equate to mental incompetence), and with multiple doctors agreeing with the request, then it should be permitted.

Saying severe mental conditions are not like terminal conditions is missing the point. Severe mental illness is often just as debilitating as well as causing great suffering like a severe physical condition that causes physical pain. Mental pain is just as important.

For many people suffering from this condition, they potentially spend the rest of their lives locked up in a facility, bouncing in and out of one for months end or having to live in a group facility because their illness limits their independence significantly. I am lucky not to be severely autistic because (and I truly mean this respectfully) it can be absolutely hell on earth.

It does not always get better.

What's next? Euthanasia for people who are suicidally depressed?

Provided said depression is treatment-resistant with all reasonable courses of treatment exhausted and the patient is mentally competent, I believe it should be a potential option.

This is already allowed in Belgium and the Netherlands.

"should", "can", and "will" are all different things.

"I feel we should have the right just as those with terminal illness's,"

"we" as in autistics? what other diagnoses, that are not terminal, justify the right to euthanasia?

down syndrome? bipolar? schizophrenia?


"we're forever set up for failure"

the definition of "failure" is vague and subjective. yes, autistics have difficulties NTs do not have (or at least, do not have as much of). but plenty of people that do not fulfill the criteria for any diagnoses live in situations that make it unfairly difficult to avoid failure. for example, people living in poverty. what other disadvantaged minority groups ought to have a "right" to euthanasia?

however, some autistics are successful, at some times, in some ways. just like how some NTs are successful, at some times, in some ways. "forever" is a broad word.

"The great majority of autistic s can't even drive a car let alone act appropriately and are prone to violent outbursts or sexual abuse,"

where did you get statistics for the number of autistics that can't drive a car? plenty of people can't drive a car. cerebral palsy, the blind, alzheimers, epilepsy. plenty of people can't afford a car. not everyone that can drive a car, owns a car.


"Not only that most of us will never be happy"

"most"? "never"? "happy"? what are their definitions?

Following to me,

people with aspergers deserve to choose for themselves to die or not.

Autism is a terrible state to be in, especially if you are "high functioning"... You fall through the cracks to get help, leading to work.

While the work-balance is not great at all, people with autism are day-to-day treated like sh##, dismissed by family AND society.

People with autism should have the right to choose to die.
It is an extremely hard life to live and most are homeless anyway, due to discrimination.

I, for example...
Have 6 diplomas;
I have worked around Europe;
I did more than 6 internships;
I speak more than 5 languages;
I have a girlfriend;
I can live on my own;
I can drive;
I manage money properly;
I am popular on social media;

AAANNNddddD... Guess what?!

I still do not have one fu###### job!

Most people with autism severe enough that they can't even tell how distorted their realities are are not of sound enough mind to be able to make such an important decision. People with distorted realities can't be expected (or allowed) to make decisions about something as serious as death and suicide as there's no turning back from that. The criteria is strict even for people without mental or neurological difficulties.

Also, plenty of people suffer and face hardship in life and we don't give them a free pass to euthanise themselves either.

Death is permanent. Once you're gone, you're gone. You change your mind and decide to come back. You do anything because you're dead. All you functions have shut down forever. DEATH. IS. PERMANENT.

Unless you're extremely and incurably ill, I see no need for euthanasia.

There are lots of people who get discriminated against and end up homeless. The answer isn't to let those people just kill themselves, the answer is to try and change things so that the discrimination stops or minimises at the very least.

Whilst I obviously know that people with ASD suffer (I'm well f*****g aware) I think it's defeatist to just say
"well, we suffer because society and family dismiss us so we should just be allowed to kill ourselves"
and it is a very bad example to set for other people on the spectrum. There are SO many autistics with great families who don't "dismiss" them, and there are SO many autistics who don't give a hoot for much of society anyway, so why should society "dismissing" have any effect on them?
There are people who aren't autistic who have terrible families, should we let them euthanise themselves too?

I hate having ASD with a passion and I wish I didn't have it, but I still wouldn't want to euthanize myself though, probably because I'm afraid of death (I know I'm going to die one day but I'm hoping I'm someone extremely special who is immortal ).

To hell with euthanasia, and any other willful attack on someone else's life. Just why would anyone think they have the right to kill themselves or anyone else?

Because they do; and even though it is not a legally-recognized right everywhere, it should be.

Why should anyone have the right to decide that every extraordinary measure be taken to keep someone alive against their will when the law should dictate that they live in only one of two states -- stark, raving agony or blind, incoherent unconsciousness?

My own mother chose to end her life somewhere in-between -- not suffering, yet not comatose. She regulated her own dosage, but not so much that she could O.D.

She died in her sleep, with dignity, a smile on her face, and surrounded by her loved ones.

Would you have denied her that?

Fnord, while I'm sorry to hear of your mother's lingering illness and death, I don't see how that's such a revolutionary idea--her dying while under painkillers. It's called palliative care. Not murder.

I suppose my phrasing's off. We die, by nature--but we don't have the right to kill. That sound better?

No offense but I think you read a lot into what I was saying. No one advocated death in agony...and I'm not going to advocate death out of false mercy, either. Morphine is there for these kinds of cases, but it should never be used as poison.

I’m glad that’s cleared up.

I think that a person’s right to die should be honored.

Maybe only under certain conditions — terminal illness, for example.

It’s a touchy subject.

When i was little , i did not conceptualize pain particularly psychological . Was taught repeatedly physical .. then taught psychological . By those i believed were behaving in my good interest and results of those situations ended up in more physical from others , i thought were suppose to care for me . This cycle started at 3 yrs of age . Prior to that , i had no understanding of the very basic concepts that were being used upon me. Pain /no pain.,joy was food that did not taste bad. Burnt toast with jelly. Early concepts of death and god and end of world , were turned upon me relentlessly.
As psychological torture. When confronted by inquisitive mother. After asking for last piece of toast , several times in a week for months ,mother made no comment . Older brothers stopped relying on poor memory aquistion by me .For using these ideas to create hopelessness and fear.and turned to repeated almost daily physical abuse. Till 15-16 yrs of age. Was blamed by same brothers for any and all criminal activities by them .Oddly could recall things i did not do. And punished by parents severely also ,claimed i was lying ,tried to tell truth ,then afterwards beaten for trying to tell truth by same brothers .But remembered school work well.Although was target there aswell ,physically was not able to keep up. All free time all of grade school except . Approx 2 weeks total.was spent alone.Could you blame me for thinking about self termination then? Out of 61 yrs have had maybe 3 actual good ones or less and
Maybe 7 that were not directly psychologically tormented, 16 not physically disabled , of that next 45 perhaps 7 that were not physically painful everyday. And neurologically poorly coordinated. But coordination was slightly poor from birth. Less not leave out stupid car accident 2 yrs to be able to walk and no full revovery . Having higher levels of empathy and intuition are no blessing either.
All the more aware of wrongness. & Total birth family dissolution.Enforced by mum and brothers.
And having read this . You would denie me right to self determination ?but yet
My nonverbal sister had it worse . She had same joy as i , food that did not taste repulsive. Had queried my psychologist about euthanization. No opinion was made by her after 10 yrs.ongoing. And , to denie a persons right to self determine.?
Tell me how you justify this ?

Hi Jakki,

Off topic--but I'm sorry you & your sister had to go through that. No one deserves that kind of treatment from another person. There's not much more I or anyone else on the internet can say, but I hope you're doing better and if you want to reach out we can chat if that will help...so sorry you were hurt.
It sounds like you even had "false memories" going on, and this is stuff that calls for psychological intervention--and making up on alone time that you never got to have. Sorry this happened.

Back to topic.

No, why would someone else's abuse of a person allow for killing the victim to escape torment?

Believe me, I've contemplated suicide to the point where I had my shotgun out and was almost ready to load it. Sometimes I still think about suicide multiple times a day. It's not anything that I have a right to do, and though it would be a simple "way out" it would never solve the real problems.
This might sound crazy, but bear with me: love and suffering are closely linked. If we deny suffering, then we deny love. I wouldn't want to deny myself the right to bear pain while expecting a right to experience pleasure.

My probably NT grandmother died at 96 in torments, due to a circulatory system failure leading to gangrene and a host of other conditions. Her death was prolonged over a period of about eight years. Through it all she said "offer it up." Yes--offer it up! Grandma was Catholic. She took her pain and made a prayer of it--like "God, I love you so much I will suffer this and not complain about it." She used the value of it, didn't waste it...and I thought that was pretty hardcore.

Pain. Suffering. Crap like that. Makes no sense if there's no meaning in it, but if we see it in the context of the life of grace then it's a resource...for me it is.

This is going to sound crazy on WP because we've got a bunch of Evangelicals (who preach only "comfort and joy") and Atheists (No one loves me this I know, for Charles Darwin tells me so) and a Catholic who thinks the Dies irae a very comforting piece of music is probably going to sound like a curiosity at best and a radical at worst.

But no. No euthanasia.

And if it's us killing ourselves now, it'll be other people killing us in the future. I'm for the resistance. Please join me, for your good and that of our future civilizations.

I don't believe in wasted potential.

That's where euthanasia can lead.