Euthanasia

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Do you think people should have have the right to kill themselves when they are suffering from some sort of terminal illness and are in pain? I personally think it should be a matter of individual freedom and if one wishes to end their pain in a civilized fashion, they should be able to do so without the state telling them how they should die as if they have a monopoly on death. It seems far more humane. Of course, this would upset families, friends and loved one but then they are not the ones experiencing such agony and suffering and thus I do not feel as they should have the right to dictate what another person should do in such a scenario regardless of whether they themselves are going to be emotionally traumatized. As for life being sacred, this is a subjective notion and there have been societies I'm sure who haven't thought that life was sacred. The gnostics I'm sure didn't. Anyway, was wandering what your stance was on such an issue?

Yes, people should have the right to end their own lives whenever they feel that the pain of being alive outweighs the value of being alive, as long as the person has full control over the conditions of their death or have given the sanction to a doctor beforehand the terms of when they want to die if they lose the faculties to make the decision on their own behalf.

You wouldn't let an animal suffer intolerable pain, why humans?

I will say that in this country, I have grievances with things like the Liverpool care pathway scheme because it effectively euthanises people who may otherwise have recovered or survived longer under relatively tolerable conditions.

No, because it involves legal approval and the state should not be empowered to kill its own citizens. You have the right to take your own life (although I would not personally approve of that choice) but not the right to ask place the government in a position to say yes or no.

No point in needless suffering,it's my life and I should have the choice to end it when there is no hope of getting better.
Years ago I had an acquaintance that had terminal stomach cancer,he was in a lot of pain.He decided to end his suffering by taking an overdose of pain medicine.His family was there and supported him.He died at his home with his family around him.Better than lingering in a hospital.

To those who are against euthanasia for terminally ill patients: Have you personally witnessed a close family member die a painful and humiliating death because he/she was denied euthanasia? Because I have, and it was horrifying.

Death is not like in the movies. People don't just close their eyes and fall asleep for good.

In switzerland, euthanasia is already legal. It is not down by citizens empowered to kill people, but the person himself must do it, so you must be still conscious. An infusion is arranged that can be "activated" with a klick on a button, and its the ill person himself that does so, in the presence of an neutral witness (a priest or a certified lawyer) and a person that has been chosen by the ill one.

So noone is empowered to kill anyone, but the citizen is given the possibility to take his own life in an human, not suffering way.

Here in Austria it is not legal yet, but if you have horrible deseases like stomach cancer, which a friend of my sister had, when its obvious that there are only weeks to go and that they are full of pain, you can choose to be sent home with your pain medication, including an informational talk about how to propper use the pain medication, and which amounts you should avoid by all means, because of them being deadly...

As long as she could take it, she used the time to say Goodbye to her relatives and friends, and when there was no other option anymore, then horrible pain or being unconscious by the needed amount of pain-medication, she decided to leave.

If your life is only torture anymore, and there will be no end to it, I can fully understand it.

Last edited by Schneekugel on 24 Oct 2013, 3:08 am, edited 1 time in total.

Well, in some countries it does have legal approval such as in Switzerland I believe. I would not say it is empowering the government, I would say it is empowering the individual and their right to die as they see fit in a civilized and dignified way without having to suffer needlessly. Surely, what we have now where people have to suffer for no good reason in a hospital bed for months on end is not empowering. Also, why would it not right to ask the government? We ask the government for the right to healthcare(at least in England) and an education system so why not equally ask them to give one the right to be killed?

I am all for it, in almost any and all cases. I do think , however, that people should be in control, and should be educated a smuch as possible, albeit voluntarily. So yes. A person owns their body and life, and should be able to do with it what they will. But is it sometimes irrespobsible? Yes.

Good stance to take. I agree, people would need to be more educated about it, especially when wishing to kill themselves in situation in which more medical help might be able to help them survive. I suppose some people may also say that old people may feel that if they are placing a burden on their families they might wish to be subject to Euthanasia for altruistic reasons, even though from an economic view that might not be necessary.

Umm because one sustains you and the other assists your social mobility and the latter results in your death. I am against government enacted euthanasia for the same reason I am against the death penalty.

Um how do you even start to compare the death penalty and euthanasia? The two are nowhere near analogous.

I support the right of a person to choose euthanasia for themselves for the same reason I support the decriminalisation of drug consumption or a woman's right to choose abortion. The jurisdiction of the state should end where a person's body begins. This is possibly the only point where my views cross paths with the libertarians.

What somebody wants to do on their own is their business but euthanasia as a medical procedure is a violation of their oath.

If the jurisdiction of the state ends where the body begins, why do you need government support? A libertarian argument for state-sponsored and approved of euthanasia is a contradiction in terms. I don't believe the state should be empowered to kill people or approve/disapprove of their deaths, so I draw a logical line from there.

Must euthanasia be state-mandated? I see it as a person's right to end their own life when they are suffering and they won't get better, and it falls within someone's right of self-determination.
To take it further, I actually believe in a person's right to commit suicide for any reason they see fit, euthanasia would be a subset of that.

The state-mandated part is relevant because many people who request euthanasia are so ill that they lack the *ability* to end their own life. And if people act on their behalf, they may face criminal charges.

In the last weeks of the life of my grandfather, for instance, he could barely even talk. The act of taking a pill or drinking from a glass was something he could not do of his own volition.

I would say that it helps if it is state mandated so it can be done in a more calculated and harmless way. Many people who end up committing suicide are unsuccessful and thus end up causing themselves a lot of pain. I have known people who have tried to commit suicide through taking an excess of paracetamol but have failed and have ended up destroying their internal organs. Therefore, I think it would be far more beneficial for people to have the state kill them in a peaceful and less painful way.