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All though there are already places in which this is legal, such as Switzerland, do you think it should be legal in the United States? The court ruled it legal for terminally ill patients to opt to end their life early.

It's a tough issue. Logically there's nothing wrong with it. It's a bad thing if there's a profit too it...

Anyone else picturing a T.V. commercial for an assisted suicide center? xD.

Anyways, seeing how this bill is restricted to patients dying of terminal illnesses, I'm in favor and glad it was passed. If someone is dying a slow, painful death and does not want to be on medicine for the rest of their life, they should be allowed to be "put out of their misery", so to speak.

We already have doctor assisted suicide laws in Oregon. The voters ratified it many years ago, so this is not a first for the U.S (see Gonzales V. Oregon for more information). I have absolutely no problem with this, if an elderly person wishes to end their life in this manner I fully support it.

I have no problem with it. As long as the person who dies confirms that they gave someone permission to assist in suicide, I don't see anything wrong with it.

Be sure to know that this (morally) shouldn't happen if he or she cannot afford medical care...

I completely agree with the ability to choose death over life if one wishes it so. I believe everyone has the right to end their own life and if they are incapable of doing it themselves they should be provided with the means to do so. It is death with dignity.

As long as they consent, and are judged to be mentally capable of making the decision, I'm for it.

If the patient is in the correct mindset, then yes, I definitely support it. I believe they should have a psychological analysis done before it is considered, however; it's not a decision you can undo.

Wait, you mean after you commit it right? Or is it like;'Yes, I want to commit suicide.' And five minutes later they are like;'Wait, I don't want to.' Are they forced to commit it then?

It's a not a decision you can undo in the sense that once you've done it, you can't be brought back.

Yeah, I think Pix meant before the actual assisted suicide.

I hate that term though...murder's murder, in my opinion :|

Why should someone be forced to stay alive, against their will? If they believe death is better, I see no reason why they shouldn't be aided in ending their life, so long as they are psychologically capable of making that decision. It isn't murder if that person wants to die.

Dammit I messed up.

I meant homicide x_x

Anywho. Killing another person is still killing another person. I don't see the moral propriety in killing another human being.

If the person wants such 'treatment', I would say that there is nothing immoral in letting them make decisions for themselves. Yes there is sanctity of life, but I believe the value that the owner puts on it to be more important than any other person can elude to. One of the serious issues surrounding this is the problem of pressurizing people into taking such action, or encouraging them to end their own life. How or if they will try to combat this, I don't know

You would have somebody for example, forced to live in pain for the rest of their lives, rather than be allowed to rest in piece? True, it is taking away another's life, but it is by that person's choice. It is perfectly moral for one to wish to take the path of death; surely it would be immoral to force someone to go through so much pain?

Perhaps.

But I still see it as a quandary not unlike abortion.

I support this, so long as they are terminally ill. People should not go around killing themselves, or get help, just to kill themselves. Otherwise, that is just supporting suicide, when it is not necessary.
~Vincent

No.

I meant it can't be undone in the sense that it is a serious decision and authorities need to ensure that the patient is in the correct state of mind to make the decision because once it is made, it's final i.e. death. Also, it would be good to have a legal record stating that the patient was psychologically tested in case the situation ends up in court, for example by a family member who argues they were forced into it or misguided.

How is assisted suicide like abortion? I am for both, but in the case of assisted suicide, they want to die. That is the critical difference. Furthermore, I stand by my opinion that they shouldn't be forced to be put through pain either, which you don't seem to disagree with.


Necessary? If somebody yearns to die because they are done with living, I would personally judge that as necessary, as I believe they shouldn't be forced to live. I agree that people should not go around killing themselves on whim, but once they have made an informed decision to embrace death they shouldn't be forced to carry on, especially if they are in pain. It sounds like you view suicide as a truly terrible thing, but really it is just a way for those who believe death is better.

To add to that, from what I've heard it's just an injection which sends you to sleep and then you die?
Something along those lines, it's not as ruthless as killing yourself by hanging yourself or something similar.

Well it's not condoning all suicide. Only in cases in which the person is terminally ill.

The problem with this is that there are SO MANY WAYS it could be abused. If somebody has the right to end their life if they want to, and they don't REALLY want to but are in pain, and in financial straits, they'll always be worrying about whether or not it would actually better to just ask for death. That's a sort of emotional limbo that nobody should ever have to experience.

I don't pretend to be wise enough to have a definitive answer to this question, but I think it's worth playing devil's advocate and bring up that horrible possibility.

The thing is that nobody knows what actually happens after death. You can say that they'll "rest in peace" but you don't know if that actually happens. I for one wouldn't want to experience my last moments when my organs are shutting down (doesn't seem that fun). Then if religion actually is true, you don't necessarily know what happens. And if religion isn't true, there is no peace. There is no sadness, but there's no happiness. There's nothing, because you're dead and can't think of what "peace" really is. It's nothing like going to sleep where you're just in a different state of mind.

It seems like on some occasions homicide could be gotten away with by claiming it was an assisted suicide...

I don't agree with assisted suicide, nor do I agree with suicide itself. Suicide seems like the easy way out from a painful situation, but the effects are not limited to the person who commits suicide. I personally think life is not meant to be easy and straight forward, I also believe we go through tough stages, and pain is a necessary thing, sadly. But I believe we as humans should withstand and take the pain till it's our time to go. I don't think that humans should pick and choose if they live or not. Of course I'm not saying I would stop someone committing suicide, I would try and persuade them, but in the end I believe that one should be able to do what they like to themselves. I just wouldn't agree with them. I've read news articles about children killing themselves after being bullied, or having rough family problems. But a child is still young, they are still developing idea's in their mind, and don't know the true value of life, but the effects can be just as worse, including grief guilt and other horrible feelings.

If you're going to die (because people are mainly arguing it's for the terminally ill) then you could prolong your life if it's worth living, but I really don't see what the point is of dragging out your last days. I'd rather be secure in the fact I could say goodbye to my loved ones before I died, before going to sleep and never waking up, and noone having said goodbye to me.

I mean if you want to end your life if you have a disease that could/will possibly kill you theres no need to suffer until you die.
(Off topic: I live in Montana, and heard about this, too bad I was too lazy to post)

Well it's mostly my morals and the way I've been brought up to treasure all kinds of life no matter who they are or what's happened.

Yeah. My morals are slightly different in that I believe within the law, a person should be able to do anything once they put enough thought to it.

I'd rather die a quick, painless death to a long, painful one, and that's mainly because I'm a coward, but if I ever got a terminal illness I'm sure I would opt for assisted suicide.

"Taking the easy way out?"

Everytime there is discussion or debate about suicide, someone will always make this statement. I simply could not disagree more.

I believe this is a cultural thing as well; suicide is viewed differently in the western world to that of the eastern world. In fact, some eastern cultures consider suicide a noble act; as controversial as that is to say here, I agree with this.

I believe taking your own life requires more strength than anything someone could be faced with. It is our natural instinct as humans to survive; it is something that is embedded in us, rather than us being conditioned this way.

Therefore, to take your own life is unnatural since we're naturally inclined to fight for our survival and to have that strength and ability to stop fighting is not weak, is not pathetic but courageous.

It can sometimes be the easier way out (in severe cases), but I agree with you.

I agree in a sense, but it all depends on why they are commiting suicide. I know there are situations where suicide may be or seem like the best option, but I think in general it's the easier, or less painful way. I agree that I can not place myself in the shoes of someone comitting suicide, but they must have some kind of reason, therefore they are taking the route which they favour which suggests it is to avoid pain of some sort. I also agree with it being courageous, of course it is a brave thing to do, but that doesn't make it the right thing. One of the fundemental reasons I don't agree with it, is that it devalues human life.

I don't think it should be illegal. I think the process to get to it should be kind of difficult or maybe long, so somebody doesn't just walk in and decide the want to die. Although if they really want to, they could just kill themselves some other traditional way.

Agreed.

Suicide is not for those who merely fear life, it is for those who embrace death with open arms. That is bravery in my eyes.

If we talk about suicide within context of 'assisted suicide' then you're right in the sense that it is the avoidance of pain, in most cases.

However, how is it still the easy way out? A lot of these people are just waiting to die; if your chance of survival is minimal and you're suffering, why should you spend the remainder of your life in pain?

When an animal is injured and in pain, or wounded, they are shot to end their pain and suffering; how is assisted suicide any different in principle? If it's wrong, why do we do it to animals and see it as the 'just' thing to do?

I agree partly, such as those waiting to die it's obviously not the easy way out, but those who are waiting to die may not be happy with themselves at the current time (etc) and it could be just a mental mood swing. I've been through short depressions and have often thought of suicide (not seriously), however months later I felt better and wouldn't not even think about it. However there are those who know exactly what they want, maybe have been through a lot, and know for themselves. That's why I believe it should really be between the person and their Doctor.

I regret saying the "easy way out" because it is not easy, it is a very hard thing, what I meant is the less painful route. However with an animal we don't understand nor communicate with them much, we see them more as a thing a being with less of a mind or spirit, so we value their lives less. Also humans are very reluctant to spend money on treating an animal. With humans we have the power to make important choices in the way we live our lives, we value our lives more, due to a better understanding on how special we are as a species. With an animal the human is the only one with the power to end their suffering so we see it as our duty, where as with a human they have the power and decision to make. However you are very right in saying that we seem to view the 2 cases different, when they are really similar.

It varies very much between people whether suicide is the bravest thing they could ever do. For many atheists, it may indeed be the bravest thing imaginable, but for people like me who are all but certain of what comes afterwards, there are sure as heck braver things we could do than kill ourselves. And of course, if somebody simply cannot bear to live anymore, especially if they're always in pain, it's easy to argue that a simple, easy death they can choose is an easier choice to make than continued life.

It's unnatural to kill yourself, yes, but there are many kinds of pain you can put yourself through, physical or otherwise, and for many people, prolonged pain that doesn't end in release to a happier world is a harder choice to make than a painless action that will. I'm sure this also goes for some atheists.

This is in the case of terminally ill patients. A doctor wouldn't kill his patient because by keeping his patient alive, he makes his money.

I believe if you know you are at Death's Door you should be allowed to head onward instead of loitering outside because others want you to.

~~Samarkov

Well lets say you, by complete accident, run over a squirrel. Now, this squirrel has no chance of living and it only has a few hours left to lie there twitching. Now, you're on a back road, so chances are no one is going to drive by it until it's dead. Wouldn't you put the squirrel out of its misery rather than allowing to sit there twitching. It's the same thing. If someone is in a lot of pain doomed to die from a disease of some sort, the best way to treasure their life is by allowing to die happy in as little pain as possible, physical AND mental. While you can give a person as much morphine as they can handle to stop the pain, it is mentally agonizing for them to sit there having to wonder if it's their last day, having to say goodbye to their families and friends on a daily basis just in case it's the last time they do. It's so trying for the patient and the family, It would really be a lot easier for them all if the patient just said their final goodbyes and drifted into death.

No I'd put it on the grass to die peacefully, only if there's no way I could help it. I'm not just going to klll something if the future's not looking bright.

I mean if my computer gets super messed up, I'm not going to just take a baseball bat to it.

There's no hope of saving a flattened squirrel to live it's full life. Computers can have parts switched out.

~~Samarkov

Squirrels are different from people in that they have so little less to appreciate about life, and they don't have innumerable memories to reflect on and things to do and think, at the end of their days and otherwise.

I'm not saying you're wrong in principle, but you can't extend the analogy of an animal dying and a person dying and keep them as realistic parallels. They're different cases.

No.

If it was legalised, it would be controlled. For example, a patient should first have a psychological analysis completed and then legal documentation should need to be signed; a declaration by the patient consenting to the assisted suicide with at least one or two witnesses, with at least one of the witnesses being a family member of the patient.

First of all, people ARE animals. Second of all, I think all animal's lives are of equal worth. Just because we're bigger and more complex doesn't mean we're any more important. The death of a squirrel and the death of a human really have equal impact on the earth itself. Maybe the squirrel has less impact on the squirrel community["squire community just sounds so adorable ] than we do on the human community, but it's still the same thing.

+ 1

We are superior because we are the most intelligent animals, however, I don't think that means our life is more valuable either.

The only reason why human life is seen more valuable than any other animal is because we have a voice to argue our rights.

I wouldn't be so proud of being the 'intelligent' animals eitther. Other animals kill for food and survival; we kill our own kind for novelty or because we believe we have the 'right' or we are in the position to.

What if someone basically becomes a vegetable? Should their family be able to pull the plug (like the Terri Schiavo case)?

I mean, they have little odds to come out of it, but they are still alive.

EDIT: Well, in the Terri Schiavo case, the husband pulled the plug, but you get the gist of it.

After a certain point. I think it should be at least three months unless they are completely brain dead; my mother was starting to show signs of improvement after a month but my dad still pulled the plug and I think that's just completely wrong.. If someone can still blink when you ask them to, they're not gone yet and there's no reason to lose hope just yet.