Discussion of the Week: Euthanasia

[eejit101]

God, time to ramble, ive entered into this post instantly and with no specific thoughts, im just gonna type as i think it, so be prepared.

Euthanasia is complex. Its also illegal in most countries, frowned upon in some, and welcomes in others.

Now, firstly, you gotta look at the legal side. Is it legal to kill someone? No. You get life. But killing someone if they ask you? How about if they beg you? How about if it causes them so much pain to live then dying is the best thing they can look forward to?

Im not gonna take this off topic, but im gonna write this. If there was a way to die that was painless, preparatory, and everything else, id take it. Im not gonna go into detail, but it makes sense right now. There isnt this option though, so all in all its a pointless musing.

As is euthanasia. Killing a loved one with an injection of whatever the hell it is they use these days may be, honestly, the best thing you can do. The fact is if they want it so much, they should be allowed it. All i know is its legal in 5 countries, and 2 US states (Oregon and Washington).

Im completely for it to be honest. I know if i was in serious pain, or just that tired of fighting for my life on a daily basis, id love the chance of the release of death. My family (pfft) would be prepared, theres a chance to say goodbye, so what you need to do, then just let go and "pass on". This, IMO, is completely "human" and should be allowed.

As an "atheist" i dont believe i will go anywhere when i die. Ill just stop. Which would be nice. So once its over, theres nothing. Its not as if your gonna be bored when you die or worry about new people likeing you or any of that crap, it just ends.

So as a final thought - What exactly is the point of living?


(done now, havent read it back, gonna wait for someone to criticise/agree)

[BnLM5]

I am unable to express my thoughts on or about this subject at the moment...Reason unknown... To many thoughts to ponder right now for me.


However I have a new nick name for you Eejj it's Eeyore!

Funny he's the unbelievably lovable donkey

who is dismally gloomy in spirit

most every time you see/hear him. :

[eejit101]

Eeyore101.

NDN - change it up babycakes

[GloBug]

well im all for it. thats what i want for myself. my wife is against it so it might be tough unless i am in alots of pain. i think it should be legal. but thats me good luck it getting past the senate if they tried to legalize it. poker has a better chance then that. lol

[freeringo]

What is living good for?

Too have fun and be happy.

As far as the topic goes.

Euphanasia is legal, its called drug overdose.

The baby boomers are getting old and you will hear about alot of people ODing in the years to come.

Make sure you got your affairs in order and your family taken care of and
enjoy the ride.

It's hard for me to believe or even listen to any debate about how you won't get into Heaven if you take your own life.

How can easing your pain and wanting to enter into the spirit world be a sin?

This coming from someone who went to Catholic school for 6 years.

[navuta]

I would like to die in the same way as Aldous Huxley


His wife inject him a large dose of LSD...
so... people should just do what they whant with their life...as long they dont disturb others...
Long life for freedom...

[taylovesthebeatles]

Okay. So. Euthanasia. It's a tricky subject for me to really be satisfied with a clear position on it for myself, as I'm generally in favor of life, as I'll explain further in my response to the abortion thread and as I've already explained somewhat in my response to the earlier discussion on capital punishment. This most may be a bit of a nonsensical ramble, so for that I apologize ahead of time.

I should also add a disclaimer that my views have a somewhat religious basis, in that I believe in a God who values all human life, which has been made in the image of that God. So take that for what you will.

Having said that, basically I don't think that humanity should be able to "play God" as it were and decide who lives and dies. Additionally, I don't really think humans should be in control of deciding when a person "deserves to" or "should" die, for whatever reason, be it committing a crime or being an "inconvenient burden" or whatever, like an unborn baby.

However, I also believe that everything in life happens for a reason, and if a person feels that God's method of ending their suffering is to provide them with the ability and circumstances to end it with euthanasia, then there may be some merit to that. I don't know really. I do know that suffering from something beyond your control sucks, and I can only imagine what that pain and toil would be like for someone who was so severely affected by it that it completely took their quality of life away. In these types of situations, which is something I'd probably want euthanasia limited to, or at least I'm going to for the sake of argument, I don't think that assisted suicide is by any stretch of the imagination an "easy way out", and is (hopefully, at least) never a decision that is come to lightly.

At the same time, I know that I and I'm sure many others do wish that my death would coincide with that of my beloved, as that way neither of us would have to live without each other and we would die in each others' arms. But that's probably wishful thinking, and it seems like the only way to ensure that would happen is through some means like assisted suicide, which as I've said I'm not entirely morally comfortable with the idea.

So in the end, I really don't know where I stand on the issue. I guess that at the end of the day, I'm still very much in favor of life over the option of death, but I don't personally feel it as equated and black and white as my views on the importance of life when it comes to abortion or the death penalty.