Right to die

Yes

14 (87.5%)

No

0 (0%)

Only if the government says the individual is allowed

0 (0%)

Other (Please Explain)

2 (12.5%)

Total Members Voted: 15

[LoveFreedomAndLiberty]

After a stroke, a man asks for the right to die:  http://apnews.myway.com/article/20120123/D9SEM1681.html

Should he be allowed to have the right to die?
How much should this cost him?
Should it be affordable for everyone to have this choice?
Should everyone have this choice and right?
Should the right to die be limited to the terminally ill?
Should others determine when and if he has the right to die?
Should where an individual lives determine if they have this right?
If someone assists an individual should it be considered murder or merciful?
Is this a human rights issue?
What is your opinion?

[Turd Ferguson]

Yes, everyone should be able to end their life when they want to. They should be able to choose how it happens and how much that will cost, as long as someone is willing to do it for them if they cant do it themselves. If they cant do it themselves and nobody else is willing to do it for them, well, I guess he just has to suffer.

Having someone throw you off a boat into shark infested waters doesn't cost much, so that might be a way to go if you dont have much cash. Bypasses the cost of cleanup and burial.

I personally wouldn't suggest it for someone who isnt terminally ill, but its their own body after all. If its a rainy day and they are depressed and just feel like ending it all, oh well, thats their problem.

[Cognitive Dissident]

I'm just throwing this out as a devil's advocate.

What if the person who wants to die owes debts or reparations?  That person is shorting the person or people he owes.  If indeed the person is not actually in pain or infirm (i.e., no cancer, no neurological disorder, etc), but do so averse to repayment that he'd rather die, should he be allowed to avoid the responsibility?  If not, what about the person who IS in pain or infirm?

[Turd Ferguson]

........so averse to repayment that he'd rather die, should he be allowed to avoid the responsibility?  

If a guy would rather die than pay back his debt, do you really think he cares what the law says at that point? If his conscience doesn't bother him, no law that could possibly be passed is going to change anything.

No point in a law that cant possibly be enforced, right? What ya gonna do, go after him in the afterlife or whatever it is?

I think its just a risk that you take when you loan someone money, unfortunately.

[Laetitia]

Yes, as long as it's something which does not cause physical harm to those around.

Example:
Overdose at home, with or without medical assistance - should not be stopped.
Jumping off overpass during rush hour traffic - should be stopped.

[Turd Ferguson]

Jumping off overpass during rush hour traffic - should be stopped.

I agree, thats not good.

But how are you going to stop that? A suicidal person that wants to do that doesn't really care about what someone else thinks.

Unfortunately, thats just one of those things we're all gonna have to just accept and deal with.

[Laetitia]

Jumping off overpass during rush hour traffic - should be stopped.

I agree, thats not good.

But how are you going to stop that? A suicidal person that wants to do that doesn't really care about what someone else thinks.

Unfortunately, thats just one of those things we're all gonna have to just accept and deal with.

I agree, you can't stop the person who makes a headlong leap over the railing and down to the pavement below.

There were two times recently where traffic came to a standstill for hours while authorities dealt with somebody sitting, thinking over the jump. That person should be cuffed and hauled off to jail or mental hospital. (Or pushed, according to some local folks.)

[Turd Ferguson]

I agree, you can't stop the person who makes a headlong leap over the railing and down to the pavement below.

+1  for trampolines that pop out of the ground when someone jumps off.

[Sam Gunn (since nobody got Admiral Naismith)]

The way I see it is easily illustrated with a simple analogy.  You have self ownership of your own body.  Imagine all of your property, including your body, being represented by a deck of cards.  One card represents your ownership of your car, another your house, another your body, etc. etc.  You have the right to trade these cards with other people, or throw them on the ground and abandon them.  By attempting suicide you are throwing the card that represents your ownership of your body on the ground.  At this point anyone else is free to either pick it up, or abandon it,  etc.

You have the right to attempt suicide, but by throwing that card that represents your life on the ground, you are giving anyone else the right to pick up that card and take possession of it, and take control of your body.  So if I were to witness someone attempting suicide, I would have the right to pick up that card, and take control of that property, and morally I feel that I would be obligated to help restore it to its full value and return it to its original owner. 

In practical application that's throwing a suicidal individual into the mental ward of a hospital where they can be nursed back to sanity by well trained and caring staff, which is something that I have had the honor and opportunity to assist with in the past.

[Diogenes The Cynic]

You have a right to kill yourself, but not to have someone kill you. It sucks for locked-in people, and people too scared to commit suicide. but there is a huge moral problem with allowing one person to justifiably kill another.

Suicide=yes
Doctor assisted suicide=no

[Cognitive Dissident]

You have a right to kill yourself, but not to have someone kill you. It sucks for locked-in people, and people too scared to commit suicide. but there is a huge moral problem with allowing one person to justifiably kill another.

Suicide=yes
Doctor assisted suicide=no

Why not, if you both agree (and you document it well, so there can be no confusion)?

[SeanD]

You have a right to kill yourself, but not to have someone kill you. It sucks for locked-in people, and people too scared to commit suicide. but there is a huge moral problem with allowing one person to justifiably kill another.

Suicide=yes
Doctor assisted suicide=no

While I disagree I can understand where you are coming from.

What about Do not resuscitate orders?  Is it moral to withhold treatment if those wishes were made known by the patient?

[sandm000]

Just put this sign up on the overpass. Problem = solved.