A few things to ponder?

Question

1. Physician-assisted suicide is legal.
2. Basically, assisted suicide is justified manslaughter when you
get down to it.
3. UNASSISTED suicide, manslaughter AND murder are all illegal.

Is it just me or is there something seriously wrong with this picture?!

I'm not for legalizing either. Suicide is suicide is suicide. But I do think that if you're that depressed that you feel suicide is the only way out, if you chicken out, it's a sign that somewhere deep down inside you still really don't want to kill yourself and as such if you don't feel compelled to do it yourself, deep down you probably don't really want to comit suicide. Just my opinion.

Answer 1

Ok I pondered it. What is the question?

Assisted suicide is a very humane thing to have in a civilized world. There are ppl doomed to live in her beds for the rest of their life. How can you say it is humane not to let them end their misery?

Answer 2

Ask Dr. Kevorkian how legal assisted suicide is. Chances are he wouldn't be setting in prison if it was. Even a person who is terminally ill does not have the right to take their own life and the doctor cannot even when requested do anything other than withdraw all extraordinary measures to expedite a persons demise. A person who has a living will can advise their doctor of their wishes but the doctor has the final say on what will be allowed and what will not. I have yet to hear of an unassisted suicide being prosecuted!

Answer 3

Yes, there is something wrong.
Even though you may have misstated the legality and the legalese, your question is a valid one. The corrections offered did not answer the question and are irrelevant.
One correct thoughtful point was that we do more for animals suffering than for humans -- and that is wrong.
How to resolve the question is extremely difficult, primarily because it encroaches on religious beliefs. Those beliefs will continue to trump rationality until someone successfully argues before the supreme court that religious beliefs about suicide cannot be "passed" into law because they "establish" a religion.
If anyone's religion allowed suicide, it would be unconstitutional to outlaw it.

Answer 4

What if your in so much pain,you can't function and you feel that a burden and that someone can help you ,because you can't feed yourself, you craps your bed and your body doesn't work anymore.Yes it's legal, if the person is of sound mind.Now lets talk about the prison systems.If someone is on death row and is appealed for twenty years ,for a crime against humanity,that is so hideous. Is it okay to ignore the fact,that this is a burden on you and the state.I would be the first to gladly assist in the the maggots death.Can I be put up for his death I doubt it,even if he did not want to die.

Answer 5

What's wrong with the picture is that you don't understand the laws in question.

1. Physician-assisted suicide is not legal in most states in the US, and very few countries in Europe. Oregon is the only state with current assisted suicide laws, and those are very limited in application.

And in the few jurisdictions where assisted suicide is legal, it is limited to people who are already terminally ill, and want to die under controlled conditions. Which is very different than general suicide in non-terminal cases.

2. Assisted suicide is not manslaughter. Manslaughter is homicide, the killing of another person. Suicide is not homicide. Basic definition of terms.

And while euthanasia might be homicide, it is very different than assisted suicide. In euthanasia, someone else does the killing. In assisted suicide, the person dying takes the direct and final action. The doctor only provides the means.

3. Suicide is not illegal. Attempted suicide is illegal. And as noted, homicide involves the killing of another, not of self. Comparing suicide to homicide is about as accurate as comparing homicide to killing a fish.

As with most issues, there are several major distinctions that are not being drawn by your analysis. But don't let little things like fundamental distinctions interfere with the point.

Answer 6

you clearly have never watched a loved one waste away while kept in skilled nursing limbo by some HMO
youve never seen a bed sore
youve never witnessed the way the days for the dying and infirm just kinda blend into one another for them- one bed ridden, lonely, burdernsome day after another
look, a kid cant go to a physician and request assisted sduicide
its primarily for the elderly and infirm
for people that really dont ahve or want anymore from life
and people that are in pain
that is just hospice
and it is humane, not political and none of your business
get over yourself

Answer 7

In the US Physician-assisted suicide is NOT legal. While its removes the inconsistency you mention it begs the question.

Are you for legalizing the latter?

Answer 8

oh now here's a subject i could debate for a while. thank you for asking a question that finally makes me think. suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem in most cases granted. but, we as humans consider ourselves to be "humane" when we take our ill and suffering animals to the vet to be put down, but if grandma Martha is suffering from incurable cancer and is in constant pain we tell her that she cant make the choice to die with dignity on her own terms. in my opinion that is just wrong. i don't believe that we should be able to make the decisions for our relatives. that is murder. if someone wants to die on their own terms they should have the right to do so. fortunately i never had to confront the situation, but i had a terminally ill child who was old enough to make his own well thought out decisions. if he had chosen to not live anymore i wouldn't have stopped him from dying with dignity as he saw fit. to me that would not have been suicide under the true definition, in his circumstance that would have been getting relief from a situation that will result in death anyway. he was in a lot of pain, probably more than i could have tolerated. in the end he taught me how to live life to its fullest and how to die honorably. i have no problem with assisted suicide as long as it is a terminal situation, it is the patients decision to do so, and the patient has to turn the knob or whatever it takes to end their own life. hopefully this was well thought out enough to make sense. thank you for the mental workout. feel free to continue this in email if you would like. i love mental challenges.

Answer 9

and for how long would you want to live totally bedridden someone having to change your adult nappy not being able to read write sit up eat being in pain 24/7 i know i would want an assisted suicide and would hope in my heart someone could do that for me.

Answer 10

I don't care what you call it, but better legistation is needed in this area, because it's happening everyday. I favior legal assisted sucide, but with good controls.