What does the Atheist community think of assisted suicide?

Question

If you believe in god I am really not interested in your opinion on the matter, so I request "believers" don't answer. I am simply fascinated with assisted suicide since Dr. Kevorkian and Terri Schiavo have brought the issue to the forefront of American culture. Do Atheists think it is a good idea to euthanize people who are suffering or brain dead? Would you personally want your "plug pulled"? I ask this question respectfully, so PLEASE no foolish answers.

Answer 1

"Would you personally want your "plug pulled"?

Under certain circumstances, or at a certain point, certainly.

I'm aware of the some of the "slippery slope" arguments where frail elderly people could come under social, family and finacial pressure to "do the right thing", and I don't think they are empty. There needs to be reallty firm oversight of any such policy to prevent abuse.
But there are clearly times when it would be considered criminal negligence or cruelty not to terminate the life of a suffering animal, so I cannot see why some human beings should be required to struggle on in pain or distress.
But the other options for palliative care and for fruitful existence must also be considered and available.
Not euthanasia just because its "quick cheap and easy".

Answer 2

I think concern for the patient's wishes should be the primary issue. If the patient expressed or expresses a wish to die, it should be the patient's survivors' and the attending physician's priority to honor the patient's wishes and cease the suffering. Where medical science can only prolong a deteriorating physical state (as opposed to maintain or improve it) when a patient is unable to speak for him/herself, the patient's next-of-kin or designated representative should be consulted wherever possible, and they should have the integrity to act in accordance with what they believe would be the patient's wishes. If that means pulling the plug, then they ought to have the courage to pull the plug and the doctor ought to have the right, and the grace, to do so.

When a loved one is dying, it is hard for those being left behind to give that person up, to let him/her go. However, I firmly believe that an individual's last hours can be made more peaceful and content if they are "given permission" by their loved ones to go whenever they want to, and that THAT is the compassionate, humane thing to do. It is selfish to prolong a loved one's suffering because of the survivors' inability to accept the inevitable.

Having said that, however, I don't really advocate euthanizing suffering or brain-dead people across the board - just in those cases where the patient expresses a sane and credible wish for it, or in instances where the patient is no longer conscious/aware, where the patient's next-of-kin/designated rep expresses a sane and credible wish for it. Modern medical science has created so many areas in this life where we now have choices where none used to exist (think of artificial insemination, elective C-sections, artificial joints, plastic surgery). We make those choices all the time for far less noble reasons. Why can't choosing when and how to die become an honorable choice?

I, personally, would want my "plug pulled" under certain circumstances. If I were being kept alive through artificial means and had no hope of recovery or improvement, I would want to save my loved ones the financial burden of continuing my care under those circumstances. If I had a terminal illness and eventual death was a certainty, anyway, I would want to choose to go out on my own terms, yes - especially if I was suffering a great deal of pain or it had become a burden to my loved ones to care for me.

I hope this helps.

Answer 3

Freedom's darker side?

The Doctor was a disturbing character. Many of the dead were people with treatable ailments or illnesses that may well have had a physiological origin. Schiavo was a matter of honoring the earlier wishes of a woman who was truly dead by any reasonable criteria.

I do think that death is a reasonable choice in certain circumstances. The devil is, in this case, in the details.

Answer 4

I am for it euthanasia two situations:

1) If I am brain-dead, with no hope of recovery. I would want any useful organs harvested first for transplant, however.

2) If I am terminally ill, in pain, living in an undignified manner, I would want the option to be able to end my life quickly and painlessly.

In both cases, I think that my death should not be counted as a traditional suicide as far as life insurance goes. The policy should be paid to beneficiaries as if I had died a natural death.

Also, if someone "pulls the plug" on me, I feel that they should not be charged with a crime, since they are acting according to my own wishes.

Answer 5

I think that each individual has the right to end his or her life when they see fit. Making suicide a crime is the most rediculous thing I've ever heard of. If anything it is basically society saying to those who would choose this action, "make sure you succeed for if you fail, we'll punish you"! How are you going to stop someone who truly wants to end their life? And anyone who succeeds in committing the crime will never face any sort of punishment. Isn't this just a waste of taxpayer dollars? I am an Atheist. While there are Atheist Organizations, I don't think we have a specific 'community' as such.

Answer 6

If a person is brain dead, they are dead, the rest of their body just hasn't caught up yet. People who are suffering tremendous pain from an incurable disease that will end their life should have the right to die with some dignity at a time of their choosing. I have seen death at the very end stage of cancer when the person was literally writhing in pain that even the morphine couldn't touch. Is it not kinder to end the suffering or would you rather watch your loved one suffer unspeakable agony for weeks on end.

After all, they shoot horses don't they.

Answer 7

I have no problem with it at all. I think it is outrageous that in some places it is a criminal offense to end you own life.

It is YOUR life after all. The level of assistance that someone else provides needs to be monitored. There are a lot of wackos out there.

I have made it very clear to my family that if I end up in some kind of non communicative or vegetative state, that they are to pull the plug.

Answer 8

I am an atheist and I think that life is extremely precious, since we only have this one life. On the other hand, I think that every human being has the ultimate right to decide over his or her own life. Therefore, if the person's own will is established unambiguously, and the person is sane and able to decide for himself or herself, I could imagine that even assisted suicide could be allowed. In any other case, no.

For myself, I never would want my "plug pulled" by other people.

Answer 9

I would want to be allowed to die as I wish. I watched a cousin who was in a bad car wreck cry & say over & over he wished he was dead... and that was about all he could do at that point--he couldn't even move his own head or feel anything below his neck, or even breathe on his own. He lived in misery on machines for about a year before he died of complications. He was only 18, and he begged to be unplugged.

ilikethecolorteal-that wasn't the question here. not to mention you're mistaken. there is such a thing as atheists. you saying that is like me saying that christians don't really exist because there is no god. just moronic!

Answer 10

Yes, in theory I think it is a good idea. A lot of people being kept alive have no quality of life, are in constant pain and are just around for the sake of their families.

Yes, I would like to go with grace... hanging round as a vegetable probably sucks.

The only... argument could be that people could who really want to live feel obliged to die because they don't want to be a burden on their family.