What are your thoughts on assisted suicide?

Question

I am doing a paper in my Ethics class on Euthanasia and assisted suicide, I want to take a poll on what various people think. Are you for the doctor assisted suicide or against it and why, what are your thoughts? I need as many opinions as I can, so I can add them in my term paper, Thanks!

Answer 1

I'm in favor of it as long it is clearly spelled out under which circumstances the assisted suicide is to be carried out. And that is the root of problem - there are so many different potential life outcomes in which assisted suicide might be appropriate, but in most of those cases, the person who might want to commit suicide is unable to participate in the decision, due to being unconscious or unable to communicate.

The result is that someone might make a laundry list of possible life issues (conscious vs. unconscious; mobile vs. immobile; terminally ill. life expectancy 3 months or not; capable of unassisted breathing or not; capable of unassisted feeding or not; bowel control or not; etc. ad nauseam). The inevitably likely result is that the individual winds up with some combination of the attributes that is not on the list and it is up to the "executor" as it were to make the hard decision.

If you want a humorous take on this, take a look at the Seinfeld season 8 episode 13 "The Comeback" in which Kramer is filling out a living will and wants Elaine to carry out his wishes because he believes she won't cave in.

Answer 2

Obviously, it's all up to the individual and each case on an individual basis. Under no circumstances should it be an issue that involves the opinions of anyone other than the ill person and his or her family and doctors. At the most.

My grandmother was recently diagnosed with lung cancer, and she has been told, point-blank, that she will die very soon, and likely in a great deal of pain. She is also elderly and has other health issues. She has told all of us in the family, also quite point-blank, that she does not want to suffer, and doesn't want us to suffer, watching her writhe in agony and cough her lungs out. While her dying is the last thing I want, I would rather a) follow her wishes, and b) allow her to die with a certain amount of dignity and without pain, which is the way she lives her life.

Answer 3

I'm from Oregon, the only state in the union that has legalized doctor assisted suicide. My take on it is this: What's the difference between "pulling the plug" of a life support system for a terminal patient and "writing a prescription" for a terminal patient? Assuming that the life support person left a living will that stated that they wanted the plug pulled if they were in that situation.

Both situations will end the life of the patient and both were at the request of the patient.

The supreme court has actually debated those two actions and have had difficulty distinguishing them.

Answer 4

I am pro-euthanasia. I see it as a quality of life issue and a line each person should be able to determine for themselves. If I am in constant pain or impaired physically or mentally and want out I don't think being denied relief would ease anything. To prevent snap judgments maybe you should have to wait three monthes after you've declared your intention, and then if you still felt that way, put it on youtube.

Answer 5

I am totally for it. When a person gets to where they are soooo miserable, or sick, or weak, and really don't want to go on, why not help them die with dignity? Better than letting them die without dignity, like with a big cleanup involved in the aftermath. Why is it that our animal shelters can euthanize 11 million innocent animals each year, or we can request that our sick animal be euthanized, but we can't do the same for our loved ones? It's not right. Kevorkian is my hero. He meant well and wanted to help desperate people. They knew what they wanted, were clear about it, it wasn't an impulsive decision. I see nothing wrong with that. I am agnostic so no 'god' or higher power intrudes on my decision. If I want to die, I should be able to choose that. If a doctor is willing to assist me with it, I would be very appreciative. My family would probably be much more accepting of a pondered, considered decision that I end my life with dignity, than to get news that I blew my head off. No one else should get to decide how I live my life, if I'm not hurting anyone else.

Answer 6

As with most moral issues, I think assisted suicide (or any form of suicide) is disgusting, but I oppose laws against it. Whether God exists or not, we have to assume that suicide is disgusting. Virtually every religion declares suicide to be a sin (and usually a mortal one that dooms you to hell) and under atheism, if you commit suicide, you would no longer exist. Either of these would certainly be worse than staying alive, even if you are in great pain. However, it makes no sense to pass a law against suicide because suicide is a victimless crime and therefore nobody else is hurt (directly at least) by one person's suicide. It is also absurd to send a doctor to jail for fulfilling a patient's request (even though the Hippocratic Oath traditionally banned both Abortion and Euthanasia). The most absurd penalty for suicide would be the death penalty, though some government has probably done that before (there aren't alot of absurd things that haven't yet been passed as laws by governments).

Somebody should desire to live for as long as possible, but I cannot support sending somebody to jail for choosing to kill themself, provided that the decision was made voluntarily.

Answer 7

i am very undecided on this issue, on the one hand you have people suffering which i would rather they die instead of suffer, because i would rather die than suffer. and if they do not have enough money it can be difficult to pay for needed medical care. but on the other hand you risk this person not being pushed into suicide, being killed and having it be named suicide, alot of curruption can happen there and the person wont be around to defend themselves. also the religious side of it is troubling, in most religions its wrong to kill and wrong to commit suicide, this would be doing both. even with good intentions. you know what they say"the road to hell is built on good intentions"

Answer 8

I agree with it.
If I had cancer, only being kept alive by medicine, my quality of life is poor and I cant even go to the bathroom on my own I would not want to live. If I did not have the means to kill myself so I could sleep in peace with out pain and suffering I would want suicide assistance.

Answer 9

It's your life and it's your decision.
The one who assist you should agree to do it too.
I don't see why a voluntary agreement should be anyone else's business.
That's the base of freedom. You can't be free if you can make the choices for your life. Even putting an end to it.

Answer 10

i think of if somebody who isn't under the effect of drugs/alcohol etc desires to die, they could be allowed to. fairly in the event that they are suffering interior the long term and purely waiting to die besides. i do no longer think of suicide is inevitably incorrect via fact i'm no longer non secular, I purely think of this is fairly unhappy that somebody felt so fairly low that they did no longer desire to stay any further. those human beings should not be considered as criminals, they desire help. Like I pronounced, if somebody of their acceptable innovations desires to die via fact of ailment/previous age or regardless of they could be granted help to achieve this. no you would be able to could bypass it on my own. If somebody is so bodily disabled that their life is depressing and that they matter upon human beings 24/7, i think of in the event that they desire to end their life a doctor could have the potential to do it for them. Euthanasia could be legalised interior the united kingdom, yet no longer taken gently. life isn't properly worth residing, there will be situations for the duration of our lives as quickly as we predict of, what's the factor of all this? And we are going to have faith that we are actually not likely everywhere in life and this is not properly worth residing. in case you bodily or mentally won't be in a position to stay your life as against purely modern-day then i do no longer think of it extremely is properly worth residing. i understand that if I grew to enhance into severely disabled and in a wheelchair for something of my life, or if I have been given alzheimer's in my previous age i does no longer desire to maintain on and finally end up being a burden to my family participants and the rustic. i think of this is one in each of those debatable subject count via fact of non secular ideals that human life is sacred. each and each to their very very own, I admire different individuals's ideals yet each so often you would be sensible and picture appropriate to the guy. i'm 18 :)