Post by Afterpaw on Oct 12, 2013 13:26:32 GMT -6
This has been an issue going around with my group of friends lately, and I want to know the opinion of you VWW-ers.
I'm certain you're all fairly familiar with the concept of suicide (the deliberate ending of one's own life), and as such, I expect you all to be mature about the subject and not to be obnoxious about it. With that said, let's move on to the subject of assisted suicide.
Firstly, I suppose one would want to know what assisted suicide is. Well, it's rather simple, as there's only two varieties of it: legal and illegal.
Personally, I think that assisted suicide should always be legally offered to terminal patients. If you have stage four cancer, a plague of some sort, or an overly-crippling injury, you deserve the right to end it. If someone must have their limbs amputated in order to live, it is their choice as to whether they want to or not. A person has a right to end their own pains if they have no other option. Or if someone is very old and they don't want to have their life end in a rut, that's their choice. Frankly, if I had arthritis and Alzheimer's, and there was no chance of me getting better, and I wanted to stop when I'm the best I could be from then on, I would.
On the other hand, it's still suicide, regardless. A man might want to die in one moment, and he will, and just as he passes on, they devise something that could fix him. To use the words of George R.R. Martin, "Death is so terribly final, while life is full of possibilities." - Tyrion Lannister, A Game of Thrones. One might argue that assisted suicide is silly, and a person should hang on until the very end. I've heard it compared to abortion.
So, with that in mind - and, hopefully, the knowledge you may have yourself - what is your opinion? Feel free to vote in the poll or post below or do both.
I'm certain you're all fairly familiar with the concept of suicide (the deliberate ending of one's own life), and as such, I expect you all to be mature about the subject and not to be obnoxious about it. With that said, let's move on to the subject of assisted suicide.
Firstly, I suppose one would want to know what assisted suicide is. Well, it's rather simple, as there's only two varieties of it: legal and illegal.
- Legal Assisted Suicide - As defined by law, assisted suicide is a doctor or other medical professional anaesthetising a patient (with, of course, their consent) to a point where they are unconscious and feel nothing whatsoever. If the patient's condition is dire enough, they die within minutes. If not, then the doctors will take the situation further and use a sort of chemical which stops the heart and brain from functioning. The patient dies at their own request.
- Illegal Assisted Suicide - Obviously, as indicated by the title, this is the illegal variety of assisted suicide. It is typically rudimentary and not clean in any way. Still at the person's request, they are killed outright, often with guns, knives, or poison. While both have the same end result, it's not pretty in the practise, and often can be painful if done incorrectly. Also, assisted suicide is often only offered to people with terminal illnesses.
Personally, I think that assisted suicide should always be legally offered to terminal patients. If you have stage four cancer, a plague of some sort, or an overly-crippling injury, you deserve the right to end it. If someone must have their limbs amputated in order to live, it is their choice as to whether they want to or not. A person has a right to end their own pains if they have no other option. Or if someone is very old and they don't want to have their life end in a rut, that's their choice. Frankly, if I had arthritis and Alzheimer's, and there was no chance of me getting better, and I wanted to stop when I'm the best I could be from then on, I would.
On the other hand, it's still suicide, regardless. A man might want to die in one moment, and he will, and just as he passes on, they devise something that could fix him. To use the words of George R.R. Martin, "Death is so terribly final, while life is full of possibilities." - Tyrion Lannister, A Game of Thrones. One might argue that assisted suicide is silly, and a person should hang on until the very end. I've heard it compared to abortion.
So, with that in mind - and, hopefully, the knowledge you may have yourself - what is your opinion? Feel free to vote in the poll or post below or do both.