Should assisted suicide be allowed for anyone?

mr_fegelien

Currently, it's being legalized in many countries but under very strict conditions. Only for those with terminal illnesses with no chance of improval.

I know in Belgium/Netherlands, it's been allowed for those with mental issues but they are a rare case.

The societal view on it is very puzzling. People view assisted suicide when it comes to cancer/degenerative disease as okay yet when it comes to mental illnesses, there's much greater stigma. Things like "selfish" and "cowardice" are statements I've seen thrown around very often by people.

Now many will say that a mentally ill person is by definition unable to consent but I disagree. If they killed someone, they'd be considered still having the ability to know right from wrong. Similarly, a depressed person can know when their life is objectively not worth living. I don't think wanting to die necessarily implies mental illness.

And let's not forget that not one single soul consented to life so a peaceful exit should be allowed/not stigmatized.

What do you think?

smellyoldboot

You'd be opening up a can of worms tbh. Wouldn't be long before you had a few cunning serial killers or general persons with bad intentions produce signed agreements/testimonies from victims. Probably in some cases genuinely convincing people to go along with it

mzungu

smellyoldboot wrote: »

You'd be opening up a can of worms tbh. Wouldn't be long before you had a few cunning serial killers or general persons with bad intentions produce signed agreements/testimonies from victims. Probably in some cases genuinely convincing people to go along with it

In countries where you can avail of it there are stringent checks and balances to avoid undesirable scenarios like the ones you describe.

Putting terminal illness aside, I think there is more pushback against euthanising the mentally ill because of the nuances involved in diagnosis. Eg. Most medical experts can agree that Patient x is dying of cancer. Laboratory tests also back up these expert opinions etc. However, with mental illness, you could get ten psychiatrists to analyse a patient and you might get ten different answers. How do they know whatever illness the patent has can't be treated, when there may not be consensus as to what it is?

It is grey area and a topic that should get a lot more public discussion.

Airyfairy12

It happens often enough, I remember years ago a woman went to Switzerland (I think) for an assisted suicide. She went through awful abuse as a child and was left permanently in a state of trauma, she didnt sleep or eat she was constantly living through flashbacks and night terrors, it was decided that allowing her to have an assisted suicide was the most humane thing to do.

A few years ago I watched a documentary about another Scandinavian woman who wanted an assisted suicide because of her mental illness, after months of seeing psychologists and arguing her case she was given the go ahead. The documentary showed her talking to her friends and family about her decision. At the last minute, think it was the day she was meant to die she changed her mind.

It was genuinely upsetting to see her telling her friends and family that she was planning her suicide, watching her friends and her mother try to talk her out of it and finally accepting what she was going to do and showing support in a really sad but empathetic way, It was really awful but id imagine if she had went ahead and committed suicide alone, without telling anyone, it would have much harder for her family and friends, the assisted suicide option probably saved her in the long run as it gave her time to think about her decision and had she gone through with it, her family and friends would have had the opportunity to say their goodbyes.

Surely assisted suicide could only be carried out legally in a hospital with professionals, I cant see a situation where the general public would be granted legal permission to kill someone on request.

mzungu

Gino Kenny of PBP has introduced the Dying With Dignity Bill. It will be debated in the Dáil this Thursday and a vote the week after.

Two medical professionals must certify the individual is terminally ill.

It could be a while before something like this is legalised but it is good to see the conversation beginning. It's long overdue.

bo0li5eumx12kp

Needs to happen.

It's just the moral malcontents projecting their insecurities and onto to others delaying the matter.

Terminal illness and constant pain?

.....

Kind of a no brainer.

Last year Harris needed his ass kicked on this topic, now Donnelly needs to start shaking a leg.

bertiebomber

If someone is tired of living and there are a lot of us then we should be able to access the demise of our lives. After covid lots of people will need to look for another job as a lot of small companies will be gone bust. These are older over 40's & wont be able get a job,. They will be bullied by the government until they do. Thats a good enough reason to say soyonara but you cant unless you know an undesirable character who will buy you a Glock in Limerick for an inflated price.

Regulated right to butt out of this increasingly awful planet should be in place think of all the money the gov would save on the elderly the depressed the ****ed up the addicts etc there would be a mass exodus. I know 5 people who would sign up tomorrow after this ****ty xmas. All 5 are not old but are sick and fed up with living on this planet . There should be an App for it.

GreeBo

^
Yeah, I don't think that's what anyone else is talking about tbh.

bertiebomber

the title is should assisted suicide be there for anyone? I say yes it should and give my reasons...

ByTheSea2019

It should be allowed. We can now keep people alive for decades in situations where they have no quality of life and whre they would most certainly have died at any point in history before now. We started doing this without considering the ethics of it. Is being housebound for 40 years a life?

There's a famous quote along the lines that a life without freedom is not worth living and I agree. If I ever lose my independence just let me go.

Jizique

ByTheSea2019 wrote: »

It should be allowed. We can now keep people alive for decades in situations where they have no quality of life and whre they would most certainly have died at any point in history before now. We started doing this without considering the ethics of it. Is being housebound for 40 years a life?

There's a famous quote along the lines that a life without freedom is not worth living and I agree. If I ever lose my independence just let me go.

Agree; the advent of the life support machine has been a boon for the medical profession but few others.

bertiebomber

I watched a friend of mines mother being kept as a pet vegetable for a lot years, without life support the family could have got on with living and buried their mother when she became ill and died, but life support was introduced and like you say the hospital earned the revenue day in day out Everyone life was then based around obligatory visits etc and guilt had it been my parent i would have pulled the plug after 6 month s max.

Schoolfrog

I'm not sure I understand what assisted suicide in the case of mental illness would mean. Isn't the idea of assisted suicide that those who resort to it are physically incapable of taking their own lives? Or would it be about freedom from prosecution for those who supported someone's decision to end their life?

mzungu

Schoolfrog wrote: »

I'm not sure I understand what assisted suicide in the case of mental illness would mean. Isn't the idea of assisted suicide that those who resort to it are physically incapable of taking their own lives? Or would it be about freedom from prosecution for those who supported someone's decision to end their life?

Assisted suicide for mental illness is not on the table here, although, they do have it in Holland (albeit in very limited circumstances).

The proposal for Ireland (as outlined by Gino Kenny) is for the terminally ill to avail of assistance to end their lives.