5 ms·

Going off your quote - cool. Terminal illness and severe chronic illnesses are not "totally fixable" though. If somebody's problems are totally fixable... the

by s5300 6y ago

Going off your quote - cool. Terminal illness and severe chronic illnesses are not "totally fixable" though. If somebody's problems are totally fixable... they're not the people needing to be saved by legal dignified euthanasia. I don't understand why this is so hard for some people to understand.

rocqua 6y ago
There is a difference between advocating for legalized euthanasia and advocating for a total and utter right to end one's own life at any point for any reason. OP seemed to argue for the latter, and who you are replying to argued against the latter. Now you seem to say that they should not argue against the former, which they were not arguing against.
- ElFitz 6y ago
  Exactly! Thank you kind and understanding stranger!
ben_w 6y ago
I accept that many people have incurable illnesses which are either literally torturing them or slowly robbing them of everything they value. The reason I am (slightly) against euthanasia despite this, is because I expect easy availability — to be clear, a culture where it is not even controversial rather than merely available lawfully — to also be world where it is easy for people who don’t fit that category being pressured into talking that path. The reason I’m only slightly against is that I don’t feel confident in weighing the quantifiable decrease in suffering with the probability distribution of possible increases in needless death. That, plus I recognise my argument is “that looks like a slippery slope”, where the real problem may well be that human behaviour isn’t what my imagination is telling me it is.
- thrwaway69 6y ago
  Euthanasia can be restricted. No need to make it illegal and places where it is legal have measures in place to stop this.
ElFitz 6y ago
Well, that's perfectly true. Litterature however seems to show most people who want to die actually just want to stop suffering. They simply don't see, or believe in, any other way than ending their lives. Case in point, someone I know briefly worked at a palliative care facility, in Paris. The professor in charge there once told her something he had noticed, over the years. Many people came in wanting to die. Probably most. We're talking people who had to literally carry their cancer tumor while taking a shower. Others weren't able to get up and walk at all. However, once the whole medical goal switched from curing them to actually and honestly alleviating their pain as much as possible and making them comfortable, not a single one of them was in any hurry to end up their lives anymore. Keeping in mind that these people still had their minds, or at least enough of it to appreciate being alive, I honestly think death, if it indeed shows to be the only solution for some, really isn't what most people in these situations actually want. There are many more things that can be done, that most people not in the field cannot begin to imagine, to stop the pain and make whatever remains of their lives worth living, for them. Euthanasia is cheaper. It's society's easy and inexpensive choice. I am not qualified to say wether it should be allowed or not. But as a political choice, I really hope we do our best for these people before resorting to it.

by s5300 6y ago

rocqua 6y ago

There is a difference between advocating for legalized euthanasia and advocating for a total and utter right to end one's own life at any point for any reason. OP seemed to argue for the latter, and who you are replying to argued against the latter. Now you seem to say that they should not argue against the former, which they were not arguing against.

ElFitz 6y ago
Exactly! Thank you kind and understanding stranger!

ben_w 6y ago

I accept that many people have incurable illnesses which are either literally torturing them or slowly robbing them of everything they value. The reason I am (slightly) against euthanasia despite this, is because I expect easy availability — to be clear, a culture where it is not even controversial rather than merely available lawfully — to also be world where it is easy for people who don’t fit that category being pressured into talking that path. The reason I’m only slightly against is that I don’t feel confident in weighing the quantifiable decrease in suffering with the probability distribution of possible increases in needless death. That, plus I recognise my argument is “that looks like a slippery slope”, where the real problem may well be that human behaviour isn’t what my imagination is telling me it is.

thrwaway69 6y ago
Euthanasia can be restricted. No need to make it illegal and places where it is legal have measures in place to stop this.

ElFitz 6y ago

Well, that's perfectly true. Litterature however seems to show most people who want to die actually just want to stop suffering. They simply don't see, or believe in, any other way than ending their lives. Case in point, someone I know briefly worked at a palliative care facility, in Paris. The professor in charge there once told her something he had noticed, over the years. Many people came in wanting to die. Probably most. We're talking people who had to literally carry their cancer tumor while taking a shower. Others weren't able to get up and walk at all. However, once the whole medical goal switched from curing them to actually and honestly alleviating their pain as much as possible and making them comfortable, not a single one of them was in any hurry to end up their lives anymore. Keeping in mind that these people still had their minds, or at least enough of it to appreciate being alive, I honestly think death, if it indeed shows to be the only solution for some, really isn't what most people in these situations actually want. There are many more things that can be done, that most people not in the field cannot begin to imagine, to stop the pain and make whatever remains of their lives worth living, for them. Euthanasia is cheaper. It's society's easy and inexpensive choice. I am not qualified to say wether it should be allowed or not. But as a political choice, I really hope we do our best for these people before resorting to it.