Better off dead than alive ?

[Geekbabe]

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: Geekbabe
Should suicide be made legal or at the least decriminalized ?

Conviental thought says that the suicidal are obviously so depressed that they are not thinking clearly and are thus not making rational choices when they decide to commit suicide.What about the terminally ill or those who's lives have been filled with so much tragedy and loss that it hurts just to read their history?

Do we own our lives,our bodies ? Should we have the right to decide when to end things?

LOL, what are they going to do if you kill yourself, prosecute you?

Throw that casket in jail!!

There are many stupid laws in this country, but the laws against suicide take the prize. And, like Perknose pointed out, it's because our society is so completely incapable of dealing with death.

I think the issue is complicated, there are many who's thinking is clouded by bio-chemical imbalance of the brain, you treat them,the urge to end their lives goes away.What about the others though,those folks who after careful consideration and review of their prospects for a happier life have decided that they'd like to lie down to sleep and never wake up again ? Should they be able to do so in a forthright,legal manner ?

 

[JulesMaximus]

This thread needs more poll...and possibly a better title.

 

[Geekbabe]

Originally posted by: digitalsm
Life insurance policies NEVER should pay out on cases of suicide.

Someone has paid premuims faithfully for years, they become ill,despondent, they take their lives seeing no other alternative. They did not premeditatively purchase their insurance with intent to commit suicide... and we should punish the family they leave behind by denying death benefits?

I think not.

 

[aidanjm]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn
Well anybody who failes to off themselves really weren't that serious about doing it in the first place. How hard is it to jump in front of a train or take a dive off a 10 story building?

It's not necessarily so easy to kill yourself. For example, jumping from a 10 story building isn't actually sufficient to get good odds of dying -- the absolute minimum you'd want to jump from is a 13 story building. If you are jumping over water, you need to be higher still. You can step in front of a train, and end up with 'just' a severed arm or leg, only to be 'rescued' by paramedics. Overdoses are difficult, too, because the good stuff (like barbiturates) are all but impossible to aquire legally. Guns are effective, if you get the angle of the barrel right, but some people don't, and end up blowing off the front of their face and living to tell the tale. Etc. I.e., people who are 'serious' about ending their existence do fail.

I think it is outrageous that people with terminal illnesses & chronic unmanageable pain are forced to resort to these unpleasant, violent methods of ending their lives.

 

[JulesMaximus]

BTW-I think that a person who loses so much of their freedom/life that they cannot recover should be allowed to make that choice. Take Christopher Reeve, for example, if he wanted to end it all after his disabling accident he should have been granted it. The fact that he did not does nothing to persuade me otherwise.

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: Geekbabe
I think the issue is complicated, there are many who's thinking is clouded by bio-chemical imbalance of the brain, you treat them,the urge to end their lives goes away.What about the others though,those folks who after careful consideration and review of their prospects for a happier life have decided that they'd like to lie down to sleep and never wake up again ? Should they be able to do so in a forthright,legal manner ?

The problem when talking about bio-chemical imbalances is that no one actually knows what the right balances should be. Of course, trial and error have helped to make some treatments effective, but even then never 100% for all people.
And why should people who want to take their own life not be given the freedom to do so? I can understand the abhorrence that a medical professional (who has spent their career dedicated to the preservation of life) could have to such thinking, but the reality IMO is that no amount of legislation will ever prevent the dedicated. And those who do not want help should be allowed to decline it, regardless of how much help they might need.
I don't condone suicide, nor have I ever considered nor will I ever attempt it, but IMO no amount of legislation will ever help those who do seek it.

aidanjm, I believe the Hemingway technique, done properly, was determined to be foolproof (as Cobain discovered).

 

[Infohawk]

If we were in a pre-genetic-engineering age I would say let the morbid types kill themselves off if they really felt they were unhappy and they couldn't be helped with medicine. Today though, we're at most a couple generations from getting rid of genes that might trigger such personality disorders, not to mention in many cases there are medicines. It doesn't seem like there's a good reason for society to allow suicide right now since help is either available or on the way. Life is short enough as it is-- they should be patient.

 

[Brutuskend]

Well the good folks here in Oregon passed a law MANY years ago making "suicide" legal.

Well, right to die at any rate.

And even though the people voted and it passed, it's still in some sort of limbo. I guess the people that voted against it have tied it up in the court system.

So much for my vote on the subject. :disgust:

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: Infohawk
If we were in a pre-genetic-engineering age I would say let the morbid types kill themselves off if they really felt they were unhappy and they couldn't be helped with medicine. Today though, we're at most a couple generations from getting rid of genes that might trigger such personality disorders, not to mention in many cases there are medicines. It doesn't seem like there's a good reason for society to allow suicide right now since help is either available or on the way. Life is short enough as it is-- they should be patient.

I cringe when I think of the possibility of that future. When people will no longer learn to learn and grow from their experiences, good and bad, but will simply go get "re-programmed" and then be all better. "Feel bad? Just take a pill!" (How is that different from illegal drugs?) Sure, some might be saved, but all of humanity will be lost. That such a future is quite unlikely is to me a good thing.

 

[imported_Condor]

Originally posted by: Geekbabe

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: Geekbabe
Should suicide be made legal or at the least decriminalized ?

Conviental thought says that the suicidal are obviously so depressed that they are not thinking clearly and are thus not making rational choices when they decide to commit suicide.What about the terminally ill or those who's lives have been filled with so much tragedy and loss that it hurts just to read their history?

Do we own our lives,our bodies ? Should we have the right to decide when to end things?

LOL, what are they going to do if you kill yourself, prosecute you?

if you fail at the attempt they will hospitalize you,you might also be facings criminal charges.

What about assisted suicide for the terminally illl ?

That should motivate them to do the job right.

 

[aidanjm]

Originally posted by: Vic
aidanjm, I believe the Hemingway technique, done properly, was determined to be foolproof (as Cobain discovered).

Dying individuals, or for that matter people with long-term depression, shouldn't have to resort to such an ugly, violent method of ending their lives.