Physician Assisted Suicide (kevorking)

Disclaimer, unfortunately I have to completely disagree with you on that one. Allowing the killing of people for “public saftey” opens the door to a lot of sh*t. What happens when some corrupt leader wants to kill off all those with Aids?

Personally, the only time I would allow killing off a virus like that is when it is something that could be contained by a nuclear blast. Otherwise, it’s useless, you wouldnt erraticate the virus.

Don’t disagree with me unfortionatly yanny. I am here to add my input and gain knowledge. If you can prove me wrong, all the better. First of all, we know that AIDS is not a major virus that spreads like wildfire. I forget the name of the Micheal Criton (sp) book about the virus that almost kills everyone. I think it is the Abdominal Strain or something to that effect. All I am saying is if we can kill people for the better of society (capital punishment), then why not extend that technique do diseases.

On 2002-05-10 19:52, yourbuttocks wrote:
Exactly why neither (PAS nor Capital Punishment,or even abortion) should not be legal. You’re falling onto a slippery slope right in the middle of this forum. What about entire nations? You get Nazism, Stalinism, and so on.

Agreed. I have never been for either of the three although there are some justifications about why one would choose that answer.

I don’t know. A justification might have those characteristics to a certain person, but if they can provide hard evidence, then that is enough for me; atleast so far.

it’s “Andromeda strain”

Great Book, not a bad movie either.

don’t forget about “Ebola” - different author, but nasty bug. So’s Lhassa fever. Killing people to prevent bug spread is an impossible epidemiological reality. This is a bizaare argument.
At any rate, although i doubt i could ever practice PAS as a physician, i could not say that “suicide is not a way out”. Not after the cases of MS, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, etc. nevermind various cancers, stroke victims, the list goes on. These are people in agonizing, debilitating pain, with no control over their life. Some of them don’t want to die, but some of them see death as being the one thing that they have control of. Is is reasonable to give these people that control? (as indicated earlier, i am a firm believer in improved paliation, but one should keep their minds open to the “if you’ve never walked a mile in a (wo)man’s shoes” argument . . .)

Good point. I guess I cannot say I wouldn’t want to kill myself if i suffered from a disease like that. By the way, thanks for the feedback on the movie.

On 2002-05-08 11:36, Yanny wrote:
If I was in pain, I’d shoot myself, I wouldn’t ask someone else to do it.

What if you can’t move your arms?

exactly….and what about a 90 year old woman who has been married for 55 years to her husband when all of a sudden he keels over and she’s never been away from him for more than an hour in 60 years? The solution to thi problem should not be so narrowly focused as “This person is sad, they either need a) assisted suicide or b) to keep on living” We need to get to the root of the problem. Life’s a bitch…we all know it. We all put up with crap each and every day. Let’s start trying to make those that would think about killing themselves happier. For lack of a cheesier phrase lets make the world a better place. Its better for those that we’re discussing and for society as a whole.

Even if we do make the world a better place, there will still be faults that people will find in it. This is why perfection will never happen, humans have an unsatisfied nature. As far as the elderly couple, one will learn to live without the other with time. Besides that, that is not really a reason to commit suicide.

On 2002-05-13 22:05, Disclaimer wrote:
Besides that, that is not really a reason to commit suicide.

Is there ever really a reason to take ones own life?

If I couldn’t move my arms, I’d find a way.

On 2002-05-14 05:09, Anonymous wrote:

Is there ever really a reason to take ones own life?

No, that is why I am opposed to suicide, abortion and capital punishment. Killing someone isn’t the best answer we can think of.