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How do you feel about the issue of suicide? I know it's often a taboo subject, but it is a subject deserving of debate.
My opinion is that suicide should not only be legal, but it should also be a viable option for those who simply wish to "opt out" of life. I feel that as an individual, you should have the right to self-terminate, if you choose to do so.
Many people who suffer from incurable physical illnesses may choose to end their lives. Until we can cure their illnesses, why not just grant them their wishes?
Let's talk about mental illness too, which is still stigmatized, even in the 21st century. While many people with mental illnesses can live out relatively normal (or even successful) lives, others are condemned to a life of suffering, without any form of cure or understanding. Many of these people have sound minds in the sense of knowing what's right for them, but the internal turmoil they suffer is often too much for them to live out normal lives, or be functioning members of society.
I am a great believer in the right to die, if we choose to do so. If life for some people is nothing more than a miserable, tumultuous existence, why not give them the right to call it quits?
I don't expect those who have not suffered depression or anxiety to understand this. I am actually someone who has been through the kind of turmoil that often pushes people to take their own lives, so I understand where they're coming from. I would also rather choose to die (if it ever got to that point), rather than be a burden on society, especially if I had no one left to live for,
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Originally Posted by Revol100
How do you feel about the issue of suicide? I know it's often a taboo subject, but it is a subject deserving of debate.
My opinion is that suicide should not only be legal, but it should also be a viable option for those who simply wish to "opt out" of life. I feel that as an individual, you should have the right to self-terminate, if you choose to do so.
Many people who suffer from incurable physical illnesses may choose to end their lives. Until we can cure their illnesses, why not just grant them their wishes?
Let's talk about mental illness too, which is still stigmatized, even in the 21st century. While many people with mental illnesses can live out relatively normal (or even successful) lives, others are condemned to a life of suffering, without any form of cure or understanding. Many of these people have sound minds in the sense of knowing what's right for them, but the internal turmoil they suffer is often too much for them to live out normal lives, or be functioning members of society.
I am a great believer in the right to die, if we choose to do so. If life for some people is nothing more than a miserable, tumultuous existence, why not give them the right to call it quits?
I don't expect those who have not suffered depression or anxiety to understand this. I am actually someone who has been through the kind of turmoil that often pushes people to take their own lives, so I understand where they're coming from. I would also rather choose to die (if it ever got to that point), rather than be a burden on society, especially if I had no one left to live for,
Thoughts?
Why would it matter if suicide is illegal? If you are successful, the law is unenforceable. If you are unsuccessful, it wasn't suicide and therefore wasn't a crime.
Although I don't condone suicide in general, I am adamantly supportive of one's right to one's own body, health, and destiny--including the right to take one's own life for whatever reason.
Why would it matter if suicide is illegal? If you are successful, the law is unenforceable. If you are unsuccessful, it wasn't suicide and therefore wasn't a crime.
Practical and realistic methods of suicide ought to be legal and readily attainable. It is cruel and inhuman to force people to terminate their lives in horribly painful ways, or in ways that do not assure results without risk of a continued life even worse then it was before. Many people who are in a position to wish to end their lives are placed on suicide watch, to force them to continue to live against their will.
Suicide is not the "victimless" act though some would try to have us believe that. Most of the time it is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. It is an act of selfishness, IMO.
That said, if a person wants to kill themselves badly enough they will usually find a way. So, realistically, who is stopping them?
We live in a world that has had so many medical advances in the last 50 years, that we are able to keep people alive that should have been long dead. I agree 100% in euthanasia. If you have lived a full life already, or suffer from a painful and uncurable disease, you should have the right to dictate how you are gonna go out.
On the flipside, I believe that suicide by a normal, functioning human being is nothing more than a pathetic cop-out. We all face hard times. Humans can persevere through hard times if they seek the necessary guidance. I've definitely had my share of those times. I just feel sorry for the family that they leave behind.
I never could understand why people throw themself in front of a freight train or jump off a building. As a prior locomotive engineer, I can't imagine why anyone would want to die on the tracks. What a sick way to go. Not to mention selfish, as the engineer and conductor have to live with that vision. As far as the "long fall" off a building, that would be utterly terrifying.
If it came to that for me, I would pick up a good batch of uncut heroin, find a couple of hookers, and go out in the pleasuredome with a few souls in tow.
It should be legal, but it should have regulation. Jumping off of a building only leaves a mess for someone else to clean up.
Aren't they building a huge net under the Golden Gate Bridge to catch all the people that jump off of it? I am against this. If I was in a position where I wanted to commit suicide (Highly unlikely, as I love life too much), I would love to go feeling as though I was flying over San Francisco. Quite a peaceful and beautiful view. Sharks probably clean up that mess.
Suicide is not the "victimless" act though some would try to have us believe that. Most of the time it is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. It is an act of selfishness, IMO.
That said, if a person wants to kill themselves badly enough they will usually find a way. So, realistically, who is stopping them?
I don't think suicide should be available for those who are younger than 65, without a serious health issue. I know if I'm facing some form of fatal cancer, I'd rather them end my life, then to suffer through unimaginable pain.
Now, if someone over 65 wants to end their life, I say let them.
I would rather suicides due to age, or illness be done in a safe, ethical, and painless manner in a doctors office.
That said, if a person wants to kill themselves badly enough they will usually find a way. So, realistically, who is stopping them?
No, it is absolute selfishness for a you to say that other people ought not be allowed to do something that you don't want to do or that offends you in some way.
Realistically, YOU are stopping them by forcing them to choose from a very limited menu of suicide options, all of which are extremely terrifying and messy. Will you let a suicidal person choose a method that causes no pain and makes no mess, surrounded by friends and family, with a physician attendant? Just peacefully go to sleep and never wake up? No? Then the answer to your question is that YOU are stopping them.
You could not know it yet, but it is very possible that some day you will be old and uncomfortable and depressed and feel that you are a burden on everyone else, bedridden and being watched 24/7, with nothing to look forward to except more pain and desperation, and you will want to just end it all. When you get there, remember your own words: Who is stopping you?
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