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Euthanasia and assisted suicide

Should a person have the right to choose death?

  • Yes

    Votes: 53 94.6%
  • No

    Votes: 3 5.4%

  • Total voters
    56
I consider the right to die as fundamental as the right to live.

The state telling us that we can't die is as offensive as telling us we have to raise an unwanted child.

Funny how both pro-life and anti-suicide are both on Right spectrum (mostly). What greater control can you put over a person than telling them when to live and when to die?
 
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I think it is a human tragedy that people with terminal illnesses cannot "choose death." Maybe someday, I hope.

A serial killer who kills 25 people can get out of this life easier than I can. Where is the justice in that??
 
we should at least have the right to not suffer that a pet has.

the only sticking point i see is that we probably shouldn't extend that right to suicidally depressed young people. doctor assisted suicide is for the terminally ill. i'm not saying i wouldn't support it for some adults who have suffered through many years of ineffective treatments for some mental illnesses. i'm simply pointing out that we would have to plan for (technically adult) college kids who lose the love of their life and can't see past it. i've been there, and the motivation to end it all is very strong. on the other side, you realize what a terrible mistake it would have been.
 
Among other inalienable rights, we are endowed by our Creator with the right to life. Can someone cede such a fundamental right?
 
Among other inalienable rights, we are endowed by our Creator with the right to life. Can someone cede such a fundamental right?

Cut past the sanctimonious bull and realize it is a person's choice..same thing applies to abortion and gay rights
 
Cut past the sanctimonious bull and realize it is a person's choice..same thing applies to abortion and gay rights

Does your insult mean you can't answer the question? Insults usually mean a person is angry and doesn't have a good response.
 
I think so, yes.

Do you have any reasoning for this stance? For example, the right to free speech is ensconced in the Constitution (admittedly, right to life is not and is merely a reasoning in the Declaration of Independence that human rights don't come from an earthly authority). Can someone decide "no, don't think I'll keep that right" and then the right ceases to apply to that person?
 
Among other inalienable rights, we are endowed by our Creator with the right to life. Can someone cede such a fundamental right?
Are you saying that the two rights cannot co-exist? Or are otherwise mutually exclusive?

I don't see that as being the case. But I am not sure if that's what you're saying or not.
 
this has nothing to do with abortion or gay rights.

lol I was going to also comment on this, to say that it doesn't surprise me that a person's first instinct when bristling at the notion of Creator centered rights would immediately mention abortion and gay rights, on the one hand denying the right to live and on the other defending a practice that is inherently lifeless.

Pope John Paul II hit a homerun when he called modern society "the culture of death". If life is only legally defined by when you die, what purpose is their to life?
 
Does your insult mean you can't answer the question? Insults usually mean a person is angry and doesn't have a good response.

this has nothing to do with abortion or gay rights.

My "insult" pretty much labeled your speak. My response was "it is a person's choice.." Are you denying that person's choice?
I added those in because those also because one side of the political spectrum tries to deny choice
 
Among other inalienable rights, we are endowed by our Creator with the right to life. Can someone cede such a fundamental right?
Is it still a right if it's enforced on you against your will? We have a right to free speech but that doesn't mean we're prevented from choosing to be silent. We have the right to freedom of movement but that don't mean we're prevented from staying in the same place. We have the right to a family life but that doesn't mean we're forced to get married if we prefer to remain single. Surely for something to be a right, you must be able to cede it. Otherwise, it'd be a responsibility.
 
Do you have any reasoning for this stance? For example, the right to free speech is ensconced in the Constitution (admittedly, right to life is not and is merely a reasoning in the Declaration of Independence that human rights don't come from an earthly authority). Can someone decide "no, don't think I'll keep that right" and then the right ceases to apply to that person?

If a person has the right to vote, does that mean they can't choose not to vote? No.
 
Those who are willing to commit themselves to non existence deserve the right to.
 
Are you saying that the two rights cannot co-exist? Or are otherwise mutually exclusive?

I don't see that as being the case. But I am not sure if that's what you're saying or not.

I am saying that if you grant that we have a right to life, can we cede that right? If we have a right to life, where does that right come from? From whence does the "right to die" come?

I will grant that we have ultimate self-determination, i.e. we can kill ourselves by any means we see fit. That is free will. But if we say that our right to life does not come from earthly authority, where does the right come from? And does that same source of the right also grant us the right to choose the time and manner of our own death?
 
It's impossible to out-argue the "god card". The god speaker will just quote the god book provided by the god dealer.

Oregon is the only state that has figured this out. Terminally ill people can get a suicide kit from a Doctor. There are valid reasons for suicide, it's not something to solve a bad day, it's for hopeless situations.
 
Do you have any reasoning for this stance? For example, the right to free speech is ensconced in the Constitution (admittedly, right to life is not and is merely a reasoning in the Declaration of Independence that human rights don't come from an earthly authority). Can someone decide "no, don't think I'll keep that right" and then the right ceases to apply to that person?

The right to life is given to you in our country at the time of birth. The government should have no say in whether you receive or continue or even end your life. They should not have that authority.

I understand you are trying to push this as a religious issue but it isn't. Separation of church and state tells us that. A person is in control of their own life (or should be). If a person believes it is wrong to terminate their life then they don't have to do it. If those who do wish to end their life choose to act on it, it won't effect you at all. If you believe that there are consequences for that in the afterlife then you should believe it will be between that person and their maker.
 
If a person has the right to vote, does that mean they can't choose not to vote? No.

Of course, but I'm not really talking about non-participation, which should cover HonestJoe's comments as well. What I am talking about is checking out of the process entirely. If you don't want to vote, you don't have to, but you aren't prevented from voting when you want to; so too with free speech, I can stay silent when I choose but I always have the right to speak.

With life, you can't choose to be dead or alive as the mood takes you. It's much more fundamental than any other right. Once the process of life is started, another cannot take away that right, just as another cannot take away your right to vote or speak.

But can I voluntarily choose to cede a right...like choosing that my right to vote be taken away permanently? My right to speak? I think that since the right to life is so fundamental to humanity (indeed, life is the only state in which we can truly have rights at all) that it cannot be ceded.

Using end of life issues to muddy the waters with emotion distorts discussion on this subject. A person's pain ought not be the only consideration when discussing the law, nor should it be a deciding factor when making rulings on the law.
 
I will grant that we have ultimate self-determination, i.e. we can kill ourselves by any means we see fit. That is free will. But if we say that our right to life does not come from earthly authority, where does the right come from? And does that same source of the right also grant us the right to choose the time and manner of our own death?

The fact that we choose to live shows that our right to life is from oneself..stay away from the religion thumping aspect of this and stick with the legality(the only thing that applies)

What is your opinion on Capital punishment?
 
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The fact that we choose to live shows that our right to life is from oneself..stay away from the religion thumping aspect of this and stick with the legality(the only thing that applies)

What is your opinion on Capital punishment?

NO. this is about the right to die. not about capital punishment or gay rights. Sorry but trying to keep this thread from derailing like so many do.
 
It's impossible to out-argue the "god card". The god speaker will just quote the god book provided by the god dealer.

Discount philosopher indeed. I'd give it a pass even if it was on the clearance rack.

Oregon is the only state that has figured this out. Terminally ill people can get a suicide kit from a Doctor. There are valid reasons for suicide, it's not something to solve a bad day, it's for hopeless situations.

A god speaker might argue that where there is life, there is hope. Death is the ultimate hopelessness. No turning back.
 
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