RYL Forums - View Single Post - Terry Pratchett- Choosing to Die

The War Doctor · 14-06-2011, 02:31 PM

I think we should be allowed to die on our own terms, whether those terms are suicide or dying of old age, and whether we're terminally ill or not. Even when not depressed, I do think about killing myself someday - not because I want to "end it all," but because at some point in my life I'll have done everything I'm ever going to do, and when that time comes I don't want to have to sit down, do nothing and potentially wait years for my heart to stop of its own accord. I want the freedom to choose to die when I don't have anything left to live for, as opposed to being a cripple, or a vegetable, or just a tired old man who sits around all day eating and sleeping and doing f*ck-all else.

However, if someone wants to be euthanised but doesn't suffer from a terminal illness, they should be made to undergo thorough psychiatric evaluation first, to make sure that their wish to die really is "weariness of life" (or something similar to what I just described) and not just some acute suicidal urge; for example, I think I can safely assume that at least half of the people reading this (including myself) have wanted to kill themselves, then either forgot about it or changed their minds some time afterwards - people in that situation shouldn't be euthanised.

At some point in this thread, I fully expect someone to start babbling about "the sanctity of life," which is totally non-existent. Life is not (and never has been) sacred, even in religion; just look at how many people kill themselves or others in the name of one god or another. If you're not religious, saying "I'm pro-life" is easier to admit than "I'm anti-choice." If ANYTHING should be held as sacred, it's the human spirit. Nothing desecrates the spirit faster than wasting away slowly, unable to speak or feed yourself or wipe your own arse. Some people will always choose to cling to life until the very last moment, and that's perfectly fine; so long as it was their choice, there is some dignity in it. But for those who can't bear to waste away like that, I think it's insulting to not be allowed to make the choice at all.

14-06-2011, 02:31 PM	#3
The War Doctor Man ist, was man isst Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Gallifrey I am currently:	I think we should be allowed to die on our own terms, whether those terms are suicide or dying of old age, and whether we're terminally ill or not. Even when not depressed, I do think about killing myself someday - not because I want to "end it all," but because at some point in my life I'll have done everything I'm ever going to do, and when that time comes I don't want to have to sit down, do nothing and potentially wait years for my heart to stop of its own accord. I want the freedom to choose to die when I don't have anything left to live for, as opposed to being a cripple, or a vegetable, or just a tired old man who sits around all day eating and sleeping and doing fck-all else. However, if someone wants to be euthanised but doesn't suffer from a terminal illness, they should be made to undergo thorough psychiatric evaluation first, to make sure that their wish to die really is "weariness of life" (or something similar to what I just described) and not just some acute suicidal urge; for example, I think I can safely assume that at least half of the people reading this (including myself) have wanted to kill themselves, then either forgot about it or changed their minds some time afterwards - people in that situation shouldn't be euthanised. At some point in this thread, I fully expect someone to start babbling about "the sanctity of life," which is totally non-existent. Life is not (and never has been) sacred, even in religion; just look at how many people kill themselves or others in the name of one god or another. If you're not religious, saying "I'm pro-life" is easier to admit than "I'm anti-choice." If ANYTHING should be held as sacred, it's the human spirit. Nothing desecrates the spirit faster than wasting away slowly, unable to speak or feed yourself or wipe your own arse. Some people will always choose* to cling to life until the very last moment, and that's perfectly fine; so long as it was their choice, there is some dignity in it. But for those who can't bear to waste away like that, I think it's insulting to not be allowed to make the choice at all. Last edited by The War Doctor : 14-06-2011 at 02:51 PM.