# Under what circumstances do you support euthanasia and why? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 20, 2024, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstances-do-you-support-euthanasia-and-why/1001818 "2024-05-20T18:26:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2024, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstances-do-you-support-euthanasia-and-why/1001818/41 "2024-05-22T00:33:32Z")
Dude, everybody is going to die. Everyone. Period. I’d like to be allowed control over the specifics of mine. I’ve never considered suicide _so far_, but I can think of many situations where I’d take that option. Overwhelming sepsis requiring amputation of all my limbs? Not something I’d consent to. If I refuse to consent, why not allow me to experience the inevitable on my grounds? ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2024, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstances-do-you-support-euthanasia-and-why/1001818/42 "2024-05-22T00:38:28Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Recently he had pieces of one foot removed. He’s basically slowly killing himself and IMHO that’s something he has every right to do. Except, it sounds like a rather poorly thought out plan. What if, instead of dying happy, he continues to become more and more disabled. Part of a foot now. The other foot in a year or so. A stroke or heart attack. Sooner or later, he’ll be at the point where he may want to go, but be incapable of making that decision or acting upon it. Not quite in line with the OP, as it’s not euthanasia, but when I did my living will / medical power of attorney, I specifically mentioned some scenarios that essentially boiled down to “let me go”. Don’t do preventive care (like mammograms or colonoscopies!) if my brain has left the premises. If I’m completely physically disabled and mentally there, and ask them to stop feeding me, here’s proof that this is something I thought of already. In summation: do nothing that causes me any discomfort, just to keep me alive; do everything to keep me comfortable, even if it keeps me alive. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2024, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstances-do-you-support-euthanasia-and-why/1001818/43 "2024-05-22T00:42:32Z")
Sadly, he’s there and gone. Exactly what you mentioned, his cognitive stuff has taken a plunge. They have a live-in nurse, but he’s been aggressive toward them and they’ve now gone through a few. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2024, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstances-do-you-support-euthanasia-and-why/1001818/44 "2024-05-22T01:06:57Z")
Existence on any level is preferable to permanent irreversible cessation of existence. I can’t imagine a level of suffering where I would ever think to myself “I wish that everything I am and ever was would cease to be forever”, I can’t fathom the mindset of anyone who does, and indulging it isn’t worth risking a cultural change fromcit being an option to an expectation to an obligation to a mandate. “Everyone has to die sometime” doesn’t mean we should be in a hurry to get it over with. > [@Czarcasm](#): > > Is there any evidence of this happening in areas where voluntary euthanasia is legal? This is going to be a generational change and it hasn’t been legal long enough yet. Ask me in 20 years. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2024, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstances-do-you-support-euthanasia-and-why/1001818/45 "2024-05-22T01:13:30Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Existence on any level is preferable to permanent irreversible cessation of existence. To you. To others, it’s _not_ preferable. > [@](#): > > I can’t imagine a level of suffering where I would ever think to myself “I wish that everything I am and ever was would cease to be forever” You can’t; others can. > [@](#): > > I can’t fathom the mindset of anyone who does You can’t; others can. Perhaps yet others can’t fathom yours. To which I say: _so what?_ You’re one way; other people are another way; why not let me go my way, as I let you go yours? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2024, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstances-do-you-support-euthanasia-and-why/1001818/46 "2024-05-22T01:24:58Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > To which I say: _so what?_ You’re one way; other people are another way; why not let me go my way, as I let you go yours? Because I don’t want to be on the receiving end when it stops being a choice. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2024, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstances-do-you-support-euthanasia-and-why/1001818/47 "2024-05-22T01:31:42Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Because I don’t want to be on the receiving end when it stops being a choice Neither do I. But — and correct me if I’m wrong — you already seem to be against it being a choice for _me_. I don’t wish for you to someday face a _“when it stops”_ scenario, but you seem to _already_ want for me to be on the receiving end of your preferences rather than my own. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2024, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstances-do-you-support-euthanasia-and-why/1001818/48 "2024-05-22T01:51:52Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Existence on any level is preferable to permanent irreversible cessation of existence. We’re gonna have to agree to disagree here, and I hope neither of us ever have to contemplate our cessation of existence. I’m all for a meteorite taking my head off unexpectedly at my 120th birthday party, freaking out my 27 year old trophy wife. Or is it meteor? ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2024, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstances-do-you-support-euthanasia-and-why/1001818/49 "2024-05-22T01:53:57Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > “Good death” is an oxymoron. No, it isn’t. Dying is the other half of being alive. It isn’t separable; it’s part of the same thing. > [@Smapti](#): > > Existence on any level is preferable to permanent irreversible cessation of existence. I can’t imagine a level of suffering where I would ever think to myself “I wish that everything I am and ever was would cease to be forever”, I can’t fathom the mindset of anyone who does, and indulging it isn’t worth risking a cultural change fromcit being an option to an expectation to an obligation to a mandate. I don’t think I can fathom your mindset. But in any case: if a person’s in advanced dementia, effectively everything they ever were has already ceased – or at least it’s ceased in them. The results of who they were continue to exist in the ecosystem (other humans included), as they will after the body is dead. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2024, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstances-do-you-support-euthanasia-and-why/1001818/50 "2024-05-22T02:01:27Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > This is going to be a generational change and it hasn’t been legal long enough yet. Ask me in 20 years. Looks like you don’t have to wait that long after all-It has been legal in The Netherlands since April 1st, 2002. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2024, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstances-do-you-support-euthanasia-and-why/1001818/51 "2024-05-22T02:05:48Z")
Looks like it is legal in nine countries so far…and so far it remains a choice. ---
**Author:** ![Gozu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gozu/32/6615_2.png) [@Gozu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2024, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstances-do-you-support-euthanasia-and-why/1001818/52 "2024-05-22T02:11:58Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > And if the patient refuses treatment and begins on the path to a horrible death, at what point do you allow them a good death? > > Or would you force the patient to authorize care? There are people today who refuse life-saving treatments for all kinds of irrational reasons. Some Jehovah witnesses refuse blood transfusions for religious reasons for example. You can’t legally force them. When it comes to euthanasia, to answer your question: **Allowing** them isn’t the right term. **Making it easier for them** is more accurate for the vast majority of situations. I said this before: People are generally free and able to end their lives on their own terms if they so choose. 50,000 people do it every year in the USA alone. It is a horrifying tragedy. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2024, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstances-do-you-support-euthanasia-and-why/1001818/53 "2024-05-22T02:17:09Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Existence on any level is preferable to permanent irreversible cessation of existence. I can’t imagine a level of suffering where I would ever think to myself “I wish that everything I am and ever was would cease to be forever”, I can’t fathom the mindset of anyone who does, and indulging it isn’t worth risking a cultural change fromcit being an option to an expectation to an obligation to a mandate. You can apply a slippery slope imaginary conclusion to anything. Doing so obviates any sensible, deep thinking about a non-trivial subject. Doing so also deprives all those who violently disagree with you from action. This kneejerk avoidance of all possible progress is common in societies, to be sure. We’re seeing it now re-emerge in discussions of abortion, probably the most closely related subject. But you can go back in history and find amazing similarities all over the place. Slavery, the death penalty, women’s rights, gay rights, drug legalization, allowing the practice of other religions, trial by a jury of peers. Heck, the Bill of Rights offered progress on issues that Britain and other European countries deemed beyond discussion. The chorus of voices for an option you would personally reject is screamingly loud, all of them seemingly with opinions, arguments, and courses of action that are beyond you. This is usually the time to reconsider your position, listen carefully, and rethink your relation to the larger world. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2024, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstances-do-you-support-euthanasia-and-why/1001818/54 "2024-05-22T02:30:02Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Because I don’t want to be on the receiving end when it stops being a choice. If the law is written so that is pretty much impossible for that to happen, would you change your mind? ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2024, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstances-do-you-support-euthanasia-and-why/1001818/55 "2024-05-22T02:38:59Z")
> [@Gozu](#): > > I said this before: People are generally free and able to end their lives on their own terms if they so choose. 50,000 people do it every year in the USA alone. It is a horrifying tragedy. And a lot of people try to do it, mess it up, and wind up worse off than they were before. One of the reasons to be able to get assistance is to avoid that. Another would be to avoid people doing things like jumping out in front of trucks, thereby involuntarily involving the truck driver, who’s likely to be pretty upset about it. (And, of course, occasionally that doesn’t work either.) Or leaving their bodies to be unexpectedly found by others, none of whom they were able to consult about this in advance, for fear of getting the others jail sentences. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2024, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstances-do-you-support-euthanasia-and-why/1001818/56 "2024-05-22T02:47:18Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Neither do I. But — and correct me if I’m wrong — you already seem to be against it being a choice for _me_. I disagree with suicide, but I don’t think we should be putting people in jail for attempting it or anything. Where I obiect is when people want to get doctors and healthcare providers involved, because that’s where capitalism is going to rear its ugly head. > [@Czarcasm](#): > > If the law is written so that is pretty much impossible for that to happen, would you change your mind? Not as long as I live in a country where corporations can buy whatever laws they want. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2024, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstances-do-you-support-euthanasia-and-why/1001818/57 "2024-05-22T02:49:18Z")
So I take it you’re against legalized abortion then. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2024, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstances-do-you-support-euthanasia-and-why/1001818/58 "2024-05-22T02:53:04Z")
I’m for elective abortion at any stage of pregnancy. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2024, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstances-do-you-support-euthanasia-and-why/1001818/59 "2024-05-22T02:54:47Z")
And you don’t think legalized abortion will lead to forced abortions? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2024, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstances-do-you-support-euthanasia-and-why/1001818/60 "2024-05-22T02:57:50Z")
Women giving birth is more profitable for healthcare providers than aborting them. If abortion were more profitable, its legality wouldn’t even be up for debate. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstances-do-you-support-euthanasia-and-why/1001818.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstances-do-you-support-euthanasia-and-why/1001818.md?page=4)