[Kharon97]

I'll keep this as short as possible, but it angers me to the core of my existence that assisted suicide is looked down upon.
heres a few examples.

1) my dad got diagnosed with MD (muscular dystrophy) and hes been suffering for years. He told me that hes gona die, has a plan and what not and if I disagree then oh well, not my choice. why be in pain for the rest of your life? not being able to move and essentially becoming paralyzed and having to depend on others. I cant help him die, but I understand and will shed no tears at his funeral.

2) A close friend of mine commited suicide. She was abused for years, depressed, and was hearing voices and I remeber the last conversation we had. it went something like, "you know what Kharon, life wont get better... in all clearity it doesnt. she died and it was just... relief. shes not in pain.

i just dont understand how its not our choice to be brought into the world. I didnt ask to be born therefore if I commit to the act then its my own decision. It should be a right to die at our own will. thats just my opinion in a nutshell.

[ManOfConstantSorrow]

In theory I would support assisted suicide in extreme circumstances.

But it opens great huge buckets of worms about choice, pressure and manipulation.

Other suicides have a devastating effect on those left behind, especially parents, spouses and children, and I would urge people to seek help to find another way of dealing with their terrible problems.

[Artchic528]

I think AS is okay ONLY when the person has, like, terminal cancer or something and they are on death's bed, in agony, and want to just reach the inevitable end. With MI cases, they are so varied and many are so very treatable that I think it's more so an extremely selfish action and waste of a human life.

This is, of course, coming from someone who dealt with the aftermath of a family member taking his own life due to a very treatable mental illness.

I also think discussion of AS has the potential for so much backlash and is so controversial that talking about it anywhere will result in backlash and on here at least, the thread being shut down. So be very careful with what you post regarding this very touchy subject matter.

I understand your pain, OP.

[here today]

^ Well said, I understand, too.

[Kharon97]

Originally Posted by ManOfConstantSorrow

In theory I would support assisted suicide in extreme circumstances.

But it opens great huge buckets of worms about choice, pressure and manipulation.

Other suicides have a devastating effect on those left behind, especially parents, spouses and children, and I would urge people to seek help to find another way of dealing with their terrible problems.

I agree that people should at least get help before they commit to such an act. I actually saw a documentary, I believe it was in Switzerland, where the mentally ill- if all other options were exhausted-can choose an AS. I hated seeing her in pain l but the first 18 years of her life she was in pain... I never knew it ould end like this but shes in a better place, and its just relief. I dont want to get into the nature of the abuse, but I wonder if there would have been any treatment that could of worked before she made her decision...

[Rose76]

You started talking about "assisted" suicide. Of course anyone has a right to kill themselves, if they choose. If someone is determined to commit suicide, there is not a whole lot that can be done to stop them. Lots of people have successfully committed suicide inside of hospitals, jails and prisons . . . even though there was staff in those places with the responsibility to try and stop them.

But just because you have the right to kill yourself - which I agree you do - that doesn't mean anyone else on this earth should be obligated to help you. It's up to them. If someone does want to help you, it makes perfect sense for the law to consider that an act of murder may have occurred. There's a lot of people who have others close to them that wish they were dead. Plenty of people have spouses, children, grandchildren and business partners who'ld love to see them out of the way. So anyone who helps someone else to die deserves to be regarded with some suspicion. Otherwise, a lot of people would be helped on their way to the Great Beyond, whether they want to go there or not. A lot of people could be intimidated into saying they want to make their exit, even though they might not truly feel that way in their hearts.

I'm very sorry for what your father is going through. It's an awful disease that he has. And it's awful for his family - for you - to have to see him deteriorate and endure mental, as well as physical misery. To some extent, your father is taking out his anger on you. He could have already just killed himself, if he wanted to. He's ambivalent, as most persons in his situation are.

He wants you to share his suffering, even though that won't make his suffering less. What he's doing is venting his anger by threatening you. Sick people can be forgiven for doing that when they feel very stressed. But most if us are going to eventually face severe physical deterioration. We don't have the right to use that as an excuse to try and create a miserable, gloomy atmoshere for everyone around us. To some extent, your father is playing you.

Most terminally ill people who want to die are really suffering from loneliness, due to not having satisfying emotional involvement with people whom they love that love them. Some people won't let themselves be loved. People have a way of creating their own hell.

l would not judge anyone who chooses suicide and successfully executes it. But there is a limit to how much I'ld be willing to listen to someone whining at me about how they hate living and intend to kill themselves.

[passionfruit3]

I think assisted suicide.should be allowed for the suicidal and the terminally ill.the only difference between mental and physical pain is there isnt one you have to think it hurts so bad it drives people to want to end it if every option has been explored and the mentally ill person is technically terminal anyway why not ?when you have cancer and your beyond medical help anyway you die when your mentally ill and beyond medical help they give you the run around basically same useless pills that don't do anything so why not set up an assisted suicide program for suicidal people that way less bodies to clean up

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[HollowRhythms]

Not all mental illness is "very treatable" and I can understand why someone with such anguish, in such a dark place can turn to that.

There has been talk in parliament, and laws made and struck down in Canada about assisted suicide, i believe the person has a right to choose. I don't think they need to be at the late stages of the disease to qualify personally. If someone gets ALS, do they really need to wait until they cannot talk or swallow to be able to qualify??? What kind of quality of life is that. I think personally it should be the quality of life, not quantity.

I will note, that i had read an article, taht if you'd been suicidal in the past you wouldn't apply for assisted suicide here, and well... I have very mixed feelings about it, what if you haven't been suicidal in 20 years? you have to suffer because you had depression in your past, or saw no way out? It's a loaded subject yes, but I've been researching it since i was in middle school, so like 20 years. Kevorkian was ahead of his time.

There's also the practice of a dr letting their patients known how to override their pain med machines and with a wink 'n a nod let them know it's their choice. But of course that is all hush hush.

There's people here who are suffering who will go to Europe just to get that relief. And Oregon well, their laws seem to be reasonable. The dr gives you the meds, and you have the choice to take them at your will. You can say your good byes, being of sound mind and body. And peacefully just go...

I could go on forever, but I couldn't resist giving my two cents about this all.

[Artchic528]

Alas, it is a very controversial subject matter so arguments are inevitably going to arise. For that reason, I feel a "discussion" about it on a forum geared towards offering support and help, is entirely innapropriate.

[HollowRhythms]

lol. let the mods deem what's appropriate and what isn't. nothing i said isn't available readily to anyone else reading this who has internet.

[here today]

This is a topic that is a source of distress for lots of us on PC, for different reasons maybe. There is a trigger icon. I'm very glad to see the discussion here, I don't feel so alone with my dilemmas and my pain.

[Mr.Arch-Vile]

You can say it's your choice, but remember you exist in a body that automatically fights for survival.

That thing at the back of your head may wish to end it, but all you end is the life of your body.

If nothing is to last forever, how long does death last then?