atheism-:

Your opinion?

It’s a complicated question, as there can be cases where the subject is not mentally and/or physically capable of making such a decision - they may be unconscious, for example, or paralyzed to the point of not being able to communicate. There is also the issue of the actual deed - who should be the one to assist, or “pull the plug”? I can’t imagine many people doing that willingly, as killing someone is (or at least should be) a very disorienting experience. It can’t be doctors, because most of them would frown upon the idea (they did become doctors to help people live, not die). I am of course talking about active euthanasia here, which means the actual killing of a person, not simply letting them die.

Which brings us to passive euthanasia, and the living wills mentioned in the article. I honestly don’t see the moral problem. A person should ultimately have the power to decide whether they themselves live or die. A person should not receive any medical attention against their will. I believe that the people fighting against this fundamental right every person should have do not have the experience of wanting to die, or feeling that death would be the better option. I think it is preposterous that healthy and/or happy people should make the rules when it comes to someone else’s life and death, when they have no understanding of the other side of the argument.

These are the words of a 15-year-old me. At 21 I apparently still feel the same way about this, although I no longer wish to kill myself. Would it be horrible if I had killed myself at 15? No, I would be dead, and a lot of suffering would not have happened. Am I glad that I didn’t kill myself then? Not really, I don’t care either way, as life hasn’t gotten any better.