IS THERE A RIGHT TO DIE?
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The case for
Oregon has had physician-assisted death since 1997. Canada, Belgium, and the Netherlands have broader euthanasia laws. In every jurisdiction, the predicted abuses haven't materialized on the scale critics predicted, and many who obtain the legal option never use it but report significant relief...
Posted by jconnor
Autonomy is the bedrock of medical ethics. We allow patients to refuse life-sustaining treatment, including ventilators and feeding tubes, even when death is the certain result. The right to choose death with dignity is a logical extension of the same principle already operative in standard medical...
Posted by jconnor
Palliative care has made enormous strides but cannot address all suffering. Some patients in the final stages of terminal illness experience pain and loss of self that medicine cannot manage. They deserve an exit on their own terms, not a prolonged death mandated by the moral preferences of others...
Posted by jconnor
The case against
The Dutch experience shows what mission creep looks like in practice. Euthanasia that began for terminal physical illness has expanded to psychiatric conditions including depression and to elderly people who describe themselves as simply 'tired of life'. The slope is documented, not hypothetical,...
Posted by jconnor
Healthcare rationing creates implicit pressure on vulnerable patients. In systems with finite resources, a cheap death can become more available than expensive care, and vulnerable people may feel pressured to choose it to avoid being a burden on their families or the system. The choice is not made...
Posted by jconnor
The disability-rights community's opposition to assisted dying is not reactionary. Disabled people know that 'better dead than this' is a projection of able-bodied discomfort, not a fact about which lives are worth living. A legal framework that validates 'life not worth living' judgments by...
Posted by jconnor
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What is a strong argument for "Is There a Right to Die?"?
Oregon has had physician-assisted death since 1997. Canada, Belgium, and the Netherlands have broader euthanasia laws. In every jurisdiction, the predicted abuses haven't materialized on the scale critics predicted, and many who obtain the legal option never use it but report significant relief... (Argued by jconnor on SuperDebate.)
What is a strong argument against "Is There a Right to Die?"?
The Dutch experience shows what mission creep looks like in practice. Euthanasia that began for terminal physical illness has expanded to psychiatric conditions including depression and to elderly people who describe themselves as simply 'tired of life'. The slope is documented, not hypothetical,... (Argued by jconnor on SuperDebate.)
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